New Kent County Public Schools hit with ransomware attack

• The ransomware encrypted all the files and documents located on the school’s internal hard drives, disabling the access to important files and data.
• Despite the ransomware attack, the school district announced that it will reopen on time as scheduled and will ensure that students are scheduled for their classes.

What is the issue?

New Kent County Public Schools suffered a ransomware attack, which encrypted the schools’ entire computer system. The school is unable to access any files unless paying a ransom.

What is the impact?

• The ransomware encrypted all the files and documents located on the school’s internal hard drives, disabling the access to important files and data.
• However, the school noted that there is no evidence to believe that any personal information of students was accessed by the attackers.

“Simply said, we cannot access many of the documents and data the faculty and staff have created, and this will cause an undue burden as we work to start school on time and ready for our students to learn,” said Brian J. Nichols, the school district’s superintendent, a local media outlet reported.

What actions are being taken?

• The school district has taken the necessary steps to rebuild its systems.
• It has hired cybersecurity experts and a technical team to investigate the incident and recover its systems back online.
• The school has also reported the incident to the FBI and is working with federal law enforcement.

Worth noting

New Kent County Public Schools announced that it will reopen on time as scheduled and will ensure that students are scheduled for their classes.

“New Kent County Public Schools will open on time. Our open house events will continue as scheduled. We will work through our registration process and our bus routing. We will make sure our students are scheduled for their classes the first day of school,” Nichols said.