The cyberattack on the Vermilion Parish School System is the latest in a string of computer hacks impacting institutions across Acadiana. Acadian Ambulance, the Bayou Vermilion District, and the Savoie Medical Center in Mamou have all fallen victim in recent months to cybercriminals. A cyber...

VERMILION PARISH, La. (KADN) -- The cyberattack on the Vermilion Parish School System is the latest in a string of computer hacks impacting institutions across Acadiana.

Acadian Ambulance, the Bayou Vermilion District, and the Savoie Medical Center in Mamou have all fallen victim in recent months to cybercriminals. A cybersecurity expert told News 15 that different entities need to invest heavily in cybersecurity.

"They got this budget every year and they put in it expenditures but do they have a line for cybersecurity?" asked Chris Rader with Rader Solutions. "They need to change it to insurance, cybersecurity, and then all other stuff. It's got to become a budget line, and it has to become a bigger part of the budget."

District leaders said they think they caught the attack early on and want to prevent any further compromises to their systems. It's not yet known how long this process will take to restore computer networks. Artificial intelligence plays a role, too, both good and bad, added Rader.

"Artificial intelligence is playing a role on both sides. It's helping people realize where they have weakness in their network. It's helping bad guys using artificial intelligence to find holes in the networks. So, it's a little bit of both. So, the stakes have been raised on both sides," explained Rader.

For the time being, Vermilion Parish schools will be offline for their daily operations until they figure out a solution.