2026 Cyber Incident Update Page

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August 11, 2026: 

Frequently Asked Questions for Staff and Parents

What happened?
We recently experienced operational disruptions resulting from unauthorized access to portions of our information technology environment. Upon identifying the issue, we promptly initiated our incident response procedures, engaged outside cybersecurity specialists, and took steps to contain and remediate the incident. We are currently restoring systems, and we anticipate applications and software to come online.

What is the impact to staff/parent/student information?
Our investigation remains ongoing, so we do not have information regarding what data may be impacted by this incident. If sensitive data is later determined to be impacted, we will be sure to notify any potentially impacted parties directly as required by law.

When will we know if our data was impacted?
Our investigation of the impact to data is ongoing. Until our investigation concludes, we appreciate your patience.

What are you doing to prevent this from happening again?
We will continue to closely monitor our systems for any suspicious activity. We have deployed additional software into our systems, which has positioned us to bring our network back online safely. This process will take some time, so we appreciate your patience as we work diligently to restore our systems.

When will you know more information?
We are working diligently with third-party specialists to investigate the full nature and scope of this activity. We will provide additional information when we can.

Does this mean that I am the victim of identity theft?
No. We have no indication that personal information from this incident has been used to commit identity theft or fraud.

I am experiencing identity theft (or fraud) and I believe this incident is the cause.
We have no indication that personal information from this incident has been used to commit identity theft or fraud. Please report any suspicious activity to your financial institution and applicable law enforcement authorities.

Where can I get more information?
Additional updates will be shared as more information becomes available.

What steps do I need to take to monitor my personal information?
As a best practice, it is always advisable to review your credit report and credit card, bank, and other financial statements for any unauthorized activity. If you see any charges you do not recognize, contact your bank or credit card company. Additional information regarding steps you can take to protect your identity (including placing fraud alerts or a credit freeze) can be found on the Federal Trade Commission’s website at: https://consumer.ftc.gov/.

August 6, 2026: Newton County Schools is pleased to announce that network services have been restored, following nine days of technology restoration efforts after a cybersecurity incident affected network services.

The District's technology team will continue to validate and fine-tune the remaining systems and applications to ensure all services are operating as expected.

The cybersecurity incident occurred one week before the start of the 2026–2027 school year, which began on August 3. Despite the timing, district technology staff and technology partners worked to restore critical services, with network services restored just four days into the new school year.

Newton County Schools appreciates the patience, flexibility, and support of students, families, employees, and the community throughout the restoration process.

August 4, 2026: As we begin the 2026–2027 school year, I want to provide another update regarding our network restoration efforts and share where we stand today. In the video message below, I also offer a few important reminders, highlight the progress we've made, and welcome our students, families, and staff to a new school year.

I invite you to take a few moments to watch the message at your convenience. Thank you for your continued patience, support, and partnership as we move forward together.

July 31, 2026: We are pleased to share that our district phone system has been restored, allowing families to once again contact our schools and departments by phone. While our email system and other network services remain unavailable, our Technology Department continues working diligently with cybersecurity experts to safely restore additional systems. We will continue to provide updates as services become available. Thank you for your patience, understanding, and continued support as we work through this process together.

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Superintendent Bradley Video Update
July 29, 2026

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July 29, 2026: We are now 48 hours into our probe of the district’s network outage first reported on Monday. We have made significant progress toward maintaining operational continuity and ensuring that scheduled district activities including open house continue without major disruption. Our efforts in response to the unauthorized access of our district’s network has resulted in our district staff working closely together to overcome the challenges we have faced. I could not be more pleased with the resilience that they have shown, which is synonymous with the whole of Newton County.

Throughout this situation we continue to prioritize transparent communication with our stakeholders, which is now evident through our daily briefings and our newly launched network outage webpage, which can be found on our district’s website. We encourage you to visit the page regularly for updates and new information.

Additionally, I have recorded a comprehensive update video for your review. I kindly invite your attention. Thank you.

Today's SMORE Message

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July 28, 2026: I hope you are well. As was the case yesterday, I have prepared another video briefing which you can access below. I kindly invite you to review today’s message.

Middle School Open House Update--I also wanted to quickly let you know that in preparation for this evening’s middle school open house, there is a bit of good news. I am pleased to share that student schedules can be accessed on the parent portal. Also, despite network limitations, we are hopeful that hard copies of schedules can be provided in time for the start of Open House at 5:00 p.m. If not, we will work to find an alternative.

For those of you who do not know how to access the parent portal, please follow the following steps.

• Visit the Newton County Schools website at www.newtoncountyschools.org
• Click on the Parent Portal icon directly underneath the banner on the homepage
• Login where prompted with the user identification and password you were provided when you setup your account

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July 27, 2026: The Newton County School System recently identified a cybersecurity incident affecting our digital network. Upon discovery, we immediately took steps to secure our systems, including taking affected systems offline, and engaged cybersecurity specialists to assist with the investigation and recovery efforts. 

We are actively working to determine the scope and impact of the incident and to safely restore operations as quickly as possible. We appreciate the patience and understanding of our students, families, faculty, staff, and community partners as this work continues. We will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available.