Swansea Public Schools issues update regarding ransomware attack, return to school

Superintendent John Robidoux has issued an update regarding a ransomware attack on #Swansea Public Schools’ network.

On Tuesday, January 3rd, Swansea Public Schools’ network experienced a ransomware attack. Within minutes of this attack, Swansea Public Schools’ cybersecurity company, Hub Technology, was able to isolate the attack and shut down the network system.

While the district worked to resolve the attack, all schools were closed on Wednesday, January 4th.

The cybersecurity company, in collaboration with the district’s IT Department, was able to remove any viruses, worms and ransomware on the network and add additional security measures.

Through a preliminary investigation, it was determined that no personal student or staff information was compromised and no cloud-based files or information was affected by the attack.

It is believed that this attack occurred due to an encrypted download that was run by someone within the district, but is not believed to be malicious. Swansea Public Schools will continue to participate in ongoing KnowBe4 training to assist school community members in learning more about security awareness and how to identify phishing attacks.

“I am thankful that our district has security measures attached to our network that prevented a much larger issue from occurring,” Superintendent Robidoux said. “I would like to thank Randi Arruda, Gilly Pereira and Gio Pimental for their hard work in ensuring that we are able to resolve this matter efficiently and proceed with teaching and learning in a safe manner.”

School will resume tomorrow, Thursday, January 5, for all students at their regular times.