Ridgefield Public Schools hit by ransomware attack, network taken offline
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The Ridgefield Public School District was targeted in a ransomware attack that forced officials to take the entire computer network offline as a precautionary measure to prevent further system compromise. The district serves just under 5,000 pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade students across nine schools in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
On July 24, 2025, the district's cybersecurity tools detected attempts to execute an encryption virus on the computer network. Officials took the network offline and started an investigation.
Per reports from the District, their cybersecurity monitoring systems successfully detected the malicious activity before the encryption process could be completed.
School officials have reported the incident to law enforcement authorities as required and are working with computer specialists to recover and restore their systems. The network remains down while that work continues.
The scope of compromised data remains under investigation, with officials stating it is too early in the process to determine what information may have been affected.
The number of affected individuals has not been disclosed. School officials have committed to providing notifications in accordance with Connecticut state law once the investigation determines what personal information, if any, was accessed or compromised.
