The Cobb County School District said Wednesday that its emergency alert system that was set off on Feb. 2, prompting a brief Code Red lockdown at all schools, was not a false alarm but a deliberate cyber attack.
The district said in a news release that what’s being investigated as a cyber crime by the Cobb Police Department is continuing.
Spokeswoman Nan Kiel said in the release that the district can’t reveal more details, but “we have been given permission to share the Technology Based Crimes Unit’s conclusion that the false alarm signal occurred through a targeted, external attack of CCSD’s AlertPoint system.”
AlertPoint is an emergency alert system which allows each employee within a school—including administrators, teachers and other staffers—to activate a device should an emergency occur. This includes fires, active shooters and other intruders, physical altercations and medical emergencies.
The system was implemented starting in 2017 and is one component of the district’s CobbShield emergency and safety program developed in recent years.
When an AlertPoint device is activated, alert information is relayed via computer and mobile devices to school-level administrators and security personnel, as well as at the school district office, within seconds.
The location and identity of the person sending the alert also is transmitted. When a “Code Red” alert is triggered, flashing lights, beeping sounds and voice messages ring out, and the intercom system indicates a lockdown situation is underway.
The AlertPoint system is patterned after existing school fire emergency procedures.
After the Feb. 2 incident in which AlertPoint was triggered at all 112 schools, the district said the cause was a systemwide malfunction and that no students or staff were threatened.
On Wednesday, however, the district said it immediately asked for police assistance in investigating the matter as a possible cyber attack.
“Fairly quickly, it appeared that the false alarm signal (1) was intentionally triggered rather than a malfunction, and (2) was uniquely limited to the AlertPoint system in CCSD,” according to the statement, which said the district then contacted police,
“We do not yet know the motives of those attacking the District’s AlertPoint system,” Wednesday’s district statement said, which did not indicate possible suspects.
“However, it appears the crime was committed to disrupt education across the District, create district-wide chaos, and produce anxiety in the District’s students, parents, and staff. This was not a ‘prank,’ nor will it be treated like one.”
Kiel said that anyone with information related to the cyber attack is asked to contact the Cobb County Police Department’s Tip Line at 770-499-4111 or the CCSD Police Department’s Tip Line at 470-689-0298.
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