UPDATE: Newton Public Schools announced on March 30, school will be in session on Friday, March 31.
"Thank you for your patience as we continue to work through our network-security incident," Newton Public Schools said. "Please keep in mind that the investigation is still in its early stages. As of today, we have no evidence that student personal information was accessed or obtained."
Newton Public Schools advised parents to keep in mind that the investigation is ongoing. The school district said they will update the community as they learn more.
School will resume in full tomorrow, Friday, March 31.
"We appreciate your understanding as we work through this issue," Newton Public Schools. "We will keep you updated on any relevant developments as the investigation continues."
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UPDATE: Newton Public Schools announced school is canceled for Thursday, March 30.
Newton Public Schools are expecting school to resume in full on Friday, March 31.
All scheduled extracurricular athletic games and activities will continue as planned. NRC Clubhouse is providing Latchkey all day - please contact them for information.
Lunch will be provided tomorrow to students who want it via sack lunch pickup from 11:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. at Newton High School. Students' accounts will be charged as normal.
"We appreciate your understanding as we work through this issue," Newton Public Schools said. "We will keep you updated on relevant developments as the investigation continues."
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NEWTON, Kan. — Newton USD 373 issued a release Tuesday night saying that schools in that district will be closed Wednesday. "We have learned that it is a network security incident," the release said. "We have been working with external information technology experts to conduct a detailed technical investigation into the incident. We have also notified law enforcement. Please remember that our investigation is in its earliest stages and is still ongoing."
The school system continues to work around the clock to resolve any disruption of certain systems and operations, which, out of an abundance of caution, have remained offline until staff is confident that we can safely bring them back into service. So, there will be NO SCHOOL TOMORROW, Wednesday, March 29, 2023. The district will update the community tomorrow regarding whether the school will be opened on Thursday, March 30, 2023.
If you have questions, please call Superintendent Fred Van Ranken at 316-284-6206. Below are questions and answers provided by the district.
What happened?
On March 28, 2023, we detected a network security incident affecting certain systems within our network environment. We immediately shut down affected systems, and have engaged third party forensic specialists to investigate the extent of the activity. We have also notified law enforcement. The investigation is in the earliest stages and is currently ongoing.
Why was this called an internet outage at first?
That was our initial understanding of the incident. Upon further investigation we discovered it was actually a network security incident.
How did this happen?
We are currently working with third party forensic specialists to investigate the extent of the unauthorized activity, which includes the root cause. The investigation is in the earliest stages, and is currently ongoing.
Is my personal / business data involved?
We are thoroughly investigating the incident now with third-party forensic specialists. The investigation is in the earliest stages, and we have not yet determined the extent of the unauthorized activity, including whether any personal or confidential information was involved. If individual personal information is involved, we will notify affected individuals in accordance with relevant state and federal laws.
Was this ransomware?
To protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation, we are unable to share additional information about the nature of the incident.
Will this affect student class schedules or assignments?
We have cancelled school for Wednesday, March 29, 2023. We are still determining whether school will open Thursday, March 30, 2023.
Further, during this time there may be a disruption to certain resources, and we are working to mitigate any delays or interruptions. We thank you for your patience during this time.
When will the investigation be complete?
We cannot offer a definitive timeline at this point as this is a time intensive process. That said, we hope to conclude the investigation in the coming weeks.
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