Ransomware Attacks: The New Snow Day for Schools

Highline Public Schools, a large K-12 district in Washington State, confirmed that a ransomware attack in early September forced the temporary closure of all its schools, Bleeping Computer reports.

‍

The district, which serves over 17,500 students and employs more than 2,000 staff members, spans 34 schools across communities like Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, SeaTac, and White Center.

‍

The incident was first detected on September 7, when district officials noticed unusual activity on their network. In response, Highline shut down all schools and canceled related activities to mitigate further damage.  

‍

However, its central office remained open, and staff continued working while an investigation commenced.  

‍

"In response, a third-party cybersecurity forensic specialist was engaged, and an investigation was launched, which confirmed that the unauthorized activity was a form of ransomware," the district stated.

‍

Following the attack, Highline notified the FBI and collaborated with state and federal partners to assess the scope of the breach. While they are still investigating whether any personal data was compromised, the district has taken a precautionary approach by offering all employees a year of free credit and identity monitoring services.  

‍

Highline is also in the process of rebuilding its network infrastructure and plans to start re-imaging all student and staff devices beginning October 14.  

‍

“We are working to rebuild our network systems…We expect to restore access to several of our network tools during the week of October 14,” the district announced.

‍

As schools increasingly rely on digital tools, they remain vulnerable to sophisticated cyber threats, raising concerns about the safety and security of student and staff data.

‍

In early September, Charles Darwin School in South London temporarily closed following a severe ransomware attack that disrupted its IT systems, leaving around 1,300 students unable to attend classes.

‍

The attack, identified as an extortion attempt, affected key operational systems, including email and internet services, causing major disruptions.

‍

Takeaway: Last year, CISA issued a stark warning about the rising threat of ransomware attacks targeting the education sector and updated its cybersecurity guidelines for K-12 organizations.  

‍

While the guidelines provide a roadmap for improving security, they fall short in addressing the critical issue: many schools lack the resources necessary to implement these recommendations effectively.

‍

Most schools lack the appropriate funding to stand up and maintain even the most basic security programs, let alone one that can go head-to-head with highly skilled threat actors.  

‍

And the potential impact of a ransomware attack goes beyond system downtime. Students whose personal data is stolen may face identity theft and financial fraud risks for years to come.

‍

To mitigate these risks, the education sector must rethink its approach. Schools need to critically evaluate the types of data they collect, minimize unnecessary data storage, and implement a comprehensive resilience strategy.  

‍

The reality is that schools need more funding to secure their networks effectively. Guidelines are an important first step, but they cannot implement guidelines if they do not have the prerequisite resources and skilled personnel,

‍

Protecting the education sector from ransomware attacks will require a significant investment in technology, personnel, and processes. Without these resources, schools will remain vulnerable to "cyber snow days" that disrupt education and place student and staff data at risk.

‍

To effectively combat the ransomware threat in the education sector, we must move past superficial solutions and commit to deep, sustained investments, or accept ransomware disruptions as the new “snow days."

‍

This means dedicating the financial resources needed to equip schools with advanced security technologies, building a pipeline to attract and retain skilled cybersecurity professionals, and instilling a culture of proactive risk management.

‍

‍

Halcyon.ai is the leading anti-ransomware company that closes endpoint protection gaps and defeats ransomware through built-in bypass and evasion protection, key material capture, automated decryption, and data exfiltration prevention – talk to a Halcyon expert today to find out more. Halcyon also publishes a quarterly RaaS and extortion group reference guide, Power Rankings: Ransomware Malicious Quartile.