FCPS officials have announced that the school district is continuing to investigate the ransomware issue involving some of the FCPS technology systems, saying “we are taking this matter and concerns about the personal information of students, staff and their families very seriously. We are working diligently with the FBI and our cybersecurity consultants to investigate the nature, scope and extent of any possible data compromise.”

School officials said that the ransomware incident did not interfere with the distance learning program during the first week of school, and that if it is determined in the course of the investigation that personal information has been compromised, FCPS will take steps to notify affected individuals as appropriate.

School officials also noted that it is not necessary for staff or students to make changes to their devices as a result of the event, because its IT staff and cybersecurity experts are investigating the matter and will make recommendations for any changes that may be needed.

Local news outlets are reporting that the hacker group known  as Maze has claimed responsibility for the attack, even providing a zip file of data they claim was exfiltrated from the school’s networks to the hacker group’s servers. The underlying damage to the school system has not yet been determined, but typically these kinds of hackers, besides holding the stolen data for ransom, will release public details of an organization’s security breach, sell the information if it has value, or use confidential data to attack clients and partners, and let them know that the hacked company’s network was breached.

Source:  Fairfax County Public Schools Office of Communications and Community Relations