Rowan-Salisbury School District hit by cyberattack, NC cyber task force investigating

SALISBURY, N.C. — The Rowan-Salisbury School District announced Thursday that it was the victim of a cyberattack.

District officials said their technology team responded to the incident immediately on Wednesday to prevent further impact.

Officials said the attack caused one of their servers to shut down, which affected many internal programs including internet access. It also significantly impacted all Windows devices connected to the district’s network, according to the report.

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On Tuesday, a district official said schools were operating on a regular schedule and internet access had been restored.

At this time, there has been no indication that any sensitive data was accessed inappropriately, the district said. The attack did not impact the district’s financial, payroll or human resources systems.

The district said it worked with the North Carolina Joint Cyber Task Force to restore the system as quick as possible.

Initial findings indicated that the attack was not a system failure, but a compromised user account.

The district said the state’s joint cyber task force was continuing to assist with the investigation.

Last week, officials said they were not sure if their systems, including the internet, would be completely restored by Tuesday, Jan. 4, when students were set to return to class.

The district asked all staff to plan for alternative or offline activities for students when they return.

This is a developing story. Check wsoctv.com for updates.

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