Minneapolis Public Schools say encryption virus infected tech systems; data may be compromised

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis Public School officials say their network was infected with an encryption virus earlier this week in an incident that led the district to cancel all after school activities.

In a letter sent out to parents, officials say an "unauthorized threat actor" may have accessed data found in the MPS system. There is no evidence, they said, that the data has been used to commit fraud. However the district encouraged employees, parents, and staff to remain vigilant of suspicious emails or phishing attempts.

MPS says it is working with law enforcement, and if there is any indication that personal information has been impacted, they will be notified. They added that the network is now largely restored.

Officials also asked parents to change their passwords as a precaution. 

They added that the threat actors may contact staff in an attempt to coerce MPS to pay a ransom, but anyone should report suspicious messages to privacy@mpls.k12.mn.us.

The Minneapolis Federation of Teachers said called the situation "frustrating."

"Minneapolis schools should be safe places to learn and work and our students' families should feel comfortable sending their children off to class every morning," said Greta Callahan, president of the teacher chapter of MFT. "But now educators are managing another distraction because we need to worry about the security of our personal data and guard against more attacks on the technology we depend on to do our jobs. The situation is frustrating. The lack of transparency about the attack on our systems is disturbing. However, I trust MFT educators will overcome this challenge of working for MPS just like we've overcome so many others in the past. In the meantime, we're asking for the families of our students to be patient with their educators and direct their questions and concerns to district headquarters. MFT educators don't know any more about the situation than parents do right now."