Parsippany Schools Block Attempted Cyberattack

PARSIPPANY, NJ—A hacking attempt on the Genesis portal was thwarted by Parsippany schools earlier this week.

At Thursday night's school board meeting, Nancy Gigante, who directs technology for the district, explained what happened early on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

"Some external force was trying to get into Genesis," Gigante said, "our firewall picked it up, we picked it up, we were right on it."

Gigante said the district was in touch with its internet provider and the Genesis system to coordinate efforts to block the attempted break-in.

A key to addressing the attempted hack, Gigante said, was the fact that the Parsippany's system operates on two "switches"—one administrative and one for instruction. The administrative was targeted in this attempt, she said.

"We had those two switches," Gigante said, "we had decided to make a separate [connection], the bigger for instruction and the other for administrative."

Gigante said the district was able to immediately shut down the targeted system and pivot everyone to use the instructional.

"We were able to really address it in a very not-chaotic way," she said. "Other districts, if that was their one switch, would have been, 'Oh, my God, what are we going to do?'"

Hacking and "Zoom-bombing" have become serious issues across the country since the pandemic began last spring. New Jersey's public schools, which are conducting at least some of their instruction online this fall, are no exception.

Parsippany Schools Superintendent Barbara Sargent echoed that the district's firewall was a key element in repelling the attack, and acknowledged the need to remain vigilant.

"Our firewall has really prevented any external influence," Sargent said. "It's something that a lot of districts are encountering. It's an additional challenge we have to work through."