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Published on October 03, 2024
Wayne County Officials Partner with FBI in Response to Cybersecurity Incidents, Richmond Schools Grapple with Ransomware AttackSource: Unsplash/ Towfiqu barbhuiya

Cybersecurity breaches in Wayne County have put officials on high alert as they contend with several systems being forced offline, including the county's website. As reported by FOX 2 Detroit, the incident began yesterday and persisted into today, leading to a joint investigation with the FBI and Michigan State Police. The exact nature of the outage, whether it's a deliberate attack or a technical failure, remains undetermined.

Amidst the chaos, Wayne County's spokesperson Doda Lulgjuraj issued a statement obtained by CBS News Detroit, which read, "The County Information Technology team is aware of a cyber incident targeting some internal systems. We are currently investigating the scope of the incident with our cybersecurity partners which include the FBI and Michigan State Police." As officials probe deeper into the situation, details about the disruption remain largely undisclosed to the public.

In a separate, yet similarly disruptive cyber crisis, Richmond Community Schools (RCS) were hit by a ransomware attack, causing considerable disarray in the district’s daily operations. Parent-teacher conferences scheduled for Thursday were halted, as noted by Bridget Hazelbaker, the Director of Student Support and Communications, in an interview with the Richmond Palladium-Item. The staff has adopted lower-tech teaching methods in response to the restricted technology on the school grounds.

The RCS network breach compromised sensitive staff and student information, though Assistant Superintendent of Operations Karen Scalf assured, as revealed in a Facebook post cited by the Richmond Palladium-Item, "Students' Social Security numbers are not housed in the data source that was compromised." In a statement to parents on Friday communicated by Scalf, it was communicated that student names, addresses, medical information, and contact numbers had been accessed. Schools across the county have since rallied to lend support, supplying hot spots to reconnect the staff to the internet.

As these events unfold, the interconnectedness of our digital infrastructure and the impact of its failure becomes apparent. In Wayne County and at RCS, the full implications of these cyber incidents are still unfolding, with both investigations seeking to mitigate the harm and prevent further breaches. The story will continue to develop as officials work to restore normal operations and ensure the security of their information systems.

Detroit-Science, Tech & Medicine