Schools seem to be the latest victims of cyber-attacks as both the Syracuse and Watertown City School Districts have been targeted. And every day, your personal information could be at risk.
"Hackers are constantly trying to access data because that data is valuable on the black market,” said Keyes Information Technology Chief Operating Officer Cody Horbacz.
Data like names, addresses, phone and social security numbers. Technology experts say recent cyberattacks on both the local and national level are putting the need for protection in the spotlight.
"Any information is very valuable,” said Horbacz. “Any entity that stores information about students or customers or anything, they must be protected.
But what are companies doing to try to keep that information safe? When it comes to computer malware, experts say cyber security training is a must.
"Focus on people. People are the weakest link. To do that make sure that you have an active program where you're talking about this with each employee so that they know there are people that are trying to use these tactics to either get more information or they're trying to get you to do something that will give them money," said Keyes Information Technology CEO Rod Castillo.
The Watertown School district released a statement on Monday saying that over the weekend, they experienced "an event" related to the computer network and system. Watertown's superintendent said they've taken measures to secure their critical infrastructure, but they are just the latest in a string of local ransomware attacks in the past few weeks.
The Syracuse City School was targeted earlier this month and the Onondaga County Public Library was also recently hit by a cyber attack. Experts say technology experts say recent cyberattacks on both the local and national level are putting the need for protection in the spotlight.
"They'll hack banks. They hack school districts to gain any information they can about people, their names, phone numbers, addresses, bank account information, social security numbers and all that information is then sold on the black market," said Cody Horbacz.