Wichita schools’ disabled computer system holds up student transcripts

Wichita high school students needing transcripts for college or scholarship applications were out of luck Tuesday while the district continued investigating a computer hacking attempt.

The school district disabled its Synergy computer system over the weekend to investigate a hacking attempt discovered Friday. It was still down Tuesday afternoon.

The system authenticates student transcripts, which many high school seniors need to send to colleges by Sunday to meet early application deadlines.

“It’s a priority, and we absolutely know that it’s something that our students need,” district spokeswoman Wendy Johnson said.

District officials heard Tuesday from “a couple of schools where students were concerned about being able to get those transcripts,” Johnson said. “It’s absolutely something that is on our radar, and we’ll address it as soon as we can.”

Johnson said she didn’t know how long the Synergy system might be disabled. Officials are working with Wichita police and FishNet Security, a cyber-security consulting company based in Overland Park, to determine the extent of the hacking attempt.

“We’re still going through the process to diagnose and investigate,” Johnson said. “Right now we’re being methodical … so we can be careful and certain.”

Students needing transcripts should talk with counselors and let them know, so the transcript can be sent as soon as the district’s system is back up and running, Johnson said.

Many universities, including the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State University, have Nov. 1 deadlines for priority applications. Many scholarships also advertise a Nov. 1 deadline.

Wichita district officials said Monday that the hacking attempt did not appear to involve student records. As a precaution, the district also disabled ParentVue and StudentVue, which patrons use to access student grades and other information.

This story was originally published October 27, 2015 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Wichita schools’ disabled computer system holds up student transcripts."