Franklin County Public Schools were closed Monday following a ransomware attack that is still impacting the school division.
According to a statement from Franklin County Public Schools Superintendent Bernice Cobbs, the decision was made to cancel classes Monday in the interest of on-campus security as the impact of the cyberattack was being reviewed. Proactive measures taken by the school system included taking certain systems offline.
“Like many other organizations across the country, Franklin County Public Schools became the victim of a ransomware incident,” Cobbs said in a statement. “Immediately upon detection, we began an internal investigation and engaged third-party experts to assist in our remediation efforts. Fortunately, through this team’s quick response, we were able to stop the progress of the attack.”
Students and teachers returned to classes on Tuesday.
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Cobbs said Franklin County Public Schools is currently working with local and national law enforcement in the process, including the FBI and Virginia State Police.
This is not the first cyberattack on a local government in the Roanoke and New River valleys. In fall 2017, a malware attack halted email, phone and computer networks in Roanoke City Public Schools for several days. In fall 2018, a phishing attack compromised email accounts in the town of Christiansburg, resulting in the town to offer free credit monitoring to more than 900 people.
