Las Cruces Public Schools computers still offline over a week after hacking attack

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — The computer network for the Las Cruces Public Schools remained offline more than a week after a ransomware attack by hackers forced the shutdown of the entire system.

After originally trying to get existing servers for dozens of schools back online late last week, computer technicians for the district said they were now working to "restore critical computers and put them on a new network so schools can access student information."

Officials said it was "still unclear how long the technology will be down," noting that each and every computer in the district had to be cleaned in "an effort to avoid another ransomware attack."

While originally saying it didn't think any staff or student data breaches had occurred, the school district said it has now hired outside computer forensic experts to ensure that no information was compromised. Police also continued to investigate the hacking attack.