Ohio County Schools, which serves the Wheeling area in West Virginia’s Northern Panhandle, restored internet service Monday after a nearly weeklong disruption that officials said began with evidence of a potential cybersecurity attack.
The district said its information technology department detected evidence of a potential cybersecurity attack Tuesday, Feb. 24, and temporarily disabled internet access while it investigated.
The outage disrupted school operations that rely on connectivity, including district-issued student devices and online learning tools used across grades, according to a district statement published by The Intelligencer.
The district said facilities were back online Monday and had returned to full functionality, while staff continued to investigate and ensure systems remained secure.
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Officials did not disclose the nature of the suspected incident or who might be responsible. There were no public claims of responsibility. The district did not respond to an email from DysruptionHub seeking comment.
“As a precaution, access to the internet was temporarily disabled while we conducted an investigation,” the district said in a statement carried by The Intelligencer. The district added it had no evidence of any risk to student or employee data.
West Virginia school districts have faced similar cyber-related disruptions in recent years. Harrison County Schools reported a cybersecurity incident in January 2025 that caused a districtwide network outage and prompted involvement from law enforcement and outside forensic teams. Berkeley County Schools closed classes for students in February 2023 after what officials described as a security incident tied to a network outage that limited IT operations. Wood County Schools spent days rebuilding systems after a 2019 ransomware attack, taking systems offline and working with state partners to restore services.
Ohio County Schools has faced budget pressure and staffing cuts over the past year. The district approved a reduced 2025-26 general fund budget after revising projections downward by about $5.5 million, citing enrollment declines and revenue drops. Reporting last spring said the district planned to eliminate 16 teaching positions tied to budget shortfalls and enrollment changes, and board discussions this winter again focused on funding challenges linked to West Virginia’s school aid formula.
Ohio County Schools includes 14 schools, according to an overview of the city’s public school system.
The district has not said whether it involved law enforcement or outside cybersecurity firms, what indicators prompted the shutdown, or whether any systems were accessed. Officials also have not released a post-incident report or a detailed timeline of what was taken offline beyond internet access.
