Baltimore County Public Schools Ransomware Attack—The Aftermath

Ransomware cyberattacks have aftereffects that can linger for years. 

Baltimore County Public Schools, aka BCPS, was hit with a devastating ransomware attack during the Thanksgiving Holiday in November 2020. The district and its students, teachers, employees, and retirees are still feeling the effects.

Cyber attacks like Ransomware are more frequent than most people think.

Most businesses and individuals do not report the attacks, and many simply pay the ransom demands and move on. The good news, though, is that solutions are available for companies of all sizes and scopes to protect themselves. And with cybersecurity, forewarned is forearmed.

At Sentinel Forge Technologies, we are arming Marylanders with robust cybersecurity solutions. Our goal is to bring advanced cybersecurity solutions to small businesses, consumers, and Maryland’s agricultural supply chain. Together we can keep our state and our nation’s businesses, families, farmers, and food supply safe from cybercriminals. 

This post will discuss the aftereffects of the BCPS ransomware attack and provide you with go-to resources to protect yourself from future cyberattacks.

So let’s get started with the basics of the extortion attempt. What exactly is BCPS?

Baltimore County Public Schools is the school district in charge of all public schools in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States.[2] It is the 25th largest school system in the US as of 2013.[3] The school system is managed by the Board of Education, headquartered in Towson. The superintendent is Darryl L. Williams, appointed by the School Board on June 11, 2019.[4][5]

The devastating ransomware attack directly impacted over 111,000 students, 15,000+ faculty and staff, and a large portion of the retirees still receiving benefits from the system. More than 9,000 staff laptops and thousands of student devices were re-imaged in the wake of the incident.  

There have been no public disclosures concerning possible theft of personal information from the computers and systems involved in the attack, but some of those affected have doubts.

It’s always difficult to determine if subsequent identity theft incidents are related to the initial cyber attack, or are merely coincidental.

BCPS IT personnel did confirm that it was a typical Ransomware attack in that electronic information was encrypted on computer and storage systems. 

This is a typical MO of cyber attackers who encrypt the victim’s data and then demand a ransom with a promise to provide decryption keys to restore to information. BPCS never confirmed or denied paying a ransom. According to the Washington Post, BCPS officials have confirmed that the ransomware recovery has cost almost $10 million so far, with retirees still struggling from the effects of corrupted files that contained information related to their benefits. 

The aftereffects will linger for years to come.

So what’s the bottom line? At Sentinel Forge Technologies, we don’t want any small business or individual to be exposed to these sleazy cybercriminals dealing in ransomware extortion tactics.

We have solutions that can help you protect your loved ones, your business, and the Maryland farm-to-market food supply chain.

At Sentinel Forge Technologies, we focus on providing proactive security monitoring and threat detection services for individuals and small businesses with our patent-pending Secure Sentinel Network, or SSN. 

At the core of our SSN, the Sentinel Box is a no-touch early warning system for detecting bad cyber actors trespassing on your private digital property. 

Our goal is to offer advanced, affordable cybersecurity solutions to every person and business in Maryland. Together we can keep our state and our state’s businesses, families, farmers, and food supply safe from cybercriminals.

But what exactly can you do to protect yourself?

We’re offering incentives for individuals, businesses, and farmers to join the SSN today. Sentinel Forge Technologies is here to earn your business the old-fashioned way—by earning your trust and confidence.

Call us at (443) 991-8280 or get in touch Online Today.

Remember, with cybersecurity, forewarned is forearmed!