BOTETOURT COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) – Botetourt County Public Schools recently sent an alert out to families about a cybersecurity attack, but some new information has some parents concerned.
This week, BCPS updated parents about the attack, announcing some of the data that were accessed have been posted on the dark web, which is known for criminal activity. The school division is working with local and state law enforcement, but the parents WDBJ7 spoke to are worried about what this means.
“It’s scary to not know where your information is going, and I understand the school systems doing all they can, but I’m just scared for my family,” said BCPS parent Eleanor Tillman.
Tillman has a daughter enrolled in the school system. She said this isn’t the first time the school system has experienced a cybersecurity attack, but it’s the first time the dark web has been involved.
“The dark web is a scary place. It’s a place known for extortion, exploitation; another thing that’s gotten really big is trafficking. Like we have to protect our kids more than just making sure we know where they’re physically going. I mean, they’re getting attacked at all angles,” she added.
The school system fell victim to a similar cybersecurity incident last December. PowerSchool Student Information System, a cloud-based software used by BCPS and many other local school systems, was compromised and personal information was left vulnerable to hackers.
The school system offered credit monitoring services to families as a result. After multiple attempts to interview Superintendent Johnathan Russ, he sent us a statement saying the school system will continue to investigate the incident.
“Additionally, our cybersecurity experts are reviewing the data to determine if it contains any personal information belonging to our students or employees. This process will take several days. If we find that any personal information has been exposed, we will contact those affected immediately and offer assistance.”
Still, parents like Tillman want to know more.
“We are the first line of defense for our children. We have to be there for them. If their information is out there, it leaves them exposed. You don’t know what they’re looking for, what they were trying to sell, what information they were trying to gain, and we need to be in the know, we can better protect them,” she closed.
The school system said it will use the findings from this investigation to enhance cybersecurity measures and those impacted will be offered assistance, including credit monitoring services.
It’s also worth noting that the Botetourt County School System will be getting a new Superintendent who will be tasked with dealing with this latest cyber security issue. The school system is set to name the new Superintendent next week.
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