[BreachExchange] School system needs $160, 000 for cybersecurity after hacking

[Destry Winant]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/school-system-needs-24160000-for-cybersecurity-after-hacking/ar-BBZrlno

St. Landry Parish School Board members were told Monday night there
will be additional long-term costs for rebuilding after a hacking
incident shut down the district's computer system.

© Bobby Ardoin/Special to the Daily World St. Landry Parish School
System computer supervisor Byron Wimberly, left, provides an analysis
of costs and upgrades needed to repair damage from a computer virus
implanted in the district’s computer system last week.

Computer center supervisor Byron Wimberly told board members during a
series of committee meetings that the district’s staff is currently
too small to handle the increased number of cyber system duties.

Wimberly added that it will also be expensive to fund the the work
done by the staff and statewide sources to restore internet access to
the district's 48 sites and 17,000 users.  Cybersecurity experts from
the State Department of Education and the Louisiana National Guard
assisted the five-person staff at no cost to the district.

More: State steps in to help St. Landry Parish schools after cyber
attack shut down computers

“The cost is going to be very expensive," Wimberly said. "You can
start looking at security expenses of not less than $160,000. We are
going to be looking at more training and along with that, we have a
staff that is so small for a job that is very large. We need to get
into the best posture to ensure that we do not get into this position
again."

Thanks to a sufficient information backup system, none of the
information already stored in the district’s backup servers was
compromised. District-wide payroll was unaffected, and employees will
be paid on time this week. Access is being restored in phases, and
should be complete by the end of the week.

Wimberly recommended hiring more personnel for the IT department. He
also said the district has struggled with turnover as staff leave for
higher-paying positions.

Maintenance Director Claudia Blanchard said increasing the size of the
school system’s IT staff has been part of a district strategic plan
for the past several years.

Superintendent Patrick Jenkins said the additional costs of restoring
the computer system and providing more cyber security will be paid
from the annual operating budget.

“At this time, the general fund will absorb it. As time goes along, we
will have to look at (the costs),” said Jenkins.

More: Expected jail expenses threaten St. Landry Parish budget this year

Finance Director Tressa Miller said the district’s liability insurance
should be able to handle some of the unspecified expenses.

In order to fix the system, which is being restored in several phases,
Wimberly said staff have worked 15 hours or more a day.

The extra hours of work will cost the system more in overtime pay,
Wimberly said.

Wimberly said assistance from the state and National Guard helped
provided additional help in checking each computer at every school
site in order to determine the extent of the virus attack.

Much of that work at the school sites was completed over the weekend,
Wimberly said.

Carol Mosley, IT Program Leader from the State Department of
Education, told the board that the incident is not a unique situation.

“Some of the other school systems are still recovering," Mosley said.
"One school system started this year with limited knowledge of the
students they had as well as the teacher base. Three of the school
systems had no backup and those systems had to rebuild everything."

Blanchard complimented Wimberly and the computer staff for the effort
in restoring the system in such a short amount of time.

“We received help from neighboring districts who paid for the help we
received from them and businesses came in and made some donations. Now
we have to build up our system in order to minimize the problem.

“I don’t know one person that stepped back from this. It seems like a
setback for us, but I think it’s also going to make us much better,”
Blanchard said.