Former IT employee sentenced to 21 months for school district cyberattack

A former IT employee for the Saydel Community School District in Iowa has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for launching a prolonged cyberattack against his former employer. The attacks disrupted classroom operations, deleted accounts, and caused tens of thousands of dollars in damages, as reported by Bleeping Computer.

Ezekiel Dean Potter, 34, who worked as a senior IT support specialist, retained access credentials after his employment ended in April 2023 and targeted the district's systems for over a year and a half. The attacks included deleting the district's Facebook page, stripping employees of access to educational platforms, and resetting numerous accounts. Potter also targeted the district's Apple School Manager account, disabling device management for about a week. In January 2025, he disrupted classes by deleting an IT employee's account in the Schoology learning management system and later deleted nine Gmail accounts, including those of the IT director and superintendent.

Federal investigators traced some activity to IP addresses associated with Potter's other employers. A USB drive found by investigators contained spreadsheets with stolen usernames and passwords. Potter pleaded guilty to computer fraud charges and was ordered to pay over $59,000 in restitution.

Source: Bleeping Computer