Operations at Virginia school district not disrupted by LockBit attack

Virginia's Fauquier County Public Schools had classes continue across its 20 elementary, middle, and high schools following a LockBit ransomware attack earlier last month, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Discovery of the ransomware attack on Sept. 12 has prompted Fauquier County Public Schools to immediately launch incident response efforts alongside an investigation, which has revealed "minimal" impact, said a school district spokesperson. "At this time we do not believe that any personal student or staff information has been compromised," the spokesperson added. However, Fauquier County Public Schools was warned by LockBit to pay the undisclosed ransom amount until Oct. 19 in order to avoid further data exposure. Such an intrusion follows a string of ransomware attacks against K-12 schools and universities since the beginning of the school year, as well as LockBit's compromise of a major New York hospital network, a Montreal government-controlled electricity organization, and a French city during the past month.