Academy District 20 back on schedule after two hour delay following cybersecurity response

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Academy District 20 would not speak with 11 News on camera about their cybersecurity response but did refer to a statement they sent out earlier which says they have spent days responding to a potential security issue.

“I had to shift my meetings, you know the whole thing,” D20 parent Ted Russo said.

That’s what *some parents had to do. After every school in one of the area’s largest school districts was delayed by two hours Thursday. The district now says it was a response to what they call a firewall vulnerability.

They say it impacted “Paloalto” customers nationwide, including D20. A company that provides firewalls, VPN’s, and other network equipment. Some parents tell 11 News the alert was concerning, others took it in stride.

“Cyber security wise you know to have the system be that vulnerable to cause something that quick make an impact the schedule and a lot of our kids time,” D20 parent Austin Harris said.

“My son and his wife needed some help and they have family members,” D20 grandparent Rob Topp said. “I can help out and I’m flexible to do that.”

11 News reached out to District 20 and they declined an interview to elaborate further on their statement, which said in part:

“D20 acted in alignment with standard cyber security response protocols and took extra measures of investigating…It was determined a two-hour delay would be beneficial allowing educators across the district time to pivot, given testing and planned learning would no longer be accessible until network connection is restored.”

Copyright 2024 KKTV. All rights reserved.