During the pandemic, teachers had to pivot toward the use of more technology as classes went virtual.
With the Rainbow District School Board confirming Friday, Feb. 7 it was experiencing a “cyber incident” that was causing a system-wide network disruption affecting its IT services, teachers are now having to pivot away from technology.
“Basically, it's creating a little bit of angst out in the system,” said Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) Rainbow Local president Liana Holm, who represents Rainbow board elementary teachers.
“The board assures me that they have it under control and that they are dealing with the issue. But, you know, members are going to have questions. A lot of people teach and everything’s on a virtual platform. So that's going to change a few things for people.
“We had to pivot towards technology during the pandemic, now we’re pivoting away. It’s an interesting time. I know teachers are trying to get their lessons together as best they can without using any kind of technology,”
Holm’s secondary school counterpart, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation (OSSTF) District 3 president Eric Laberge, said these days, teachers rely heavily on Google platforms such as Google Classroom.
“Clearly, having to pivot to an environment where digital infrastructure is not available is truly a challenge, but members have been asked to do the best they can with what resources are available to them,” Laberge said.
He said veteran teachers who began their careers in a time when technology was less prevalent have been providing support to their younger colleagues.
Sudbury.com has reached out to the Rainbow board, asking for an interview on the situation with director of education Bruce Bourget, but the board declined our request.
The Rainbow board has been issuing updates on the situation through its website, which remains operational.
It first reported Friday morning that it was experiencing technical difficulties with its computer network, and all computer systems and applications would be turned off at 10 a.m.
There was no access to email, voicemail, Google drive and social media, among other applications. The situation affected the board’s Centre for Education and all schools in Sudbury, Espanola and Manitoulin Island.
At 2:30 p.m. Friday, the board confirmed that the system-wide network disruption is due to a cyber incident.
The board said it was working with cyber security experts to conduct a full assessment, and at that time, there was no indication that any personal information had been compromised.
On Sunday, the board said schools would remain open on Monday, but there would be no access to the internet.
A spokesperson also issued the following emailed update to Sudbury.com on Monday: “We are actively working with third party experts to assess the impact of the cyber incident. We will post updates on rainbowschools.ca as we have more information to share. Please remind parents/guardians not to email schools to report absences. Please call.”
Holm said the situation has raised many concerns for ETFO members.
“You know, has my personal information been compromised? And the answer, I'm told right now, is no,” she said. “But people are wondering about, ‘Hey, oh, am I going to get paid if it's not fixed by then? …
“I'm confident that the board's going to have everything under control as soon as they can, and we'll have more information as soon as they have more information.”
The cyber incident at the Rainbow District School Board comes almost exactly a year after a similar occurrence at Laurentian University in February 2024, which threw its winter semester into chaos.
Many large organizations across the country have been hit by such attacks.
Cyber security expert Ritesh Kotek told us in the wake of the Laurentian cyber incident that recovery can be a lengthy process for organizations. Indeed, it took Laurentian weeks to get its systems back online, and some specialty systems were still out as of the early spring of 2024.
Heidi Ulrichsen is Sudbury.com’s assistant editor. She also covers education and the arts scene.