POUGHKEEPSIE – It was back in February of last year that the Poughkeepsie City School District was hit with a ransomware attack that resulted in the loss of access to documents teachers and staff used. No personal data or student data was compromised when one particular server was hit by the attack. Steps were then taken to secure the system and the server was replaced.
In an effort to prevent that from happening again, IBM has granted the district a $500,000 in-kind grant to shore up its computer systems against future attacks, said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Eric Rosser.
“This grant is going to be looking at technology and the use of data and the storage of data and how we as a school district will be able to better prepare for any type of future cyberattack,” he said.
The $500,000 grant will be in the form of an IBM Service Corps team of volunteers that will provide the district with a range of security services.
