Wjccschools cybersecurity incidents and threat signals

Feb 9, 2025

Medium

Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools hit by cyberattack

The following FAQ shares information related to the recent cyber incident experienced by WJCC Schools. If you have further specific questions about the incident, we have established a dedicated email address that members of our leadership team monitor. Please feel free to contact questions@wjccschools.org. WJCC Schools noticed network disruptions to our system over the weekend (Feb. 8-9). Thanks to the quick response from our internal technology team, which immediately engaged outside cybersecurity experts, we determined that, like many schools recently, we were the victim of a cybersecurity incident. Does this cyber incident impact the security of our school campuses? We are grateful that this incident did not impact the physical security of any of our campuses or facilities, including our alarm and phone systems. Our talented teachers and staff should also be credited with minimizing this distraction by prioritizing offline learning. What did WJCC do when learning of the incident? We immediately engaged with some of the country’s leading cybersecurity professionals who manage incidents like this daily. We also notified local and federal law enforcement and are helping them with their criminal investigations. We are regularly communicating with our families and staff about the incident, and we are committed to providing updates as information becomes available. Why are school systems susceptible to cyber incidents like this one? Any organization that holds sensitive data is at risk for cyber threats. Unfortunately, cybercriminals have targeted school systems across the country. We are using this incident to bolster our cybersecurity posture and prevent future distractions to our learning environment. When will the investigation be complete? When will we learn more? These investigations typically happen over several weeks but understanding how this happened and restoring all operations are priorities. Is this related to the PowerSchool breach late last year? What is WJCC doing to make sure this doesn’t happen again? Part of the support that we are receiving from outside cybersecurity consultants and legal counsel includes proactive measures that we can take to boost our ability to detect and respond to cyber threats. Unfortunately, school systems are particularly susceptible to incidents like this, and we take our responsibility to protect our community – even through cyber threats – seriously. Do I need to reset my password on my WJCC-issued device? All WJCC members will reset their passwords to their devices. More information on this will be coming soon. Please do not take any action until we have a chance to roll out the process with the advice of our internal technical team and outside experts. '+comparitech_frontend_data.translations["comments-submitted-published-after-approval"]+"