Tag Archive for: Districts

Federal Cash Help Protect School Districts From Cyberattacks, Ransomware – Breaking News, Sports, Weather, Traffic And The Best of NY

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Federal Cash Help Protect School Districts From Cyberattacks, RansomwareCyberattacks against school systems are becoming more damaging and aggressive with threats of extortion, unless ransom is paid. CBS2’s Jennifer McLogan reports.

Statue Of Thomas Jefferson Removed From City Council ChamberThe statue was taken down from its pedestal to be moved to the New York Historical Society.

Department Of Social Services Head Steven Banks To ResignSteve Banks, who originally joined the de Blasio administration as commissioner of the Human Resources Administration in 2014 and went on to lead the Department of Homeless Services as part of the joint management structure called the Department of Social Services, is resigning.

Faith Leaders Call On Newark Residents To Be Vigilant In Face Of Recent Spike In ShootingsResidents in New Jersey’s largest city are still reeling after a recent rash of gun violence. Police have increased patrols, but residents are being urged to do their part. CBS2’s Aundrea Cline-Thomas reports.

Longtime Employees Say Roosevelt Hotel Remains Shut DownThere are accusations of employee mistreatment at one of New York City’s most famous hotels. CBS2’s Jessica Moore reports.

Village Of Ossining Awarded $10 Million As Part Of Downtown Revitalization InitiativeIn popular culture it’s known as the home of Sing Sing, and the place where Don and Betty Draper lived at the start of “Mad Men.” In real life, the village of Ossining is a suburban hot spot, with a downtown that’s about to get a huge infusion of cash. CBS2’s Tony Aiello reports.

How To Gather For Thanksgiving SafelyFamilies that missed out on Thanksgiving 2020 are looking forward to gathering again. But with new…

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Bill gives school districts resources to guard against cyberattacks

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Cybersecurity Act

Courtesy

President Joe Biden signs S. 1917 The K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021, Friday. Oct. 8, 2021, in the Oval Office of the White House. (Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz)

By Jessica Hill (contact)

Updated Friday, Oct. 8, 2021 | 3:36 p.m.

A hacker published Clark County School District records, including employee Social Security numbers and student names, addresses and grades, after a ransomware attack on the school system in August 2020.

The bipartisan K–12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021, signed into law today by President Joe Biden, will give resources to school districts to help them protect themselves against cyberattacks.

“This is what we do best when we come together,” said Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who co-sponsored the bill following the attack on Clark County School District, the fifth largest school district in the United States. “It’s going to direct the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to do a deep dive to report on vulnerabilities in school districts across the country.”

The agency will study challenges schools face in keeping their information systems and sensitive student and employee records safe, the bill states.

“Cyber Security issues have affected public schools throughout the nation and CCSD works to make sure our students, their families, and district employees’ information is secure from cyber criminals,” the district said in a statement.

The criminal data breach against CCSD was “unacceptable,” Rosen said. After the district refused to pay a ransom, the hacker published the sensitive documents online.

Other vulnerable entities across the country also have become victims of ransomware attacks, which are happening more frequently, Rosen said. In such attacks, hackers lock up computer data and demand a ransom to release it.

In 2020, 1,681 schools, colleges and universities in the U.S. and 560 health care facilities were victims of ransomware attacks, according to the Emsisoft Malware Lab.

University Medical Center reported a hacking incident this summer that impacted about 1.3 million people. The victims’ driver’s license, Social…

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School districts say cyber security attacks are a growing risk – KATU

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School districts say cyber security attacks are a growing risk  KATU

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School Districts Dealing With Broken Water Pipes, Fried Computer Servers and Mold Concerns – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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Schools across North Texas are dealing with the same problems that many peoples’ homes are: buildings went without power and pipes are broken. Now that the power is back on in many areas, schools are trying to figure out just how bad the damage truly is.

Tractor-trailers rolled to Harpool Middle School in Denton ISD carrying massive dehumidifiers. The district is using them to dry out the building after two inches of water spread through 120,000 square feet of space.

“It’s not just water on the ground, it’s technology and computers, and teachers’ set up and materials that we deliver in instruction,” Denton ISD Superintendent Jamie Wilson said. “It was the bottom floor and the fire suppression went off and before we could get there to turn it off we were knee-deep.”

Wilson said several schools were being cleaned up, but Harpool would likely be moved to remote learning or to upper floors through spring break.

Schools across the area are trying to clean up, eager to get students learning again. They’ve already lost so much this school year and the hits just keep coming.

“It’s caused us to be flexible and that’s the nice way to say it,” Grand Prairie ISD spokesperson Sam Buchmeyer said.

He said technology crews were working to try to make sure computer systems and servers were back up and running after the power kept getting shut on and off — not ideal for computer equipment.

More than 20 schools in Arlington ISD, including Sam Houston High School were dealing with repairs.

“Some are minor and some are more significant,” Arlington ISD Superintendent Marcello Cavazos said.

Heritage Middle School in Grapevine-Colleyville ISD had 15 classrooms flooded and sheetrock needed to be replaced. Several schools in that district are also dealing with a Spectrum internet and phone outage which has taken away control of the HVAC system, internet, phones and security system.

Fort Worth ISD has closed school Monday and Tuesday of next week while it cleans up. Frisco ISD said it wouldn’t be ready for instruction next week.

Northwest ISD had various schools still trying to get water out.

“Some classrooms may have cosmetic damage due to the efforts our teams…

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