Kentwood Public Schools said districtwide Wi-Fi was disrupted after a student used malicious software designed to interfere with the school system’s network.
The district said outside experts helped isolate the issue, which affected Wi-Fi connectivity across its schools, and that the problems “appear” to have been resolved. Kentwood Public Schools serves students in Kent County, Michigan, just southeast of Grand Rapids, across 16 schools, according to federal district data.
FOX 17 reported that the district determined the disruption was caused by a student using “malicious software” designed to disrupt the system. WOOD-TV reported that police were investigating and interviewing those involved.
The district has not publicly identified the software or said whether any student, staff or district data was accessed. Officials also have not said how the software disrupted Wi-Fi service, leaving unclear whether it targeted wireless infrastructure, used a denial-of-service technique or interfered with connectivity another way.
Chip in once
If this reporting helped you, a one-time tip helps cover hosting, tools and future investigations.
Support us monthly
A small monthly pledge keeps independent coverage and our reader tools online for everyone.
The district said it would not discuss further details to protect the investigation and follow district privacy policy. It thanked its technology teams, outside experts and community partners for helping resolve the issue, as well as students, families, teachers and staff for their flexibility.
The Kentwood disruption adds to a run of cyber and technology incidents in the Grand Rapids area, including service disruptions at Kent District Library, organizationwide technology issues at Cherry Health and a March cyberattack that forced Goodwill of Greater Grand Rapids stores onto cash-only operations.
The district’s website describes Kentwood Public Schools as the most diverse school district in Michigan and among the top 10 nationally for diversity.
The Wi-Fi problem appeared to be resolved, but officials have not said how long systems were disrupted or whether any data was accessed.
