Cyberattack KOs day one of classes in Conn. capital

One of the worst cyberattacks yet against Connecticut’s capital city forced officials to postpone the first day of school Tuesday, disrupting the day for thousands of families as city computer experts rushed to restore systems vital for school operations.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the hacker or hackers indicated it was a ransomware attack, but left only an email address and made no specific ransom demand. The problem was discovered Saturday and numerous systems were affected, including one used to communicate transportation routes and live information to school bus drivers.

Tuesday was supposed to be the first day of school for the district of about 18,000 students. Both in-person and remote learning were postponed to Wednesday, officials said.

“We are often the subject of cyberattacks,” Bronin said. “This was, however, the most extensive and significant attack that the city has been subject to … certainly in the last five years.”

Much of the damage had been repaired by Monday night, and work on critical systems was completed Tuesday. The city’s $500,000 worth of cybersecurity improvements implemented last year prevented officials from being locked out of the city’s systems, Bronin said.

Superintendent of Schools Leslie Torres-Rodriguez said officials were checking to see if any school staff computers were affected by the attack.

“We are heavily relying on all of our technology and on our staff’s ability to access technology in order to deliver remote instruction, given that more than half of our student population has elected to learn remotely,” she said. “The team … is trying to assess the impact throughout all of our 40 schools.”

Torres-Rodriguez said city schoolswere ready toopenwith a variety of coronavirus precautions.