Cyberattack impacts paychecks for some Pinal County school districts

Sasha Hupka, Arizona Republic
·2 min read
Combs High School pictured on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020.
Combs High School pictured on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020.

A Sunday ransomware attack on the data processing service used by Pinal County schools means that more than 4,500 employees across 14 school districts may not get their paychecks on time.

The data processing system is overseen by the Pinal County School Superintendent's Office, officials said, and is isolated from other Pinal County information technology systems. Officials said in a statement Thursday evening that they do not believe employee data was compromised and that some districts have seen their access to the system restored.

"Pinal County School Superintendent's Office staff have been working around the clock to restore access for school districts," officials said.

But districts that did not complete payroll processing before the attack will need to cut paper checks to all employees as a result of the breach, officials said Friday morning. The School Superintendent's Office will print checks for impacted employees on Friday and get them to school districts for disbursement.

Employees should await instructions from their district on when the checks are available for collection, officials said.

"The School Superintendent's Office recognizes the difficulty this will cause employees of our school districts, and wholeheartedly apologizes for the inconvenience resulting from this unfortunate situation," officials said Friday.

The impacted districts include:

  • Apache Junction Unified School District

  • Casa Grande Union High School District

  • J. O. Combs Unified School District

  • Coolidge Unified School District

  • Florence Unified School District

  • Maricopa Unified School District

  • Mary C. O'Brien Accommodation District

  • Oracle School District

  • Picacho Elementary School District

  • Sacaton Elementary School District

  • Santa Cruz Valley Union High School District

  • Stanfield Elementary School District

  • Superior Unified School District

  • Toltec School District

The School Superintendent's Office is working with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to investigate the incident and put additional safeguards in place, officials said.

Schools and government agencies have increasingly become targets for cybercriminals, information security experts say. Rural counties and municipalities are especially hard hit because they often lack the funding and staff for information security measures.

In January, a ransomware attack impaired computer systems within Tucson Unified School District, the largest district in southern Arizona. As a result, administrative employees temporarily worked from home and classrooms for a short time relied on mobile hotspots and alternate lesson plans.

Sasha Hupka covers county government and regional issues for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip? Reach her at sasha.hupka@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Ransomware attack impacts some Pinal County school districts