Akron schools say cyber incident caused outage, canceled programs

Update: This story has been updated since its original June 24 publication to reflect later reporting and district confirmation that the network outage was caused by a cyber incident. The original story reported that Akron Public Schools had closed all buildings because of a districtwide network outage and had not publicly confirmed whether the disruption was cyber-related. Subsequent updates added that most programs resumed June 25, Signal Akron reported the outage was caused by a cybersecurity breach, and Akron Public Schools later said its IT security team detected and contained a June 23 cyber incident.

Akron Public Schools now says a cyber incident caused the districtwide network outage that closed all buildings June 24 and canceled summer programs, athletic events and city activities held in schools.

The disruption affected students, families, staff and community users of school buildings across one of Ohio’s largest urban school districts. Akron Public Schools serves about 20,000 students in 45 schools in Summit County, according to federal data.

Akron Public Schools first posted a closure notice June 23 on Facebook, in a website popup reviewed by DysruptionHub and in an official district news post. The district said all APS buildings would be closed June 24 because of a “district-wide unanticipated network outage.”

Akron Public Schools announced on Facebook that all buildings would close June 24 because of a districtwide network outage, canceling summer programs and athletic activities. (Screenshot by DysruptionHub)

The notice said the closure included summer schools, summer camps for elementary, middle and high school students, extended school year, secondary credit recovery and city programs held in school buildings. All athletic activities and events also were canceled.

DysruptionHub repeatedly sought comment from Akron Public Schools between June 23 and July 2 on the outage’s cause, affected systems, data exposure, law enforcement involvement and whether a ransom demand was made. The district did not respond before publication.

Signal Akron reported June 25 that the outage was caused by a cybersecurity breach, citing district officials. The outlet also reported that Superintendent Mary Outley said the district remained offline June 24 but planned to reopen most programs, athletic activities and offices June 25.

Akron Public Schools later said in a July 2 news release that its information technology security team detected and contained the June 23 cyber incident and that external cybersecurity experts were investigating its nature and scope, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. The newspaper said a district spokesperson had not returned repeated messages seeking additional information.

The district has not said what systems were affected, whether phones, email, student information systems, building access, payment systems or online learning platforms were disrupted, whether student, staff or district data was accessed, whether law enforcement was notified or whether a ransom demand was made.

Chip in once If this reporting helped you, a one-time tip helps cover hosting, tools and future investigations.

Tip us

Support us monthly A small monthly pledge keeps independent coverage and our reader tools online for everyone.

Become a Supporter

Recent school cyber incidents show how network disruptions can affect in-person operations. Evanston Township High School District 202 in Illinois said a June 7 ransomware attack disrupted district systems, internet services and computer infrastructure, closing the high school for two days and canceling summer school, sports camps and on-campus activities. In North Carolina, Onslow County Schools first reported a districtwide phone and internet outage June 9 before later saying it detected unauthorized criminal activity in its technology infrastructure.

The Akron school board scheduled a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. July 6 to discuss security arrangements and emergency response protocols in a closed-door executive session.

As of July 2, Akron Public Schools had confirmed that a cyber incident caused the outage and said external cybersecurity experts were investigating. The district had not publicly disclosed the affected systems, data exposure status, restoration posture, law enforcement involvement or whether the incident involved ransomware.

Attribution note: DysruptionHub credits upstream reporting and primary sources—see citations above. If this report informed your coverage, please cite DysruptionHub with a link.