The Ohio School Boards Association is struggling with a cyberattack.
Members of the group noticed the hack on Thursday afternoon when they found they could not send or receive emails or access the association’s website.
The association’s executive director, Kathy McFarland, told WOSU on Friday that she did not know who the hackers were. She said there was no indication that the hackers had obtained any information.
McFarland said the attack disrupted operations of the organization, which serves more than 700 school boards and 3,500 board members across Ohio.
She also said that the association immediately cut off Internet connections when the attack was discovered. The group hired outside IT experts to investigate.
In a letter to members, McFarland wrote that the association is trying to resume operations as quickly as possible.
“OSBA does not typically store sensitive personal information of its members, such as social security numbers or financial information, and we currently have no reason to believe that sensitive member data has been compromised,” she wrote. “However, it is always a good idea to remain vigilant by monitoring your accounts and watching for unusual activity.”
The association employs around 50 people.
The hack came three weeks after hackers targeted the city of Columbus.
The international group Rhysida has claimed responsibility for this attack.
