New Jersey District canceled final exams due to ransomware attack

Tenafly Public Schools went back to the basics this week — using overhead projectors, paper, pencils and hands-on activities in classrooms — when a ransomware attack crippled the district’s computer system.

Final exams were also canceled for all of the district’s high school students as the Bergen County school district tries to get its system back online with the help of cybersecurity consultants, officials said.

Tenafly Public School District administrators first identified the security incident Thursday, said district communications manager Christine Corliss. It involved the encryption of data by ransomware on some computers in the district’s network.

The district’s technology department responded “immediately” by isolating devises, shutting down the districtwide computer system, launching an investigation and hiring outside cybersecurity experts, she said.

Hackers use ransomware to encrypt data and render it useless until an online payment, or ransom, is made to regain access. Ransomware incidents have become increasingly more common in recent years, affecting schools districts, municipalities and even entire counties.

The district will begin implementing some of those improvements as it restores its systems after the ransomware attack, so it might take a little more time for the district’s computer system to get up and running.

The Shoprite Group also suffers a cyberattack this week. A data leak, including names and ID numbers, affected customers who engaged in money transfers to and within Eswatini and within Namibia and Zambia.