Albuquerque Public Schools announced Tuesday that it has closed its investigation into a cyber-attack that closed schools in the district for two days in January.
A statement released by APS said: “A review of the evidence related to this incident did not identify unauthorized access to or exfiltration of any data on the APS systems. Accordingly, there was no compromise of data related to any individuals as a result of this incident.”
APS’ critical systems have been restored and are fully functioning.
On Jan. 12, APS closed all 144 of its schools after an attack that compromised the district’s attendance, communications, and transportation systems.
After the attack, APS Superintendent Scott Elder said in a statement on the APS Technology YouTube channel, “APS is working with local and national law enforcement as well as teams of cyber specialists to as quickly as possible limit our exposure to this attack, to protect all systems in our network and ensure a safe environment to return to school and business as usual.”
APS schools were closed Thursday, Jan. 13, and Friday, Jan. 14. After observing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, students returned to class on Jan. 18.
APS confirmed it was a ransomware attack but says it did not pay a ransom.
The attack was centered on the system that tracks attendance and lists who is authorized to pick up students from school. The district came up with a workaround to open school, and the system is now fully restored.
