A Note to Confluence Parents, Staff - April 24, 2017

Dear Parents and Staff - 

Today, April 24, 2017, we shared a memo with parents and staff to explain some concerns related to our technology. The following is a copy of the staff memo; a similar message is being shared with parents. 

It’s important to make you aware of recent concerns regarding the computer network for Confluence Charter Schools. This weekend, the network servers were hacked, which has had an impact on email, phones, SISFIN, our financial system; and Infinite Campus, our student information system.

Please know that our information technology team is working diligently to correct problems, and we are taking steps to prevent something like this from happening again. We know that some files are saved daily as a backup; but, we also know that this breach has caused some files to be unrecoverable.  

While there is no evidence that student data or employee data has been compromised, we are taking this seriously and we’ve contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Our main concerns are the student information system and the financial/payroll system for staff. We are confident that financial information sent to SISFIN last week was sent properly and backed up. If we learn that personal information for students and staff has been compromised, we’ll let you know as quickly as possible.

While we work through this, we recommend that you back up documents on a personal flash drive. This is the standard best-practice. You should also be aware that we’ll have limited access to phones and Microsoft Outlook during our recovery period. You should have access to the Google drive and G-mail through confluencecharter.org since it’s on a different server.

We know this situation could cause some worry for staff. Again, we are working hard to correct the situation. We will continue to keep our school community informed through staff memos, phone calls, website posts and conversations. You are encouraged to monitor your personal financial accounts and credit reports as a precaution.

On behalf of IT and Confluence Charter Schools, we appreciate your patience and understanding.

Please contact Jeff Kuntze, chief financial officer, with questions or concerns at (314) 588-8554 ext. 7010.
 
Copies of the memo to parents and staff are below.