The Los Angeles school district's information technology system has been shut down over the weekend by a ransomware attack.
The cyberattack took the website of the nation's second-largest district offline, eliminated access to email and reportedly affected systems that teachers use to post lessons and take attendance, reports the Los Angeles Times.
“Since the identification of the incident, which is likely criminal in nature, we continue to assess the situation with law enforcement agencies,” the district stated in a release. “While the investigation continues, Los Angeles Unified has swiftly implemented a response protocol to mitigate districtwide disruptions, including access to email, computer systems and applications.”
Despite the attack, classes resumed Tuesday.
“Business operations may be delayed or modified,” the district stated. However, “based on a preliminary analysis of critical business systems, employee healthcare and payroll are not impacted. Nor has the cyber incident impacted safety and emergency mechanisms in place at schools.”
Federal officials are helping the district investigate and respond.
“The White House brought together the Department of Education, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to provide rapid, incident response support to Los Angeles Unified, building on the immediate support by local law enforcement agencies,” the district announcement said.
The district is unsure who is responsible for the attack.
