UPDATES: DMPS Network Outages and Interruptions

This page contains, in chronological order, announcements and notices made since a cyber security attack against Des Moines Public Schools.

10:00 a.m. – June 19, 2023

Des Moines Public Schools is reaching out to nearly 6,700 individuals this week to notify them of a data security incident that occurred earlier this year. The incident, which involved a cyberattack against the school district in January, may have resulted in the exposure of personal information belonging to those individuals.

As previously disclosed, the district’s technology team detected an incident on January 9, 2023, and swiftly responded, halting the unauthorized activity, and launching an investigation with the assistance of third-party forensic specialists. While the investigation is ongoing, it has now been determined that some data was exposed during the attack. However, there is currently no evidence of financial fraud or identity theft associated with the data breach.

Those individuals who were potentially impacted will receive a letter this week noting the type of data that may have been exposed. As a precautionary measure, potentially impacted individuals are being offered complimentary credit monitoring services. The letter also includes information for recipients on how they can place a fraud alert on their credit file, place a security freeze on their credit file, and obtain a free credit report.

The cyberattack against DMPS included a ransom demand. No ransom has been or will be paid in response to this attack based on the advice of our cybersecurity experts and what is in the best interest of the school district and community.

“We want to express our deepest gratitude to everyone for their patience and understanding as we address this unfortunate incident,” said Matt Smith, Interim Superintendent of DMPS. “Data breaches have become all too common for public agencies and private businesses alike, and we recognize the impact they can have on individuals.”

Following the incident, DMPS took immediate steps to bolster the security of its data systems. In addition to the existing security measures, further technical safeguards are being implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future.

The district remains fully committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information and continuously evaluates and modifies practices to enhance data protection.

2:00 PM – Friday, February 17, 2023

As you know, last month Des Moines Public Schools was the target of a cyber-attack. Back on January 9, we became aware of suspicious activity in some of our computer systems, and immediately took steps to stop that activity, including shutting down many parts of our networked systems. We engaged third-party cybersecurity experts to assist with investigating and restoring all systems as quickly and securely as possible. We also sought guidance from the FBI and are being advised by the threat intelligence community to ensure our investigation and restoration is conducted with integrity.

We take the importance of protecting the data we maintain very seriously, and we follow strict protocols to provide the highest levels of data security for our students, families and staff.

Since that time, we have been responding to the cyber incident on two fronts: Restoration and Investigation.

The first front has been our staff, along with a team of outside IT experts, working to restore those systems as quickly and securely as possible. On that front, much progress has been made to restore systems. Our student data management system has remained available to teachers and staff. Our staff and vendors are being paid. Our communications tools are functioning. Network connections at our buildings are reestablished.

While we are excited to share all that we are learning and the strategies to harden our network environment and strengthen our cyber security posture, we will not. Industry research and cyber intelligence tells us that any organization, including DMPS, which has experienced a ransomware attack is 80% more likely to be hit again within six months. We know threat actors are following us more closely through the remediation and recovery from this event and will look for opportunities to exploit any information shared on public platforms.

Please rest assured and know that we are leveraging every resource to ensure we are following industry standard and best practices. We take the responsibility of securing with the upmost seriousness.

The second front in responding to this cyber-attack has involved working with a team of third-party forensic specialists to investigate the nature and scope of the attack. I have two updates to share with you today about that on-going investigation.

First, while we assumed from the beginning that this was a ransomware attack, I can confirm that this was, indeed, a ransomware attack. However, as stated previously, this is an on-going investigation and therefore I cannot provide specific details.

Second, our partners in cyber intelligence have determined that this incident resulted in the exposure of some of the data that we maintain. We are in the process of reviewing that data, which includes identifying, to the best of our ability, individuals who may be affected. They will be notified via U.S. mail and offered complimentary monitoring services.

I want to reiterate that the investigation into the incident is ongoing and as you know from covering similar incidents in Iowa, this process can take months to completely resolve. As that work continues, we will be notifying any and all individuals if more are found to have any personal information exposed by this attack.

Finally, it seems that a week does not go by without a report of a cyber-attack impacting everything from major retailers to financial companies to public agencies. It is easy to become complacent about such incidents. We do not want people here to become complacent. We want people to take some simple steps to protect their information if they receive a letter from us. While I apologize for the concern and inconvenience this has caused and am grateful for the patience and understanding people have shown, please know that if we learn that information about you has been taken from our systems, we are going to let you know as soon as we can.

