Security News > 2020 > November > Baltimore students told to ditch Windows PCs after ransomware attack
Baltimore County Public Schools urged students and staff to stop using their school-issued Windows computers and only use Chromebooks and Google accounts following a ransomware attack that hit the district's network last Wednesday.
The Baltimore County school district is in charge of all public schools in Baltimore County, Maryland, and it is the 25th largest U.S. school system.
"Due to the recent ransomware attack, Baltimore County Public Schools will be closed for students on Monday, November 30, and Tuesday, December 1," the district said.
The Baltimore County school district disclosed the ransomware attack on November 25th, with the district's Chief of Staff, Mychael Dickerson, confirming that the public school district's offices, website, email system, and grading system were all impacted.
This is the third ransomware attack in the last three years affecting a Baltimore organization after Baltimore City Hall had its servers encrypted in a RobbinHood ransomware attack in May 2019 and Baltimore city's emergency call system was taken down in March 2018.
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