Miami-Dade County Public Schools Targeted by More Cyber Attacks Wednesday

It was the third-straight day the district has experienced cyber attacks that affected online learning

NBC6 | September 2, 2020

What to Know

• Miami-Dade County Public Schools said they were experiencing more cyber attacks Wednesday
• The county’s schools began online learning Monday and have been plagued with cyber attacks each day
• Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said the FBI and Secret Service have been called in to investigate

Cyber attacks continued to plague Miami-Dade County Public Schools Wednesday, the third day in a row the district has faced interruptions to virtual learning.

“M-DCPS continues to be targeted by cyber attacks. Multiple attempts have been made this morning. The District’s security and safeguard measures have been successful thus far,” the school district said in a statement Wednesday morning.

The disruption of online learning in Miami-Dade County is more than a headache — it could be a crime. And NBC 6’s Tony Pipitone found, catching the culprits could involve a worldwide dragnet of computer connections.

Officials said the 200,000 students who were already logged on Wednesday should stay logged on, while students and teachers who are having issues logging on should use the district’s alternative log in method.

MDCPS Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said during a news conference Tuesday that the district suffered a distributed denial of service attack Monday morning as a software glitch blocked access to the district’s servers. The glitch and DDoS attack rendered multiple online school district features useless and teaching nearly impossible.

The FBI and Secret Service have been called in and subpoenaed the school district’s internet provider, Carvalho said. He added that the glitch has been completely resolved and optimized.

Whoever conducted the cyber attack did not hack in or penetrate district servers, officials said. It wasn’t known who initiated the attack, but Carvalho said he wants them prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

NBC 6 and AP