Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board investigating potential cyberattack

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) in Ontario is currently investigating a potential cyberattack on its network systems. The impact of this security incident includes:

• Temporary shutdown of Office 365, MS Teams and email
• Disruption to phone and landline services
• Board and school websites unavailability
• Suspension of online and remote learning for elementary and secondary schools
• Interruption to eLearning courses, student home page, and The Hub
• Potential delays in kindergarten registration and out-of-catchment applications
• Possible impact on verification of final marks and first semester comments

As of Friday 31st January 2025, their investigation has found no evidence of ransomware, malware, or any data theft. The nature of the attack is not disclosed.

To maintain educational continuity, students have been directed to use TVO learning activities as an alternative while systems remain offline. The board is working to restore internet access, though no specific timeline for full system restoration has been provided.

Hamilton police have been notified and are in close contact with the board. The board has confirmed this incident is not related to a recent PowerSchool breach that affected several Ontario school boards last month.