While the district did not share details of the ransomware attack with the public, by involving an outside PR firm to help dodge questions and evade to include internal investigation details in writings.
Runcie and former administrators Brian Katz and Philip Dunn, on the other hand, revealed numerous previously concealed details regarding the ransomware attack in September 2021 “case study” for Safer School Solutions, which is a Fort Lauderdale company owned by Katz and Dunn.
The report included details of how the ransomware attack hindered the operation of 2,000 servers; how the district prioritized keeping the schools open over looking after the breach; and how law enforcement asked the district to offer a ransom, but not pay it to the hackers. The report also involved the district’s response to the Parkland shooting and the pandemic.
A few months later, an education group led by Runcie granted the company a $1 million contract to offer security services to six school districts, none of which were in Florida.
Runcie, who resigned from his position as superintendent in August 2021, is currently facing accusations of perjury in a different case. He has been charged with lying to a statewide grand jury that investigated the school district purchases by the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution.
Attempts to contact him by phone, email, and through his attorney remain unsuccessful.
Broward Data Breach
In November 2021, Broward County Public School reported that the security incident on March 7, 2021, may have resulted in unauthorized access to some of its systems, potentially containing sensitive data of some faculty, staff, and students.
While they were initially unaware of the data being compromised, it may have taken place during the investigation in June.
The Broward school district later announced on its website that the affected victims were being notified about the breach. About 50,000 students and employees reportedly received notifications from the district of their data being breached during the ransomware attack that happened months ago.
The school district was secretive about the attack, which happened between Nov. 12, 2020, and March 6, 2021, for months. This was apparenly advised by the lawyers and public relation company the district hired.