Ridgefield Schools in Connecticut Disrupted by Ransomware Attack

School officials reported that Ridgefield Public Schools’ network, located in Ridgefield, Connecticut, was taken offline on July 24 after cybersecurity tools detected an attempted ransomware attack targeting the district's systems. The threat involved an encryption virus that tried to compromise internal data, prompting an immediate shutdown of the network to contain the threat and begin a forensic investigation. The incident has been reported to law enforcement, and third-party cybersecurity specialists have been engaged to assist. At this stage, officials say it is too early to determine whether any personal information belonging to students, parents, or staff was accessed or compromised.

District leaders said systems will be restored in phases as they are cleared for use, with key services expected back online in time for sports registration ahead of the 2025–26 school year. In the meantime, teachers have extended deadlines for AP and UConn summer coursework to September 8 to accommodate students impacted by the outage. Officials added that if any sensitive employee or student data is confirmed to have been exposed, affected individuals will be notified in accordance with state law and offered credit monitoring services.