The Lousiana incidents align with Moody's view that cyber risk for states and school districts is medium-low because of medium vulnerability to cyberattacks and the expected low impact from an attack. (Credit: Shutterstock) The Lousiana incidents align with Moody's view that cyber risk for states and school districts is medium-low because of medium vulnerability to cyberattacks and the expected low impact from an attack. (Credit: Shutterstock)

On July 24, 2019, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency in response to ransomware attacks that targeted three of the state's school districts: Monroe City, Sabine Parish and Morehouse Parish. Additional attacks in East Carroll Parish and Tangipahoa Parish school districts soon followed after the state of emergency declaration.

According to Moody's, however, the Louisiana school districts benefited from preemptive measures taken by the state to prepare for malicious cyber incidents. The quick response has so far allowed these school districts to avoid paying a ransom to those responsible for the attacks, according to the state officials, who caution that data recovery is not yet complete.

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Denny Jacob

Denny Jacob is an associate editor for NU PropertyCasualty360. Contact him at [email protected].