Fall River Schools Investigating Cybersecurity Breach

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — Fall River Public Schools are investigating after someone apparently hacked into the department’s internal computer network.

In a release, Superintendent Dr. Tracy Curley called it “a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to parts of the district’s internal network.”

Dr. Curley did not give any details as to what might have been accessed, but did say that “at this time, there is no evidence that any student or staff personal information was accessed or misused.”

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Curley said that the incident was discovered on April 7 when FRPS Chief Information Officer Scott Cabral “identified suspicious activity indicating that an unauthorized party had accessed sections of the district’s internal systems.”

IT staff, third-party cybersecurity experts and law enforcement all began to investigate and respond to the intrusion. A thorough forensic investigation into the incident is underway, Curley said, and IT staff are strengthening systems to prevent future intrusions.

"While it appears no personal data was accessed during this incident, I want to assure everyone in the Fall River Public Schools community that we take cybersecurity and the protection of students' and staff members' personal data extremely seriously," Curley said. "Our investigation into this incident remains ongoing, and we will provide additional updates as appropriate."