DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) \u2014 An apparent\u00a0cyberattack on Iowa\u2019s largest school district\u00a0has led officials to cancel classes for 30,000 students for a second day as technicians scramble to protect data and restore the computer system, the district\u2019s leader said Tuesday afternoon.
\nThe Des Moines school district\u2019s interim superintendent, Matt Smith, said officials received an alert Monday about a possible \u201ccybersecurity event\u201d that led them to cancel classes Tuesday and then to keep schools closed Wednesday. On Tuesday night, the district announced that school would reopen Thursday.
\n\u201cWhen our system is down, it impacts every aspect of our organization,\u201d Smith said, noting everything from school bus routes to lunch menus are controlled through the computer system.
\nSmith said it wasn\u2019t clear what had happened to the computer system.
\n\u201cIt was a cybersecurity event that we can\u2019t confirm yet until we run through all of our diagnostics and all of our protocols to get the forensics back to understand that specifically,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWhat I can tell you is we are operating as if it is a ransomware attack just to be sure.\u201d
\nSmith said federal and state authorities were helping the district respond to the problem.<\/p>\n