Cyber attack in Albuquerque latest to target public schools

Albuquerque Public Schools superintendent Scott Elder poses outside of Highland High School. Albuquerque Public Schools says classes will be canceled Friday for a second day after a cyber attack

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — When the superintendent of Albuquerque Public Schools announced earlier this week a cyber attack would lead to the cancellation of classes for around 75,000 students, he noted that the district’s technology department had been fending off attacks “for the last few weeks.”

Albuquerque is not alone, as five school districts in the state have suffered major cyber attacks in the past two years, including one district that’s still wrestling with a cyber attack that hit just after Christmas.

But it’s the first reporting a cyber attack that required cancellation of classes, all the more disruptive as schools try to keep in-person learning going during the pandemic.