When Cloquet school officials realized staff were unable to access certain files the morning of Aug 3 , there may have been a certain amount of negative `` been there , done that '' feeling involved . For the second time in three years , the school district is the target of a ransomware attack Attack.Ransom — a particularly virulent computer malware that spreads from computer to computer , locking up access to network servers and turning documents into gibberish before offering `` help '' in the form of a request for payment Attack.Ransom to provide a `` key '' to unlock the files . Last time , in March 2016 , the district had to cancel school for a day to allow technology staff time to recover from the malware , which infected some of the district 's servers and many of its more than 600 computers . This time , it happened over summer vacation , and the attack was not as devastating . According to the staff report from Cloquet School District Technology Director T.J.Smith , the virus encrypted files on all servers except one , including network shared drives . However , there is no indication that any information was "stolen Attack.Databreach , '' just that it had been encrypted , so users were unable to open the files . Smith explained to Cloquet School Board members Monday , Aug 13 , that the district had two options , not including paying the ransom demand Attack.Ransom : either try to recover the data , which may not be successful and could be a waste of time and money , or figure out how to recreate the data and rebuild the affected servers . He advocated the second option , noting that the lost data was not `` mission critical '' and that insurance will pay to return the servers to their previous state . Board members voted unanimously for the second option of re-creating information and rebuilding the servers ; they also voted to hire a company to do a `` forensic '' investigation to try and determine how the virus got in . The total cost to the school district for insurance deductibles , estimated at $ 15,000 , will be covered by money already in the technology budget . Superintendent Michael Cary said the district determined that paying a ransom Attack.Ransom `` is not in the best interest of our schools and the community we serve . '' Board Chairman Ted Lammi said he believes such payments to hackers should be illegal . `` Some institutions have paid big bucks and that 's why these guys do it , '' Lammi said . Board member Duane Buytaert , who works in technology for Carlton County , said it can also be a matter of making sure users know how to detect such attacks . `` We all get those wacky emails , '' he said . Staff training should be a priority , board members agreed . On the positive side , Smith said technology staff were able to recover quite a bit of data already , and staff can recreate the data that was lost . The recovery process should not affect the start of school Sept 5 .