Oklahoma City Public Schools hit with ransomware attack

• A spokesperson for OKCPS said that the school district’s network has been significantly compromised by the attack and that the network could be shut down for several days.
• The district employees were requested to not use email services. However, district cell phones are available.

On May 13, 2019, attackers infected the computer network of Oklahoma City Public Schools with ransomware, forcing the school district to shut down its network.

What happened?

Upon learning the incident, the school district immediately started working to contain the attack and limit the exposure. It also hired third-party experts to assist them in addressing the incident.

In order to stop the attack, the school district shut down its network, however, classes were not canceled on May 14, 2019, due to the incident.

A spokesperson for OKCPS, Arely Martin said that the school district’s network has been significantly compromised by the attack and that the network could be shut down for several days.

“OKCPS continues to address the recent ransomware attack. We are grateful to our staff for their flexibility and for continuing to put students first as our IT Services Teams work with our third-party experts to resolve the issue. OKCPS will provide updates when we have significant progress to report. We appreciate the community's patience as we respond to this matter,” Martin added.

The district employees were requested to not use email services. However, district cell phones are available. What information has been compromised and what is the ransom amount still remains unknown.