JEROME, Idaho — Jerome schools were closed Monday after a cyber attack targeted district networks over the weekend, with hackers attempting to ransom school data.
Superintendent Brent Johnson said it became clear the school district was under attack over the weekend, beginning with internal alerts and reports from teachers.
"Saturday morning, we started getting some of our alerts from our system internally and some of our teachers really giving us some communication that something is wrong," Johnson said.
Watch Idaho News 6 neighborhood reporter Lorien Nettleton's interview with Jerome Superintendent Brent Johnson in the video player below.
Johnson said the IT team has been working around the clock to restore the network and to identify what information may have been compromised. He said he was optimistic the policies already in place helped limit how much information was exposed, but the hackers were able to gain control of some of the internet-connected systems, making a closure for schools the best option.
"At this point, we've been working with the cyber security experts on our own technical team to try and prevent anything from being captured that we have to deal with, but it's it's an ongoing struggle," Johnson said.
Johnson said those systems are essential to keeping students safe and allowing teachers to do their jobs.
"When you're talking about cameras and door locks and our air-conditioning and heating systems and in our Internet, they are really core systems to make sure that our students are safe and our our faculty can do a world class lessons every day," Johnson said.
There were many aspects of the situation Johnson didn't want to discuss due to the ongoing nature of the threat. He was not able to disclose what the attackers have demanded or the extent of any data they may have been able to access, although he did say he believed most student data had not been compromised.
When asked whether the district was using a technical response as opposed to meeting the cyber attackers' demands, Johnson described the district's approach to the crime.
"As with any crime, I think we want to prevent it as best as possible and proactively work to prosecute them and to defend our students and staff and all of our data and all of our system systems," Johnson said.
When asked if the district was considering paying the ransom, Johnson acknowledged the difficulty of the situation.
"I would rather these people be behind bars and be prosecuted for what they do, but it is delicate — and there are a lot of places that have paid," Johnson said.
Staff devices are now going through a security check before they go back online. The district is working with law enforcement to help investigate who is responsible.
If systems can be restored quickly, school will be back in session Tuesday.
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