Ransomware Takes Down Connecticut School in 2019’s First Attack…
On January 4, 2019, ransomware hit Bridgeport Public Schools in Connecticut, making it the first publicly known ransomware attack of the new year. The exact ransomware variant is unknown, as is the ransom demand. It’s also unclear if the school decided to pay the hacker’s demands, or if they are restoring their systems through alternative means. Regardless of how they plan to remediate, it appears the teaching staff was most impacted by the cyber attack.
The good news is, if staff had their data stored on another network, besides the school’s, they can restore accordingly. This may include having backups on a cloud-based service like Google Drive, or stored off the school’s network like on a personal device.
A Bridgeport Schools teacher reported to CT Post,
“I know one teacher who had 18 years worth of teaching materials saved at work, not at home. That would be gone, currently.”
At this time, there has been no evidence the data has been accessed by an unauthorized party or taken from the network.
Other Attacks
For a list of ransomware attacks that have already taken place in 2019, you may click here. We have also created a map, see below, of the ransomware attacks that have taken place in the U.S.
