SISD’s internal computer network taken down due to virus
EL PASO, Texas -- The Socorro Independent School District has been hit by a computer virus that a spokesman said Friday had prompted their Internet Technology Department to take down the district's internal network as a precaution until the issue is resolved.
No timeline was given as to when the network would be back up and running.
Student instruction, however, continued through the Microsoft teams platform because it operates outside of the SISD network and officials were confident that the issue would be resolved by the time report cards are distributed.
"As of right now, there's no sign that any data has been compromised," SISD spokesman Daniel Escobar said. "We will let the community know if there's any proof of a data breach."
The data he is referring to includes personal information like social security numbers and dates of birth for the thousands of students and staff who have been a part of the district's (cyber) history.
Although a data breach is a concern, other parts of the network also handles portions of the finance department like payroll and accounts payable. The spokesman acknowledged to ABC-7 that payroll timing was especially bad because of the economic difficulties during the pandemic and the holidays being right around the corner. He did, however, assure ABC-7 that employees would be paid on time using "historical" data and that they would be relying on paper in the meantime.
The computer virus, which officials declined to call a ransomware attack, is currently being investigated by the school district and a cyber-security team it has hired to assist.
