The Highline Public School district had to cancel classes on Monday after a cyberattack on its technology systems took place, said the district in a statement posted Sunday. This disruption affected all school activities including athletics, meetings, and a vaccine clinic, though the central office would remain open. Highline, a district that serves around 17,500 students south of Seattle, faced this significant setback just as the school year was beginning, particularly impacting the first day of kindergarten that was scheduled for Monday.
As per the district's announcement, immediate measures were taken to contain the attack, "We have detected unauthorized activity on our technology systems and have taken immediate action to isolate critical systems." Following this intrusion, the district has been working with third-party, state, and federal partners to restore and evaluate the safety of their systems, as reported by Geekwire. By 2:00 P.M. PT on Monday, Highline promised an update on whether school operations would continue into Tuesday.
These types of cyber incidents are not isolated events – an unsettling pattern has emerged across institutions. A KOMO News report linked this attack to a series of recent cyberattacks in the area, including one at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport roughly two weeks ago, which affected reader boards, international carriers, and luggage services. Even Seattle Public Libraries and Bethel School District had been targeted earlier in the year.
The appeal of school districts as targets stems from the extensive data they handle. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) cautions that schools hold vast amounts of sensitive personal and financial information concerning students, staff, and the institutions themselves. Yet, these same districts often do not have the fiscal resources required to implement comprehensive cybersecurity defenses, and as a result, CISA's data suggests that K-12 schools see more than one cyberattack per school day on average, Geekwire details.
Highline Public Schools conveyed an understanding of the inconvenience the school closure poses to families and staff, especially those anticipating the start of kindergarten. "We understand this comes as an unexpected disruption, particularly on the eve of the first day of kindergarten for many of our families," Highline mentioned, also highlighting, "student safety is our top priority, and we cannot have school without these critical systems in place," according to MyNorthwest. Despite the closure, school and central office administrators are to report to work, and the district guided staff expectations during the outage.
