Janesville school district hit by ransomware attack

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - A ransomware attack on the School District of Janesville has locked its servers and left students, staff, and families unable to login to some of the district’s online programs, district officials reported Monday morning.

In a Facebook post, they stated the district’s IT department detected issues with their network and spotted code that appeared to be ransomware. District officials assured families and staff that no data was accessed and none of it has been destroyed.

While the district is describing it as a ransomware attack, officials say they have not received any demands for releasing the system.  They noted that the incident has not affected its telephone lines, security cameras, or paging systems. Additionally, third-party programs like Google mail and Google Classroom are accessible with cellular data or on a Wi-Fi network not managed by the district.

After detecting the attack, the district notified the states Division of Enterprise Technology Cyber Response Team, as well as the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. Its IT team is still working to resolve the issues in conjunction with state officials, the district added.

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