PROVIDENCE – Internet connectivity within city schools has been restored nearly two weeks after the Providence Public School District experienced a network security breach.
However, what else the breach impacted within the state’s largest school district and if the breach was a ransomware attack remains unclear.
PPSD Deputy Superintendent of Operations Zack Scott in a Sept. 22 message to the community said the internet in the schools was reconnected after the district temporarily disconnected it “out of an abundance of caution.” Students and staff in city schools on Monday returned to using Chromebooks, Scott said, with other devices to be reconnected to the network in the coming week.
Scott also said an analysis of what happened to the network is ongoing and more information will be shared as it becomes available.
“While there is more work to do, we are well on our way back to normal operations,” Scott said.
PPSD officials did not respond Tuesday to questions from Providence Business News as to what else was impacted, including if any possible personal information was stolen, due to the breach. Providence School Superintendent Javier Montañez told the school community last week that “initial findings … did not show evidence that district data was compromised” and more information was being gathered as to what happened.
School officials also did not answer if the breach was a ransomware attack. On Sept. 17, HackManac, an international cybersecurity company, posted on X claiming that a ransomware group called Medusa had breached PPSD. The post alleges that financial data, correspondence, and students’ and teachers’ data were among the information stolen by Medusa and demanded a $1 million payment by Wednesday.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.