Henry County Schools working to restore systems following cyber attack

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — The Henry County School District says it will take several weeks to restore its computer network following a recent cyber intrusion.

Channel 2′s Tom Regan spoke with parents who said this has made it difficult for them to talk to teachers about what’s happening in the classroom.

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During this period, the computer network will not be accessible to parents or students over the internet.

“Part of our secure restoration will begin with a system-wide scheduled password change that we will roll out in the coming days. While our typical operations will continue with the pattern of disruption, I will regularly provide updates as we methodically re-introduce one application or service at a time until we have a full network and internet access restored to all our users,” Henry County School District Superintendent Mary Elizabeth Davis said in a video statement.

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In the video statement, the superintendent also said their intrusion appeared to be limited and many critical data files were protected.

“While I must acknowledge this had the potential to be a serious event, early indications give me confidence that the containment we have confirmed is a good signal that there is limited if any, impact and full restoration is in sight,” Davis said.

School officials say the cyber intrusion hasn’t affected classroom instruction, but some parents say it is harder to stay on top of their child’s assignments and progress.

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“You just can’t communicate with the teachers. You just have to play it by ear. I’m an IT professional. It’s imperative they get it back on again,” said parent Shantel Callaway.

School officials say a criminal investigation is underway into the cyber attack. They did not say if the intruder had demanded a ransom payment.

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