Ransomware Hits Second Largest US School District
A ransomware attack has hit the second largest school district in the US, which serves over 640,000 students.
The attack hit the IT systems of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), which operates over 1,000 schools in California. On Monday, the district began reporting(Opens in a new window) technical issues that were preventing staffers from accessing resources including email. Hours later, the district confirmed(Opens in a new window) it was experiencing a ransomware attack.
LAUSD has yet to provide details about what data may have been affected. But the incident is serious enough that the district is ordering(Opens in a new window) all staff and students to initiate a password reset for their school accounts. The reset must also be done in-person at a district site. Over 53,000 successful password resets have already been made, according(Opens in a new window) to the district's superintendent.
In addition, the attack has prompted the FBI, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Education to work with the school district on restoring the affected IT systems, which include email, computers, and school-related applications,
It remains unclear who attacked the school district. But it seems the attackers exploited the Labor Day holiday weekend—when employees are usually off work—to infiltrate the district’s computer systems. Ransomware often works by encrypting entire fleets of computers to block access and then demanding victims pay up or else lose the data forever. Many ransomware groups will also threaten to publicize information stolen from the victims' computer systems.
Despite the attack, LAUSD schools are open today. “While we do not expect major
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