Hillsborough High School

Two Somerset County school districts were the targets of suspected cyber attacks on April 2021.

Schools in both Hillsborough and Bernards were closed for a day after cyber attacks were suspected.

A school board meeting scheduled in Hillsborough also was canceled.

The Associated Press claimed that a criminal organisation encrypted district data and demanded $40 million in ransom before erasing files and disclosing students' and staff' private information online.

The district offered to pay $500,000 after two weeks of negotiations, at which point the hackers allegedly halted negotiations, according to screenshots taken by the hackers.

Early in March, the district's computer system was briefly knocked down by ransomware, but classes were not affected.

Source: https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/education/2021/04/14/hillsborough-bernards-nj-school-districts-report-cyber-attacks/7204033002/

TPRM report: https://scoringcyber.rankiteo.com/company/hillsborough-high-school-41

"id": "hil04718923",
"linkid": "hillsborough-high-school-41",
"type": "Ransomware",
"date": "04/2021",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization’s existence"

{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Somerset County',
                        'name': 'Hillsborough School District',
                        'type': 'Educational Institution'},
                       {'industry': 'Education',
                        'location': 'Somerset County',
                        'name': 'Bernards School District',
                        'type': 'Educational Institution'}],
 'data_breach': {'type_of_data_compromised': ["Students' private information",
                                              "Staff's private information"]},
 'date_detected': '2021-04-01',
 'description': 'Two Somerset County school districts, Hillsborough and '
                'Bernards, were targeted by suspected cyber attacks in April '
                '2021. The attacks resulted in school closures and the '
                'cancellation of a school board meeting. A criminal '
                'organization encrypted district data and demanded $40 million '
                "in ransom, later disclosing students' and staff' private "
                'information online.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ["Students' private information",
                                 "Staff's private information"],
            'downtime': ['One day of school closure in Hillsborough and '
                         'Bernards'],
            'operational_impact': ['School board meeting cancellation'],
            'systems_affected': ['School computer systems']},
 'motivation': 'Financial',
 'ransomware': {'data_encryption': True,
                'data_exfiltration': True,
                'ransom_demanded': '$40 million',
                'ransom_paid': '$500,000'},
 'references': [{'source': 'The Associated Press'}],
 'threat_actor': 'Criminal organization',
 'title': 'Cyber Attacks on Somerset County School Districts',
 'type': 'Ransomware'}