Haywood County Schools is closed on Monday, August 24, 2020, after to a Ransomware attack.
In a statement released by the school, Superintendent Dr. Bill Nolte said early Monday morning, school staff discovered the Ransomware attack. The third-party attacker has requested ransom to stop the attack. Similar attacks have occurred in other school systems. Law enforcement will be involved in the investigation and resolution of this attack.
Monday will now be an Optional Teacher workday.
Food distribution will still occur between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. at all schools except Haywood Early College and Central Haywood High School.
Previously scheduled athletic practices and other previously scheduled extra-curricular activities may take place after 3:00 p.m.
After discovering the attack, officials say they took services offline to contain the attack, activated key partners to investigate and respond, contacted North Carolina Department of Public Safety. A call with the Division of Emergency Management, FBI, SBI, Microelectronic Center of North Carolina (MCNC), North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT), National Guard, and others is scheduled for 11 a.m. MCNC has deployed someone to assist.