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Swedesboro-Woolwich school district's entire computer system network was hacked over the weekend preventing its four elementary schools from administering the PARCC exams.

The school district's technical services operators noticed the problem Saturday morning and have been working throughout the weekend and into Monday to correct it, according to Superintendent Terry Van Zoeren.

"There's basically no tech service happening in Swedesboro-Woolwich right now," he said. "Essentially our network has been taken over and has been made nonoperational."

The hackers have asked the school district to send bitcoins in order to free up their system.

This has affected the district's entire operations from internal and external communications to its point-of-sale for school lunches.

It also has prevented any students from taking the scheduled PARCC exams, which are entirely computerized.

"We are operating as if it's about 1981 again," Van Zoeren said. The network administrator received a message with complex directions to forward $500 in bitcoins -- a digital currency popular on underground online markets.

Hackers take over a system with "ransomware," a type of malware that restricts access to the computer system until a ransom is paid.

Technicians are working to rebuild Swedesboro-Woolwich's system without paying the ransom, and the district is hoping it will be fixed by Tuesday morning.

While it can often be very difficult to find out who is responsible for hacking into the system, the district will pursue the culprits "to the greatest extent possible," Van Zoeren said.

The four schools in the Swedesboro-Woolwich's district are home to nearly 2,000 students.

Rebecca Forand may be reached at rforand@southjerseymedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @RebeccaForand. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.