Ransomware attacks on K–12 school districts have surged by 69% year-over-year, yet only 13% of district leaders consider them a high risk. Judson Independent School District’s harrowing 2021 experience, shared at ISTELive 25, reveals the urgent need for preparedness, incident response planning, and mental health support for IT teams.
Strong Lead:
At the ISTELive 25 conference, leaders from Texas’s Judson Independent School District (ISD) delivered a powerful wake-up call to K–12 educators and IT professionals: Ransomware is no longer a distant threat—it’s an inevitable challenge. Detailing their district’s 2021 ransomware ordeal, Judson ISD’s leadership offered a blueprint for cyberattack response, emphasizing collaboration, preparation, and the critical role of leadership in crisis.
“It isn’t if it’s going to happen to you, it’s when,” warned Lacey Gosch, Judson ISD’s assistant superintendent of support services.
Background: A Ransomware Crisis Unfolds
In May 2021, just six weeks into her new role, Gosch received news of a ransomware attack targeting the district’s infrastructure. What followed was a high-stakes scramble to contain the breach, coordinate with authorities, and shield the identities of students and staff from exposure.
The district’s first move was to notify local law enforcement, the FBI, and the Southwest Texas Fusion Center. Internal communications were dispatched swiftly to inform and direct staff. With vendor support, Judson ISD teams fanned out across 40 school sites to manually unplug and isolate systems—an essential step to prevent further spread.
One key to their initial success: vendor relationships. “We could not have done this without the vendors,” Gosch said. “They came in with workers, helping walk through sites, unplugging and collecting devices.”
Damage Control: Assessing and Securing the Breach
Working around the clock, the district’s IT leaders began investigating the source of the breach, identifying compromised systems, and assessing what data had been exposed or encrypted. This stage was chaotic but critical.
To contain sensitive information, access was tightly restricted—even among staff. Gosch emphasized operational discretion: “The less information that gets out of that room, the better off you are.”
Judson ISD’s existing tape backup system proved to be a lifeline. Despite the breach, the district only lost a single day of data—an outcome far less damaging than it could have been. However, the human and financial implications remained profound.
A High-Stakes Decision: To Pay or Not to Pay
The attackers, part of a known ransomware syndicate targeting schools, had accessed hard drives containing personally identifiable information. Lacking cloud migration at the time, the district’s data—including sensitive student and employee records—was vulnerable.
In total, 600,000 individuals across all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico were potentially affected. That scope, paired with uncertainty about what the attackers held, forced a difficult decision.
The school board ultimately authorized payment of the ransom to prevent further data exposure.
Lessons in Resilience: From Recovery to Reinforcement
Post-attack, Judson ISD restructured its digital infrastructure to prioritize security and long-term resilience:
- Backup Systems: Shifted to immutable backups for tamper-proof data storage.
- Cloud Migration: Eliminated shared drives and transitioned to cloud-based systems.
- Network Security: Overhauled port security and upgraded the wireless network.
- Access Control: Deployed hardware-based multifactor authentication to reduce the risk of credential-based breaches.
The district also reviewed and revised its online policies and enforced strict cyber hygiene practices across all campuses.
Mental Health and Leadership Responsibility
Judson ISD’s leaders stressed an often-overlooked element of cybersecurity incidents: the emotional and psychological toll on IT personnel.
“Make sure you have contacts and support for mental health,” advised Matthew Fields, executive director of technology at Judson ISD. “It’s really hard when you’re working in a room 14 hours a day trying to undo something that somebody did to make sure you couldn’t undo it.”
Leadership must also take ownership of cyber risks, Gosch emphasized. “If somebody’s system is compromised, it’s on you. You carry the weight of responsibility.”
Why It Matters: The Urgent Need for Cyber Preparedness in K–12
Despite the sharp rise in ransomware attacks across the education sector—up 69% from Q1 2024 to Q1 2025—only 13% of K–12 tech leaders view such attacks as high-risk, according to CoSN’s 2025 State of EdTech District Leadership report.
Judson ISD’s experience stands as a stark reminder that cyberattacks are not theoretical. They are real, disruptive, expensive, and emotionally taxing. Yet with the right strategies, support systems, and recovery planning, school districts can weather these storms—and come out stronger.
What’s Next: Guidance for Other Districts
Judson ISD encourages other school systems to:
- Conduct tabletop incident response exercises regularly.
- Build strong partnerships with cybersecurity vendors.
- Invest in immutable backups and cloud infrastructure.
- Adopt hardware-based multifactor authentication.
- Incorporate mental health resources for IT teams during crises.
Above all, Gosch and Fields urge educators to treat cyber defense as a core function of educational leadership, not just a technical concern.
User Intent Answer: Why is this important?
This story addresses the growing threat of ransomware in K–12 schools and serves as a cautionary case study. Judson ISD’s firsthand account shows how proper planning, fast decision-making, and infrastructure investment can mitigate devastating losses—and why cybersecurity must be treated as a top priority by district leaders nationwide.
