Southern Hancock schools under cyber attack

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NEW PALESTINE — Southern Hancock’s computer system has come under attack, knocking the school district’s network offline and leaving schools without internet access, the district said Wednesday evening, Aug. 5.

The attack, which shut down the district’s online learning program, is under investigation by the Indiana State Police, Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and the New Palestine Police Department.

Officials suspect the issue, which has been going on for two days, could be coming from inside the school corporation, possibly a student, district officials said. No one’s personal or academic information has been compromised, and officials have worked with NineStar Connect, the district’s technological services provider, to put safety measures in place that will hopefully allow internet access by Thursday, Aug. 6.

“The district intends to pursue all available legal avenues related to this attack,” community relations director Wes Anderson said Wednesday evening.

The district has experienced what is called a”distributive denial of service” attack, or DDoS, Anderson said.

The attack has compromised internet connectivity for teachers, students in classrooms, and students attending virtually. The attack also has impacted the functionality of some other programs, including PowerSchool and Canvas.

The district is particularly frustrated for the families who have signed up for the virtual learning program. A total of about 11%, or 400 or so students, haven’t been able to attend virtual classes.

This story will be updated.