4:00 PM – Tuesday, January 24, 2023

We want to update you on the progress our technology team is making on restoring our online systems. If you’ve followed reports of cyber-attacks at other Iowa school districts, you know it can take weeks for a district to fully recover and investigate an attack. As the largest school district in Iowa with systems impacting 30,000 students and 5,000 employees the process will continue over the next several weeks. Working with the support of our cyber security partners and insurance company, we are making slow and steady progress with each step taken carefully to avert additional potential attempts to invade our systems. Our work to investigate this matter and restore our systems is taking place on parallel tracks with being done right, not fast, being the top objective.

10:00 AM – Wednesday, January 18, 2023

The following message from interim Superintendent Matt Smith was sent to all DMPS families . . .

Dear DMPS Families:

Everyone at Des Moines Public Schools appreciates your patience and understanding over the past several days as we responded to a cyber security incident. Our technology staff and consultants have been hard at work in determining the cause and extent of the incident as well as safely getting many functions back online. That work will continue for several more days.

Tomorrow (Thursday, January 19) will be a school day at DMPS. As we announced last week, due to our network interruption last week, the last day of the first semester has been moved to Friday and the first day of the second semester will be next Monday, January 23.

While there is a lot of work still underway behind the scenes, we are making sure it is a normal day at school for our students and teachers. Some of our key teaching and learning tools – such as Infinite Campus and Canvas – will be available.

As you may know, the weather forecast for later today calls for snow and rain in the Des Moines metro. Please take care if you are on the roads. At this time, we do not anticipate the weather will change any plans for school tomorrow.

Again, thank you for your understanding over these past several days. We are honored to educate the children of Des Moines, and that you have chosen DMPS.

Best wishes,

Matt Smith
Interim Superintendent

12:00 Noon – Saturday, January 14, 2023

3:00 PM – Thursday, January 12, 2023

All of us at Des Moines Public Schools are happy to have been able to welcome students, teachers and staff back to school this morning … and to be back doing the important work we are meant to do.

We have just a few reminders to share this afternoon:

  • Tomorrow (Friday, January 13) is a school day. As with today, and likely for several additional school days, all or most learning will take place offline.
  • Programs, such as Metro Kids and Boys & Girls Club, are open and all activities and athletic events are taking place as scheduled.
  • There are no classes on Monday, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and on Tuesday and Wednesday for teacher professional development time.
  • The last day of the first semester is now Friday, January 20 and the first day of the second semester is Monday, January 23.
  • DMPS includes days at the end of the school year to make up for educational time lost when classes are canceled. At this time, if no additional school days are canceled, the last day of the 2022-23 school year for students will be Friday, June 2.
  • The school district’s information technology staff continues to investigate the cause and extent of this incident, in coordination with the school district’s cyber insurance company, and are working to fully restore the district’s network when it is safe to do so. This work will continue over the next several days.

Cyber-attacks have become a regular threat for both public agencies and private business across the country and around the world. At DMPS, the only safe and prudent decision in response to this incident was to cancel classes in order to assess the situation as it impacted every part of our organization, from teaching and learning in the classroom to the functions that support the day-to-day operation of the district.

We recognize this was an inconvenience for our families – and appreciate your grace and patience – and are glad to have been able to resume school as soon as we were able.

1:00 PM – Wednesday, January 11, 2023

As we announced last night, significant progress was made in restoring some systems in order for classes to resume safely tomorrow, Thursday, January 12.   

Some of that progress includes restoring access to Infinite Campus and ensuring phones are operational. Students should expect an offline learning experience until further notice as internet access and other networked resources will be limited. Teachers and staff are in our school buildings today, working on solutions to providing lessons with diminished network capacity.

A few additional updates for today:

  • Pending School Board approval, the 2022-23 academic calendar will be changed so that the last day of the first semester is Friday, January 20 and the first day of the second semester is Monday, January 23.
  • The school district sets aside days at the end of the school year to make up for time when classes are canceled. At this time, assuming no additional school days are canceled, the last day of the 2022-23 school year for students will be Friday, June 2.
  • Metro Kids along with Boys & Girls Club locations at DMPS schools will be open tomorrow.
  • All activities and athletic events scheduled for Thursday and Friday will take place as planned.
  • Information was sent out earlier this morning about school food pantries. School-based pantries close at 2:00 PM this afternoon, but partner sites are open. Visit the Food Bank of Iowa and DMARC for details.
  • A reminder that there are no classes at DMPS next Monday, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and on Tuesday and Wednesday for teacher professional development.
  • The school district’s information technology staff continues to investigate the cause and extent of the cyber security incident that took place earlier this week, in coordination with the school district’s cyber insurance company, and are working to fully restore the district’s network when it is safe to do so. This work will continue in the days ahead.

