More Students, Teachers Impacted in September FCPS Ransomware Attack

More students and teachers in the Fairfax County County Public Schools system have been identified as victims of a ransomware attack that took place in September.

In a letter to parents, FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand said his staff has identified more people who may have been impacted by the attack.

”In line with our commitment to providing credit monitoring and identity restoration services to those who may need them, we have distributed additional individualized notices to ensure all eligible members of our community who wish to utilize these services have access to them,” Brabrand wrote to parents and students last night.

On Sept. 11, just a few days after virtual learning resumed, hackers posted personal information of some students and staff on the dark web. Maze, a group of cybercriminals, claimed responsibility for the attack, which uses ransomware to prevent users from accessing files. In some cases, data is extracted and held hostage until a ransom is paid.

While the incident remains under investigation, Brabrand said that the school system is working with the FBI and Virginia State Police to investigate the attack.

Brabrand’s complete letter is below, after the jump.

Dear FCPS Community and Staff, 

As you know, after learning we were the victim of a sophisticated ransomware attack this fall, we notified the community and quickly took action to contain the threat, secure systems, and restore affected servers. We’ve continued to provide updates along the way as our ongoing investigation unfolds. 

Some members of our community may have received individualized notices alerting them that their information may have been impacted. While we had notified the community of this incident earlier in the fall and had proactively provided credit monitoring and identity restoration services to all current FCPS employees, as part of our ongoing investigation, we’ve subsequently identified additional individuals whose data may have been impacted. In line with our commitment to providing credit monitoring and identity restoration services to those who may need them, we have distributed additional individualized notices to ensure all eligible members of our community who wish to utilize these services have access to them.  

We’re committed to working to protect our community’s data moving forward and encourage those eligible to take advantage of these services should they wish to do so.  

Thank you for your patience as we resolve this issue.

Fairfax County Public Schools

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash