Ransomware Attack Disrupts Two Michigan Schools, Forces System Shutdown Two schools in Jackson County, Michigan, fell victim to a ransomware attack over the weekend, prompting officials to take critical systems offline to contain the breach. The incident, detected by the Jackson County Intermediate School District, led to a temporary suspension of classes as administrators worked to assess the damage. Superintendent Kevin Oxley confirmed the attack in a statement, revealing that the district’s technology consortium experienced an outage affecting essential operations. Upon discovering suspicious activity, the district proactively disconnected systems and enlisted external cybersecurity experts to investigate and restore services safely. Law enforcement has also been notified. School-issued devices were temporarily restricted as officials evaluated the extent of the compromise. While the responsible group remains unidentified, the attack follows a growing trend where ransomware gangs exfiltrate sensitive data before encrypting systems, later threatening to leak it if demands are not met. Educational institutions, despite being less targeted than healthcare, remain highly vulnerable due to the vast amounts of personal data they store.