We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding during what has been a challenging time for everyone in the DMPS community. We look forward to seeing everyone back in school tomorrow.

8:00 PM – Tuesday, January 10, 2023

DMPS information technology professionals have made significant progress tonight in restoring our systems. School will resume for students on Thursday, January 12. Students should expect an offline learning experience.

What has changed:

  • Access to Infinite Campus student information is now available.
  • Phones are operational.
  • A limited number of building staff will have access to the internet, though it is not yet accessible to all classroom teachers. WiFi will not be available.
  • Operations and building staff will be taking appropriate measures to keep the buildings safe and secure.

We appreciate that there are more questions to be answered (athletics, activities, etc.) We will have additional information to share tomorrow morning.

A reminder that updates can be sent directly to the Snap! Connect app on your phone.

3:30 PM – Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Thank you for your continued patience as our technology teams and external cyber security partners work through the complicated process of clearing and restoring systems that impact 30,000 students and nearly 5,000 staff members. We are working as quickly as possible to remove all threats from our systems, make sure all servers and devices are safe and clean, and return full functionality so students and staff may return to the classroom.

Newest updates:

  • There will be no school tomorrow, Wednesday, Jan. 11, while work to restore systems continues.
  • Activities and athletics at home are canceled. Those away from DMPS facilities will continue as scheduled.
  • District offices will be open tomorrow with limited services. Many staff will be working remotely.
  • The district is working on plans, hoping to reopen school on Thursday, January 12.
  • The district website dmschools.org has been restored, enabling us to communicate and house updates to the work underway to restore systems.

The network outage has impacted all areas of the school district, not only numerous teaching and learning functions but also systems relating to transportation, building operations, health and safety, food and nutrition, finance, communications and more.

The district will share another progress update tomorrow morning. Please check the email address you provided the district during registration for a message from Interim Superintendent Matt Smith.

10:45 AM – Tuesday, January 10, 2023

Classes remain canceled at Des Moines Public Schools for Tuesday, January 10. Offices are open but services are limited. Home athletics and activities are canceled; away athletics and activities will continue as scheduled.

We continue to work around the clock to resolve disruption of our network systems and operations, which, out of an abundance of caution, have remained offline until we are confident that we can safely bring them back into service.

Our goals right now are to remove any and all threats from our systems, make sure all devices are clean, and restore our full functionality.

Schools remain closed today, as access to systems with student information, educational programming, and numerous operational functions remain offline.

We will provide another update, including plans for school on Wednesday, January 11, later this afternoon. To receive notice of additional information on your mobile device, be sure to turn on notifications for Snap! Connect.

6:00 PM – Monday, January 9, 2023

Classes are canceled at Des Moines Public Schools for Tuesday, January 10. Offices will be open although staff may be working remotely, and services limited. Home athletics and activities are cancelled; away athletics and activities will continue as scheduled.

4:30 PM – Monday, January 9, 2023

Classes are canceled at Des Moines Public Schools for Tuesday, January 10. Offices will be open although staff may be working remotely, and services will be limited. Athletics and activities are currently scheduled to take place.

Earlier this morning, DMPS was alerted to a cyber security incident on its technology network. As a preemptive measure the school district’s internet and network services were taken offline as the matter is currently being investigated and assessed.

Because many technology tools that support both classroom learning as well as the management and operation of the school district are not available at this time, the prudent decision is to close the district for the day.

We apologize for any inconvenience this situation has caused. Updates will be posted as more information becomes available.

11:00 AM – Monday, January 9, 2023

Des Moines Public Schools preemptively took the school district’s internet and network services offline this morning in response to unusual activity on the network. At this time, the matter is being investigated by our IT staff and consultants.

Access to the internet, WiFi, and various networked systems, at school buildings and district offices, will be either offline or intermittent throughout the day. Telephone service is working.

We apologize for any inconvenience. An update will be provided later today. 

NOTE to DMPS families and staff: To receive instant updates on your mobile device, download Snap! Connect and enable notifications.