Des Moines Public Schools staff worked through the night to try to determine the full impact of Monday’s cybersecurity attack that shut down classes Tuesday.
The district’s IT staff and consultants took the internet and network offline Monday morning after “unusual activity” was discovered, Des Moines Public Schools spokesperson Phil Roeder told the Des Moines Register Monday afternoon. Classes were canceled Tuesday as a result.
The district remained offline Tuesday “out of an abundance of caution,” Roeder said in a follow-up interview.
“Our goals right now are to remove any and all threats from our systems, make sure all devices are clean, and restore full functionality,” he said. “We do not have an exact time that will happen at this point.”
Related:Des Moines Public Schools cancels Tuesday classes after cybersecurity attack
Des Moines Public Schools joins a growing list of Iowa schools that have experienced cybersecurity attacks, including Glenwood Community School District, Cedar Rapids Community School District, the Linn-Mar Community School District and the Davenport Community School District.
In July 2019, Glenwood Community School District in Mills County paid $10,000 in ransom after hackers encrypted student data that included schedules, contact and demographic information, making it inaccessible to administrators.
Des Moines schools’ officials plan to update the public Tuesday afternoon. District families can receive updates using Snap! Connect.
This story will be updated.
Samantha Hernandez covers education for the Register. Reach her at (515) 851-0982 or svhernandez@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @svhernandez or Facebook at facebook.com/svhernandezreporter.
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