Coweta School System Experiences Cybersecurity Attack on System Network

The Coweta County School System experienced an apparent cyberattack on its computer network on Friday evening.  

The network intrusion is serious, and is being investigated by the school system and a number of security partners.  The intrusion has also been reported to the Georgia Emergency Management Authority and Homeland Security.  Some school system network processes will be hampered in the coming days, and school system employees have been advised not to access desktop devices while the matter is being investigated.

School operations, however, will continue as normal during the coming week.   This will include Advanced Placement testing, scheduled to begin Monday, May 5, and the continuation of state Milestones Testing, scheduled for Tuesday.  Many basic school operations – including student Chromebook access and use, wifi access and phones – have not been impeded by this situation.

It also does not appear, at this point, that personal information was compromised during the network breach – including student and employee information – although a thorough investigation is ongoing.

The school system was alerted to unauthorized network activity at approximately 7:00 p.m. on Friday.  Upon discovering the intrusion, the school system’s IT department and security partners immediately followed established protocols and took systems offline to stop the activity and identify the source.

The school system will continue to work with cybersecurity partners and federal, state, and local authorities to investigate. Access to the school system’s internal network will be restricted during this period to allow for ongoing investigation and monitoring.

The school system will update parents and employees on this matter as more information becomes available.