On May 1, 2025, Bartlesville Public Schools in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, suffered a major network security breach that disrupted districtwide computer systems and forced the cancellation of scheduled state testing. Granger Meador, the district’s executive director of technology and communications, confirmed that while essential services such as phones, life safety systems, and Chromebooks with hotspot access remained functional, most core systems went offline. The district launched an immediate investigation with the support of external cybersecurity professionals to assess the extent of the breach and guide the recovery process.
The incident follows a troubling pattern of cyberattacks across Oklahoma in 2025. In January, Braum’s Ice Cream and Dairy Stores in Oklahoma City endured a second ransomware attack, while the University of Oklahoma in Norman isolated systems due to an intrusion claimed by the Fog ransomware group. Though the Bartlesville breach has not been attributed to any specific threat actor, the spate of recent attacks highlights a growing cybersecurity challenge for both public and private institutions in the state. Bartlesville schools have pledged to provide updates and resume testing once systems are restored.
