FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — Fairfax County Public Schools confirmed Friday that some of their technology systems had been compromised by a ransomware attack, and that they were working with the FBI to investigate the incident.
The school district sent a letter to the community and staff addressing the incident, stating they do not believe this was an isolated incident affecting Fairfax.
"We currently believe we may have been victimized by cyber criminals who have been connected to dozens of ransomware attacks in other school systems and corporations worldwide," an FCPS statement said. "We are coordinating with the FBI on the matter."
The ransomware issue did not disrupt the distance learning program during the first week of school, according to a FCPS update released over the weekend.
At this time, the school district is not asking staff or students to make changes to their devices as a result of the breach.
Staff and students should expect to be contacted individually if FCPS determines their computer requires technical attention. People are encouraged to continue using their devices for school-related activities.
FCPS did not comment on what data may have been stolen, or whether student/teacher information was compromised.
"We have retained leading security experts to help us determine the nature and scope of the incident and recover from the situation," the statement said. "FCPS is committed to protecting the information of our students, our staff, and their families."
FCPS is the largest school district in our area -- the10th largest in the U.S. -- with more than 188,000 students, all of whom are currently participating in virtual learning due to the ongoing pandemic.
Fairfax County Federation of Teachers said it was shocked to learn of the security breach.
“This is deeply alarming for our community and we urge FCPS to swiftly resolve the issue, take every action possible to maintain the safety of employee and student data and information and keep the FCPS community informed of all developments," FCFT president Tina Williams said.
The district has been transparent about the difficulties they faced with distance learning in March. On their website, they explain how the 2020-2021 school year will continue using their Blackboard system, and said many upgrades have already taken place in an attempt to avoid it from crashing again.
The school system also partnered with Cox Communications to ensure each child has a MiFi device to give them access to the Internet at home. The district also said they now have a Cloud Gateway system allowing them the capability to push security updates remotely.
One of the biggest upgrades this school year is the Parent Technology Help Desk, parents can call when they need help. Like many of us have at work, there’s also a system where parents can submit a help desk ticket.
See the full letter sent to parents and staff, below:
Dear FCPS Community and Staff,
FCPS recently learned that ransomware was placed on some of our technology systems. We are taking this matter very seriously and are working diligently to address the issue. We currently believe we may have been victimized by cyber criminals who have been connected to dozens of ransomware attacks in other school systems and corporations worldwide. We are coordinating with the FBI on the matter.
At this time, our investigation of the issue is ongoing and we are working diligently to determine the impact of this incident on FCPS data. We have retained leading security experts to help us determine the nature and scope of the incident and recover from the situation.
FCPS is committed to protecting the information of our students, our staff, and their families. We will work with law enforcement to the fullest extent to prosecute any individuals or groups that attack our systems.
Fairfax County Public Schools