Ransomware group Fog yesterday claimed responsibility for a cyber attack that crippled the Waupaca County, Wisconsin School District in May 2024.
The school district has not verified Fog’s claim as of time of writing. On May 13, the district’s wi-fi, printers, phones, student portal, and bell system all went down as the result of an “internet disruption.” The school board convened a special meeting to address the incident on May 30, and notified parents a day later.
The school says no student or parent information was impacted. However, Fog claims to have stolen 18 GB of data from Waupaca Middle School.
We don’t yet know how attackers breached the district’s network, whether the district paid a ransom, or how much ransom was demanded. Comparitech contacted the school board for comment and will update this article if it responds.
If confirmed, this would be the second major ransomware attack on Waupaca County in July 2024. Earlier this month, ransomware group Inc claimed responsibility for an attack on the county government’s computer system, which impacted critical systems.
Who is Fog?
Fog is a new ransomware variant that first emerged in May of this year. It employs traditional ransomware attacks in which it encrypts targeted systems and leaves a ransom note, but doesn’t necessarily steal data. Thus far, it’s only targeted US organizations, most of which are in education. Fog tends to target virtual machines (VMs) and virtual private networks (VPNs).
Fog has claimed attacks on Asbury Theological Seminary, Wichita State University, West Milwaukee School District, and Alvin Independent School District. Aside from the Seminary, the others have not acknowledged cyber attacks.
Ransomware attacks on US education
Ransomware attacks encrypt data on target computer systems. Those systems become unusable until a ransom is paid to decrypt them. Ransomware attacks on schools can disrupt operations in and out of the classroom, from grades and assignments to payroll and administration. Schools might be forced to cancel classes or revert to pen and paper until systems are restored.
In 2024, Comparitech researchers logged 26 ransomware attacks on US education institutions, affecting 24,054 records.
In 2023, we recorded 113 such attacks on US schools and colleges. These attacks affected nearly 2.5 million records.
As well as the aforementioned attacks, other recent incidents include attacks on the Pratt Institute, the Alabama Department of Education, the New York School of Interior Design, Concord Public School District, Asbury Theological Seminary, and Newberg-Dundee School District.
We also tracked 43 unconfirmed ransomware attacks on US education institutions this year so far.
About Waupaca County School District
The Waupaca County, Wisconsin school district consists of two elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, one pre-K school, and one charter school. In all, the schools serve about 2,000 students.
Waupaca County is home to more than 50,000 people and covers about 765 square miles