The Oneonta City School District cancelled classes Friday, Oct. 23 and Monday, Oct. 26 in response to a ransomware cyberattack.
Superintendent Thomas Brindley announced the attack and district decision Thursday, Oct. 22 in an email to families and staff.
Monday will be a staff-only conference day and students will return Tuesday, he said. BOCES students will attend as regularly scheduled Monday, but will not attend morning or afternoon classes.
Athletic events and practices took place Friday and will continue Monday.
Brindley declined to comment on what data was affected Thursday; the full extent of the incident and its impact is not known. He did say local, state and federal authorities are investigating the incident.
When emailed for comment on the cyberattack Friday, State Police Troop C spokesperson Aga Tinker said the Oneonta Police Department was the lead agency in the jurisdiction of the city and that state police were not assisting in the investigation.
Oneonta Police Chief Christopher Witzenburg referred questions to Brindley.
Brindley said Friday the district has “contracted a cybersecurity firm who is conducting the investigation.” He said he was not able to name the firm or investigating law enforcement agencies.
“My hope is to have a quick resolution to this crime,” Brindley said. Because the situation is new, “fluid and ongoing, unfortunately I don’t have anything more to add at this point.”
District staff have received training for such incidents and are following a checklist of protocols, he said Thursday.
“We’ll get through it,” he said. “We just need time to sort this out, and we’ll be ready to greet our kids back to school on Tuesday.”
Assistant Editor Lauren Takores contributed to this story.