In a Gloucester County school district, in New Jersey, classes were canceled for the third day in a row owing to technological issues brought on by an "unauthorized third party," according to notifications from the district.
Classes were canceled by the Monroe Township School District on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday last week impacting 6,000 students.
Anthony DeFelice, a sophomore at Williamstown High School, claims that several of his classes extensively use computers and the internet. He wasn't shocked when school was canceled as a result of a technical issue that caused an internet outage at the school.
DeFelice stated, "something was going on Monday, and then they just called off that night at about 8. We were informed that Tuesday is a non-school day.”
On Wednesday, a notice stating that all activities were postponed until further notice was posted on the door of Williamstown High School.
Parents received a notice Monday night from Superintendent Susan Ficke stating that there may be a technical problem that caused the school's internet service to be disconnected. It continued by stating that holding classes offline would bring logistical and security issues.
Action News, a local media outlet discovered on Wednesday night that district officials claimed the technical issues were brought on by an "unauthorized third party" in an email sent to parents and that efforts to reinstall the internet and look into the issue were ongoing.
Many parents expressed their frustration at the lack of information prior to the notification's release on Wednesday night and asked if there had been a security breach.
When Action News called Monroe Township Mayor Richard DiLucia, he said the school board hadn't gotten in touch with him and that he was unaware of any details.
On Wednesday, the media outlet made numerous attempts to contact the superintendent but received no response. Police in Monroe Township also declined to comment. However, the FBI's Philadelphia office said in a statement on Wednesday that while they couldn't confirm or deny their involvement, they normally lend support and resources in cases of cyberattacks. The district claims that the inquiry is still going on.
