BROOKHAVEN, Miss. (AP) – A Mississippi public school district says it has been the victim of a cyber attack.

Lincoln County Schools superintendent Mickey Myers told The Daily Leader on Monday that district computers had been hacked with a ransomware virus.

The newspaper reports that officials said the district was experiencing a network outage affecting phone systems and internet communication at its schools. Myers said “numerous agencies” were assisting in the investigation. He didn’t say if the FBI would be joining.

The FBI explains that ransomware is a malicious software that can lock users out of computer systems, among other issues. Hackers usually demand payment in order to restore access to the system.

Information from: The Daily Leader, http://www.dailyleader.com

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