Humble ISD's online server under cyberattack on first day of virtual learning

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Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Humble ISD cyberattacked on 1st day of school
Did you or someone you know face difficulties when logging in for school this morning?

HUMBLE, Texas (KTRK) -- Humble ISD's online server was under a cyberattack Tuesday morning on the first day of virtual learning for the district, Superintendent Dr. Elizabeth Fagen said.

"The MyHumble server is currently experiencing a cyberattack called denial of service," she posted on Twitter.

Students were unable to access their MyHumble accounts or their school emails between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.

On the first day of online learning, Humble ISD was hit with a cybeattack. Watch the video above to learn what happened and how the district is reacting.

According to an update issued by the district Tuesday afternoon, a senior security expert investigated the incident and evidence showed a "denial of service cyberattack."

"[In] this type of incident, those with bad intentions send superfluous requests to a network server to prevent legitimate requests from being fulfilled," explained Humble ISD chief communications officer, Jamie Mount. "We are continuing to update cyber security to protect the network."

Zoom, emails for the staff and websites were working, according to Fagen.

Meanwhile, on the district's website, the following message popped up:

The MyHumble Server experienced a denial of service cyber attack from about 8 to 9 a.m. Systems are working now. During the attack, students were unable to log into MyHumble to access Schoology or their Humble ISD Gmail. Staff were able to log into Humble ISD Gmail; Our extra security for students requires them to go through MyHumble for email and learning platforms. Humble ISD is investigating the cyberattack.

About 30 minutes later, the district's IT team was able to solve the problem.

"MyHumble is back! Thanks to our IT folks who have been working on this," Fagen tweeted later.

ABC13 is reaching out to Houston-area school districts to ask about protocols and prevention methods regarding cyberattacks.

HISD responded, saying, "The Houston Independent School District is diligent and vigilant about Cyber Security and uses a variety of industry practices and procedures that protect its network."

Meanwhile, Klein ISD said the district "uses established industry standards to prepare for and mitigate the risk of attacks on our networks. These standards allow our IT teams to quickly detect, respond, route, and adapt to malicious and unwanted network traffic."

This article will continue to be updated. Check back for the latest updates.