Students in the Pittsburg Unified School District of Pennsylvania experienced a disruption in internet access on Monday due to a ransomware attack. The attack compromised the schools’ internet servers and email systems, leading students to rely on traditional teaching methods without laptops or internet during their return from winter break. Superintendent Janet Schulze assured that while the district’s servers were affected, there was no indication of personal data compromise. The district promptly took the affected servers offline and initiated an investigation with the help of cybersecurity experts.
Schulze conveyed the message of going “back to the old school” through social media, emphasizing the reliance on books and direct teaching. The district is collaborating with two IT companies to address the aftermath of the ransomware attack, and legal experts specializing in such incidents have been engaged. Despite the challenges, normal teaching schedules resumed on Tuesday. This incident marks the second ransomware attack in Contra Costa County since the beginning of the year, following a similar attack on the Contra Costa County Library System, which led to a network outage affecting services at 26 branches. Library services are yet to be fully restored.
