FBI, state helping with investigation of ransomware attack on Baltimore County Public Schools
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FBI, state helping with investigation of ransomware attack on Baltimore County Public Schools
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By Ethan McLeod – Associate Editor, Baltimore Business Journal
Nov 25, 2020, 10:05am EST Updated Nov 25, 2020, 3:57pm EST
Baltimore County schools are out one day early during the holiday week after the system’s networks were struck by ransomware.
The attack is being treated as a criminal investigation, Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt told reporters at a press conference Wednesday afternoon outside of Baltimore County Public Schools' administrative offices. The FBI's Baltimore Field Office and state investigators are also assisting.
“I think it’s important to note that we have been in contact with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners," Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Darryl Williams said.
Officials shared few details with reporters, repeatedly citing the investigation's preliminary status, but they said the ransomware attack began Tuesday evening. Officials announced early Wednesday that classes, which have been happening largely remotely this fall, had been called off one day early ahead of Thanksgiving. It's unclear when students will return to classes.
“We don’t know at this point of a timeline, but we are listening to our experts to guide us in the proper manner," Williams said.
Baltimore County School Board Chair Kathleen Causey called the attack "very disturbing," noting, "We have 115,000 students relying on us to provide education and other opportunities.”
The school system had initially characterized the disruption as “issues with our network” Wednesday, but said in a follow-up announcement on social media that it was attributable to a ransomware attack that “caused systemic interruption to network information systems.”
The school system’s announcement asked that families avoid using any BCPS devices for the time being.
BCPS can now confirm we were the victim of a Ransomeware attack that caused systemic interruption to network information systems. Our BCPS technology team is working to address the situation & we will continue to provide updates as available. For now, please donât use BCPS device
— Baltimore County Public Schools (@BaltCoPS) November 25, 2020
Dori Henry, Baltimore County’s chief of communications, had said in a statement Wednesday morning that the county government was aware of the attack.
“We do not have any reason to believe that Baltimore County Government systems have been compromised, but the County’s Information Technology team is closely inspecting our network and all devices out of an abundance of caution, and has put in place additional security measures,” she said. “We will continue to work with BCPS to help address this issue so that remote learning can resume as soon as possible.”
The county IT office is also assisting the school system, Henry said. Jim Corns, Baltimore County's executive director of information technology, said that in addition to contacting law enforcement, officials are also in touch with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and Maryland Department of Information Technology for assistance.
Baltimore is no stranger to such attacks. The city government’s networks were infamously breached by hackers in May 2019. The ordeal locked employees out of email accounts, shut down water billing for customers citywide and more. The message from the perpetrators had demanded bitcoin payments from the city in exchange for the return of control over municipal networks and computers.
The city opted not to pay that ransom, and eventually lost $18 million combined between direct costs and revenue shortfalls to recover from the attack, in addition to data that had not been backed up.
Baltimore’s spending board voted last month to renew $20 million in cyber insurance that it obtained in 2019 in the wake of the municipal disaster.
Corns said teams have been investigating the attack on county schools' networks since Wednesday evening, and are still “ascertaining how much impact we really have."
Baltimore Schools are already off Thursday and Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
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FBI, state helping with investigation of ransomware attack on Baltimore County Public Schools
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By Ethan McLeod – Associate Editor, Baltimore Business Journal
Nov 25, 2020, 10:05am EST Updated Nov 25, 2020, 3:57pm EST
Baltimore County schools are out one day early during the holiday week after the system’s networks were struck by ransomware.
The attack is being treated as a criminal investigation, Baltimore County Police Chief Melissa Hyatt told reporters at a press conference Wednesday afternoon outside of Baltimore County Public Schools' administrative offices. The FBI's Baltimore Field Office and state investigators are also assisting.
“I think it’s important to note that we have been in contact with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners," Baltimore County Schools Superintendent Darryl Williams said.
Officials shared few details with reporters, repeatedly citing the investigation's preliminary status, but they said the ransomware attack began Tuesday evening. Officials announced early Wednesday that classes, which have been happening largely remotely this fall, had been called off one day early ahead of Thanksgiving. It's unclear when students will return to classes.
“We don’t know at this point of a timeline, but we are listening to our experts to guide us in the proper manner," Williams said.
Baltimore County School Board Chair Kathleen Causey called the attack "very disturbing," noting, "We have 115,000 students relying on us to provide education and other opportunities.”
The school system had initially characterized the disruption as “issues with our network” Wednesday, but said in a follow-up announcement on social media that it was attributable to a ransomware attack that “caused systemic interruption to network information systems.”
The school system’s announcement asked that families avoid using any BCPS devices for the time being.
BCPS can now confirm we were the victim of a Ransomeware attack that caused systemic interruption to network information systems. Our BCPS technology team is working to address the situation & we will continue to provide updates as available. For now, please donât use BCPS device
— Baltimore County Public Schools (@BaltCoPS) November 25, 2020
Dori Henry, Baltimore County’s chief of communications, had said in a statement Wednesday morning that the county government was aware of the attack.
“We do not have any reason to believe that Baltimore County Government systems have been compromised, but the County’s Information Technology team is closely inspecting our network and all devices out of an abundance of caution, and has put in place additional security measures,” she said. “We will continue to work with BCPS to help address this issue so that remote learning can resume as soon as possible.”
The county IT office is also assisting the school system, Henry said. Jim Corns, Baltimore County's executive director of information technology, said that in addition to contacting law enforcement, officials are also in touch with the Maryland Emergency Management Agency and Maryland Department of Information Technology for assistance.
Baltimore is no stranger to such attacks. The city government’s networks were infamously breached by hackers in May 2019. The ordeal locked employees out of email accounts, shut down water billing for customers citywide and more. The message from the perpetrators had demanded bitcoin payments from the city in exchange for the return of control over municipal networks and computers.
The city opted not to pay that ransom, and eventually lost $18 million combined between direct costs and revenue shortfalls to recover from the attack, in addition to data that had not been backed up.
Baltimore’s spending board voted last month to renew $20 million in cyber insurance that it obtained in 2019 in the wake of the municipal disaster.
Corns said teams have been investigating the attack on county schools' networks since Wednesday evening, and are still “ascertaining how much impact we really have."
Baltimore Schools are already off Thursday and Friday due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
RELATED CONTENT
Baltimore poised to re-up $20M in post-ransomware cyber insurance
Baltimore poised to re-up $20M in post-ransomware cyber insurance
Audit: University System of Maryland malware protections inadequate
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City approves $5M more for ongoing cyberattack remediation
City approves $5M more for ongoing cyberattack remediation
Baltimore to distribute three-month water bills in August
Baltimore to distribute three-month water bills in August
Cyber execs: City is 'the rule,' not exception in not paying ransom
Cyber execs: City is 'the rule,' not exception in not paying ransom
Back to Top
Baltimore Business Journal
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News
Lists & Leads
People
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Events
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Manage your Account
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NEWSLETTERS
Sign Up Now
ACBJ
American City Business Journals
AmericanInno
Bizwomen
Hemmings
Inside Lacrosse
Sports Business Journal
User Agreement | Privacy Policy | Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information | Ad Choices
© 2021 American City Business Journals. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/21) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1/21). The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of American City Business Journals.
