APS to operate on 2-hour delayed start amid district-wide internet, telephone outage

AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Public Schools will operate on a 2-hour delayed start for the rest of the week amid a district-wide Internet and phone outage.

According to Corey Christiansen, public information officer for the district, APS noticed “potentially suspicious activity in our network” early Monday morning. Christiansen did not provide details about the activity.

Christiansen said APS shut down its network “to protect our technology infrastructure.” The District is working with third-party experts to investigate the cause of the suspicious activity and restore services.

Due to the disruption, schools will operate with a 2-hour delayed start on Thursday, January 16 and Friday, January 17.

Due to the delayed start, AM kindergarten is canceled until Thursday, but PM kindergarten continues as planned, Christiansen informs. There are no pre-school classes on Fridays.

Schools will be closed on Monday 20 January for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

It is unclear when services will be restored. The Christiansen district is “making progress in resolving the issue,” but “additional time is needed to fully restore our Internet and phone service.” APS hopes to restore services when school returns on Tuesday, January 21.

At present, measures are in place to ensure “effective communication and maintain security” across the district. APS security dispatchers and officers continue to monitor the schools, according to Christiansen.

Despite the outage, the district’s public address system (Intercom) is fully operational. Christiansen said school staff are still able to receive and respond to family calls and emails.

In addition, Christiansen said school staff have printed family emergency contact information in the event of an incident.

• Hear from a cybersecurity expert below

APS to operate on 2-hour delayed start amid district-wide internet, telephone outage

Denver7 has received numerous emails from parents and staff claiming the district was hacked. Experts from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) told Denver7 that school districts are particularly vulnerable to suspicious activity and hacking.

“They’re target-rich and they’re resource-challenged, and what we mean by that is they have a huge amount of data that these cybercriminals, these data brokers want to get their hands on, and so a lot of Sometimes we just don’t have the cyber defenses on all the schools to be able to support it, says Joe O’Keefe, deputy regional director of CISA Region 8.

Just a few days prior, a nationwide data breach affected PowerSchool, compromising information at several school districts in Coloradoaccording to emails sent to parents from the districts.

CISA advisor using strong passwords, setting up two-factor authentication, and monitoring your and your children’s credit if you ever suspect your information has been leaked.