The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) said those responsible for the early September cyber hack have threatened to publicly leak system data Friday.

While it is not clear what data was obtained by the hackers, the district said it would inform those affected, if such a leak takes place.

“We are diligently working with investigators and law enforcement agencies to determine what information was impacted and to whom it belongs,” LAUSD said in a news release “This incident is a firm reminder that cybersecurity threats pose a real risk for school districts across the nation. This ransomware attack demonstrates vulnerabilities that leave school districts nationwide susceptible to the significant risk of disruption to instruction, home to school transportation or access to nutritious meals which are catastrophic for students and their learning.”

It was also noted that LAUSD asked the Federal Communications Commission to authorize permanent funding of the E-Rate program, saying it would allow the district to “bolster” its information technology security.

“Los Angeles Unified, along with over a thousand education and technology leaders across the country, urgently requested that the Federal Communications Commission immediately authorize the ongoing, permanent use of existing E-Rate Program funds to bolster and maintain IT
security infrastructure,” LAUSD wrote in its September 30 press release.

LAUSD has been working with an Independent Information Technology Task Force, consisting of public and private sector cybersecurity experts. The White House has also been involved, with FBI investigating the incident and monitoring the district’s infrastructure 24/7.

The hack occurred over Labor Day weekend, although it did not affect the daily on-campus operations, allowing schools to reopen as usual the following school day.

The district also noted that the hack did not reach LAUSD critical infrastructure involving employee healthcare, payroll, bus transportation or food distribution.

“We know today was challenging, but the impact of this incident could have been catastrophic if our teams and partners had not responded quickly and decisively, cut off the hacker’s access immediately and worked expeditiously to restore operational capacity,” LAUSD Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said following the hack.

Since the initial hack, no new cyber threats have been found.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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