Baltimore County School Board to Address Ransomware Attack

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The Baltimore County Board of Education has approved more than $1.7 million in contracts for services that were necessary after a ransomware attack on school systems in November.

Administrators told board members that they expect the school system’s cyber insurance to reimburse up to $2 million for direct costs caused by the ransomware attack and up to $3 million in cyber liability coverage, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Four of the contracts totaling about $1.2 million were approved with vendors recommended by the insurer as part of a single claim, for which Baltimore County Public Schools will pay a $5,000 deductible. The vendors provided schools with services related to ransomware negotiations, forensic investigation and triage, data recovery and public relations consulting services.

The county school system may still be on the hook for a fifth contract with Virginia-based CGI Technologies, costing nearly $2,030,000 for services related to moving financial and human resources information to a cloud-based system.

One board member voted against approving the contracts and two board members abstained.

Hackers seized control of county school district systems the day before Thanksgiving, forcing the district to cancel online classes for two days.