Fairfax County Public Schools are working alongside the FBI to investigate a ransomware attack on their technology system. The schools were targeted by a hacking group who admitted to stealing information from the school district. FCPS said “we are taking this matter very seriously and are working diligently to address the issue”, in a statement on Friday. The schools said that that system “may have been victimized by cybercriminals who have been connected to dozens of ransomware attacks in other school systems and corporations worldwide.”
With ransomware attacks, the hackers demand payments and threaten to post stolen information if these payments are not made. Fortunately, with this incident, the attack did not compromise the remote learning of the students, and a representative said that it will not affect future learning either. The investigation is ongoing to see the extent of the attack and the damage that has been caused.
