Monroe-Woodbury Central School District hit with ransomware attack

• The attack forced the school district to postpone the re-opening date for the students to August 5, 2019.
• The district will not have access to computers, Wi-Fi, and smart boards for weeks until the recovery process is completed.

What happened?

Monroe-Woodbury Central School District in Orange County, New York suffered a ransomware attack that disrupted the district’s operations.

What is the impact?

• The ransomware attack infected the school’s servers, forcing the school to shut down its computer network.
• The attack forced the school district to postpone the re-opening date for the students to September 5, 2019.
• The district will not have access to computers, Wi-Fi, and smart boards for weeks until the recovery process is completed.
• School officials will print out study materials on a paper for the first day of classes.

What was the response?

Monroe-Woodbury Central School District said that its technical team is working along with cybersecurity consultants in order to restore the district servers. However, the school noted that it is unsure how long the restoration process will take.

• The school confirmed that all data is backed up on-site and off-site on a regular basis.
• The school district has reported the incident to the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“We recognize that for our families this unexpected schedule change may be difficult. The safety and security of our students is always our first priority and we believe this extra time will allow us to better prepare for a smooth first day for our students and staff,” Elsie Rodriguez, Superintendent of Schools said in a security notice.