Pulaski County Public Schools has faced multiple external disruptions. Threats against the schools have been made via social media and, most recently, two cyberattacks.
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“Nothing surprises me anymore, I just get frustrated sometimes and this is one of those times,” said Rob Graham of Pulaski County Public Schools.
Graham reported that these cyber threats were ransomware aimed at stealing money from the school. Fortunately, the school was reported to have managed to stay open.
“Our backups, for the most part, were safe, and we didn’t have to stop our operations,” Graham said.
He stated that the initial goal of the hacker organization was to disable all school operations until a certain amount of money was paid. Although the cyberattack failed to disable the school's operations, it caused some problems for teachers and students.
Graham said this hasn't stopped them from being in class.
“We’re operating, I would say, at about 90 to 95 percent right now,” Graham said.
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Graham said they are working to stop future attacks, but the public school's information technology department says nothing is foolproof.
"There's always a way in and if they find it, they'll do it," Graham said.
Despite the fact that some of the equipment was damaged and will need to be replaced, Graham said they are using this opportunity to upgrade.
“There’s a good chance that most of it will be reimbursed through our insurance, so we’re not really worried about that right now,” Graham said.
Graham expressed hope that this issue will be resolved within the coming weeks.
See also: School employee stole 3,000 Apple iPods intended for students
The potential impacts of cyberattacks on Public Schools can be multiple and severe. One of the potential impacts is the disruption of the school system, which will lead to disruption of the educational process. Students and teachers will face difficulties in accessing information and tools needed for education and work.
Additionally, cyberattacks can lead to the theft or destruction of sensitive information, such as personal data of students and teachers. This can have serious consequences for the privacy and security of the individuals involved.
In addition, cyberattacks can cause financial losses, as system restoration and upgrading security measures can require significant resources. Cyberattacks can also cause a destructive cycle of negative publicity for schools, which can affect the image and trust of the community.
Source: wsls.com
