Tag Archive for: SCHOOLS.

Under Attack: California Schools Face Ransomware Threat

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Sixth grade teacher Hilary Hall had just started teaching one Monday morning in September when her teacher’s group chats at Newhall School District exploded with confused messages. Teachers in the Santa Clarita school district — located just north of Los Angeles — were panicking.

While Hall had no issues logging onto her computer from home, many of her colleagues, connected to the school district’s server, were met with a mysterious pop-up message.

It said users wouldn’t be able to log into the server.

People turned to Hall, co-president of the district’s teacher’s union, for information, but she didn’t know what was going on, either.

A few minutes later, an answer arrived via phone call from each grade’s head teacher: The school district, all 10 schools representing under 6,000 children, had been hit with a ransomware attack. All teachers were instructed to log off immediately.

“Read a book!” Hall told the kids in her class, trying to think of educational activities on the spot as she quickly logged off.

While incidents like the Colonial pipeline ransomware attack and the Kaseya attack received international attention, schools and universities have also been on the wrong end of cybercriminals.

Experts interviewed by CalMatters — including researchers, cybersecurity companies, IT employees and the FBI — all agree the number of cyberattacks has increased over the pandemic. Many believe the number of attacks on the education sector has also increased, but it’s an area so new to cybercrime that there’s virtually no comprehensive data on it.

Emsisoft, a New Zealand-based software company, expects these data theft attacks to double in 2021.

California schools, colleges and universities have scrambled to adjust. In the past five years, more than two dozen California school systems have been targeted, from Rialto Unified School District in San Bernardino to Stanford University’s School of Medicine.

Prior to the ransomware attack last September, Newhall had implemented what experts consider common sense security measures like internal firewalls to prevent malicious software from affecting entire systems. A few…

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Ionia Public Schools introduces Words on Wheels Mobile Library

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IONIA — What started out as a dream for Ionia Public Schools educators became a reality Thursday with the arrival of the Words on Wheels Mobile Library.  

IPS introduced its  mobile library during the First Thursday on the Bricks July 1 in downtown Ionia. 

The Ionia Area Chamber of Commerce, Ionia Downtown Development Authority and community members were present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the mobile library. 

Ionia Public Schools introduced its Words on Wheels Mobile Library during the First Thursday on the Bricks July 1 in downtown Ionia.

The blue bus will travel to different locations in the Ionia area providing free books and activities to the community three days per week. It will be at the following locations: 

Monday: 

  • 9:15-10:30 a.m. — Trailhead Park 
  • 10:45-11:45 a.m. — Jefferson Elementary School 
  • Noon to 1 p.m. — K-2 Summer School – Ionia High School 
  • 1:30-2:45 p.m. — Hale Park 

Thursday:

  • 9:15-10:30 a.m. — 3-5 Summer School – Iona High School 
  • 10:45 a.m. to Noon — Twin Rivers Elementary School 
  • 12:20-1:20 p.m. — Downtown Lyons Library 
  • 1:45-2:45 p.m. — Harper Park 

Friday: 

  • 9:15-10:30 a.m. — Boyce Elementary School Nature Trail 
  • 10:45-11:45 a.m. — Robinson Park 
  • Noon-1 p.m. — Perry Park 
  • 1:30-2:45 p.m. — Fun Forest 

“We hope everybody comes out from babies to adults,” said Christina Frost, a fifth-grade teacher at Rather Elementary School. “We really have enjoyed meeting everybody. All of our books are brand new. You never know what you’re going to find.” 

Christina Frost, fifth grade teacher at Rather Elementary School in Ionia, speaks during the grand opening of the Ionia Public Schools Words on Wheels Mobile Library during the First Thursday on the Bricks July 1 in downtown Ionia.

Jennifer Burns, IPS associate superintendent of Instructional Services, secured the bus and drew up the plan for the mobile library. 

Extra Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund dollars from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act was used, Frost said. 

“This was a dream of several of ours for many years,” Frost said. 

There will be various activities for the community to participate in, Frost said. IPS is giving away book bucks when people visit the bus and they can be collected and later distributed for prizes. 

Ionia Public Schools introduced its Words on Wheels Mobile Library during the First Thursday on the Bricks July 1 in downtown Ionia.

The COVID-19 pandemic has put kids back about six months in reading, Frost said, adding access to books just wasn’t there. 

“I think it’s just what we need,” Frost said. 

IPS officials worked with Matt Painter,…

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Mark Warner calls for improved cyber defenses to protect schools

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After high-profile ransomware attacks this year, Senator Mark Warner and Senator Susan Collins have called for school districts to improve cyber defenses.

WASHINGTON — WSSC Water, which serves almost 2 million residents in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties, announced on Friday that it was a victim of a ransomware attack in late May that targeted “non-essential business systems.”

The cyberattack occurred on May 24 but the company said drinking water and wastewater systems were not impacted or ever at risk.

In a statement, WSSC Water Police and Homeland Security Director David McDonough said the virus was successfully removed and the company did not pay any ransom to the hackers.

“These attacks have become more common, especially in recent weeks, and WSSC Water has prepared for this type of event,” he wrote.

The company added that files were restored from back-ups and there was no significant impact on business operations, however, some customers may be notified about potential breaches.

“While the virus was not successful, it appears the ransomware criminals did gain access to internal files,” the statement read. “As the investigation continues, WSSC Water will notify in writing any individuals whose personal identifying information was exposed. Those individuals will be offered five years of credit monitoring with $1,000,000 in identity theft insurance at no cost to them.”

The announcement of the WSSC Water cyberattack came after highly publicized breaches against Colonial Pipeline and JBS Holdings earlier this year.

Both companies were forced to pay millions of dollars to the hackers to get control of their systems back.

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Hackers post 25,971 files stolen from Broward schools

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The data published includes more 750 employee mileage reports, 36 employee travel reimbursement forms, more than 700 invoices for spring water, more than 1,000 invoices for school construction work, about 400 payments to Broward Sheriff’s Office or local police departments for security, dozens of utility bills and several employee phone lists.

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