School was canceled for students in Buffalo, New York, on Monday not because of a snowstorm or the pandemic but because a cyberattack crippled the public school system.
The schools’ system serves 34,000 students across 60 facilities, according to its website.
A “cybersecurity outage,” reported to be a ransomware attack, hit the Buffalo schools on Friday morning and the schools’ information technology staffers began to take systems offline as a precaution, according to Kriner Cash, superintendent of the school system.
“We are actively working with cybersecurity experts, as well as local, state, and federal law enforcement to fully investigate this criminal cybersecurity attack,” wrote Mr. Cash in a letter. “Although the investigation into this security incident is ongoing, our comprehensive investigative team has identified key findings related to its root cause and potential overall impact.”
Mr. Cash said forensic and criminal investigations are expected to last at least two more weeks but neither the FBI nor the school system’s lead investigator has identified the disclosure of any sensitive personal information.
Mr. Cash said Monday’s unplanned day off from school for students would be used to “pressure test system restoration and access” and to distribute information about how students can access digital learning tools once the online systems are restored.
The cyberattack is indicative of larger cyber threats facing industries that have shifted online amid the coronavirus pandemic. The FBI recorded an uptick in ransomware complaints during 2020’s final months, as the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center was flooded with ransomware complaints.
• Ryan Lovelace can be reached at rlovelace@washingtontimes.com.
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