Flagstaff schools close for day to resolve cybersecurity issue

PHOENIX – Classes were canceled at all Flagstaff schools Thursday so administrators could get to the bottom of what they said was a cybersecurity issue.

The closure will extend through Friday.

Officials with the Flagstaff Unified School District said on social media Wednesday the problem forced them to shut down campuses and other school-related sites for the day.

More than 9,600 students attend the 15 district’s school sites.

FUSD schools will be closed on Friday, 9/6, due to the continuing work to respond to the cyber security attack. Progress was made today in securing critical systems, but unfortunately, work will need to continue through the weekend so students can return to school on Monday. pic.twitter.com/kTnbsTLklh

— Flagstaff Unified School District (@FlagstaffUSD1) September 6, 2019

Zachery Fountain, director of communications for Flagstaff schools, told ABC15 the “ransomware attack” hadn’t compromised the personal information of students or staff.

in August, the district informed nearly 6,600 students and more than 300 staff members that their personal information could have been exposed during a data breach.

That hack potentially exposed full names of the children, employees’ names and their email addresses.

A note on the district website about the earlier breach said it no longer used the platform supplied by Pearson, a multinational education company.

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