The Glendale Unified School District was hacked by a group that identified itself as “Medusa” on December 6, 2023. The next day, when students came back to school, the district had turned off the internet, and students were not allowed to use their district issued Chromebooks, and any district provided apps. Teacher scrambled to create assignments that would not rely on the use of Chromebooks. Some teachers were lucky to have worksheets already printed out, while some others let students have “free time”, because everything that can be done for that class has to be done online. Many students felt uneasy about the upcoming finals, since most teachers have either made paper finals for their classes, postponed them until the internet came back, or even just canceled them. The teachers on the other hand were worried about the hundreds if not thousands of grades that they still have to put into Q before they have to submit grades for the semester.
Most GUSD students that were interviewed by the Spartan Scroll said that they were not used to doing homework on paper and preferred doing it on computers, though most admitted that not being constantly tempted to play games on their Chromebooks improved their focus. After a few days of not having computers, some students even switched their opinions, and decided that learning with less technology like in the old days can be good and in some cases even better. Marcus Q’baum Lee said, “I kindof like it. We’re able to connect with others more easily.”
Even though they were aware that the hackers probably had access to most if not all of the information that the district has about them, most students were not worried about it. Some said that there was nothing that they should be afraid of being published and that it would not affect them directly, while others just didn’t think that the hackers would publish it. There were a few students, however, that really did not want any of their information to get published, and said that the district should definitely pay the ransom of US$4.35 million. The students that weren’t afraid of their information being published, said that the district should not pay because the hackers might still leak information and just take the money. The same hacker group hacked the Minneapolis Public School District, and published sensitive information about staff and students when the district refused to pay the ransom. Rosemont’s Principal, Mrs. Risse said that it is never good when people try to get money from an institution by hacking their system.
As of right now, mid January 2024, the Internet and access to most district apps has been restored, and classes have slowly returned back to normal. A password reset was initiated for all students and staff on December 15, 2023, and most students have already reset their passwords, and use their Chromebooks just like before the cyber attack. Teachers still have some time to finish inputting grades, but all new assignments are now counting towards students’ second semester report cards. We still don’t know if any information about GUSD staff or students was leaked.