Las Cruces School District Scrubs 30,000 Computers
Return To ArticleLas Cruces Public Schools Interim Superintendent Karen Trujillo presented some updates Thursday on the recent cyber attack that targeted the school district, prompting a shutdown of internet servers and devices across the district.
At a Thursday afternoon news conference in the district’s administration building at 505 S. Main St., Trujillo said the virus infiltrated the district’s systems at about 4 a.m. Oct. 29, and by 7:30 a.m. information technology staff had shut down all of the district’s internet servers and isolated the malware.
The district’s system was infected with ransomware, a malicious program designed to lock access to computer or data systems until a ransom is paid. It is often spread by visiting infected websites or by opening “phishing” emails, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
