An anonymous computer hacker has demanded Attack.Ransom US $ 5000 from a provincial high school to return course work they are holding for ransom Attack.Ransom . Hāwera High School staff in South Taranaki switched on their computers on Monday to discover a message demanding payment Attack.Ransom for the return of encrypted data on a server containing students ' work and teaching resources , principal Rachel Williams said . The hack Attack.Databreach did not affect student and staff records but the entire school network was taken offline as a precaution . The only devices being used at the school are running off their own data or a hotspot from a mobile phone , she said.Forensics experts from the police , Ministry of Education and the school 's network provider were all working to find the source of the intrusion .