The summer school holiday has not ended for students in Flagstaff, Arizona, as a ransomware attack hitting the School District computers forces the decision to cancel classes for today. The schedule for tomorrow is uncertain.

All schools are impacted by the incident and there are no after-school activities. The district learned of a "cybersecurity issue" on Wednesday morning.

Malware unknown

By 3 PM, the district made the decision to cut internet connectivity from all its facilities so the infection wouldn't spread. With the district's systems no longer being able to communicate, normal operations were no longer a reality.

Zachery Fountain, director of communications for the district, told ABC15 that it was a ransomware attack. He gave no details about the type of malware used, how it compromised the network, or the number of computers affected.

The district made a public announcement on its Facebook and Twitter channels that the cybersecurity incident prevented normal operations and, as a result, there would be no school on Thursday.

"FACTS [Family and Community Teaming for Students], childcare centers, and FUSD preschools have also been canceled," the announcement read.

Due to a cyber security issue that has impacted the ability of FUSD schools to operate normally, there will be no school on Thursday, September 5th. FACTS, childcare centers, and FUSD preschools have also been canceled. — Flagstaff Unified School District (@FlagstaffUSD1) September 5, 2019

At the time of publishing, no updates had been posted about tomorrow's activity. A ransomware attack is serious business, though, and solving the issue may require more than just a couple of days.

Ransomware does not take a summer break

Ransomware incidents have ramped up as the new school year inched up. A similar incident caused the same effect at a school in Orange County, New York.

On Tuesday, the Monroe-Woodbury Central School District informed parents that a cyber-attack disrupted the district's operations and classes had to be delayed.

Superintendent Elsie Rodriguez said that the first day of school would be pushed to today. An announcement on Wednesday welcomed "everyone to the start of a great new year," implying that the issue was solved.

Ransomware attacks impacted several school districts over the summer. Incidents have been reported in Camp Verde, New Kent County, and possibly Houston County.