The Pine Bluff School District lost more than $3.2 million in a Dec. 17 cybersecurity incident that has since come under federal investigation, Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree said Monday. During the district board’s monthly meeting, Barbaree said the district processed a wire transfer of $3,204,639.55 for what she said “was believed to be a legitimate invoice from a trusted vendor as part of the district’s ongoing construction project.” The district is nearing completion of its new high school campus at its original location on West 11th Avenue. “The director of finance contacted the vendor to confirm receipt of payment and learned the company had sent the invoice for construction services rendered, but the company had not requested the invoice to be paid via wire transfer,” Barbaree said, reading from a statement. “It was discovered this incident was the result of a sophisticated cyberattack. A district email employee account had been compromised, and, while a legitimate invoice had been received, fraudulent wiring instructions were later introduced in the same email thread through a phishing scheme designed to closely mimic authentic communications.” The district acted immediately as the finance director notified the bank; law enforcement was engaged “without delay,” Barbaree continued. “Because this was an active federal investigation involving a cybercrime, we were directed to maintain strict confidentiality,” Barbaree said. She later clarified the FBI was investigating. “Sharing details publicly at this time could have compromised the investigation and potentially hindered efforts to recover the funds by law enforcement. For that reason, we were not able to provide updates sooner.” Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1881. The investigation, Barbaree added, is largely complete and “a substantial portion” of the stolen funds could be recovered within the next two weeks. The exact amount, however, has not been finalized by authorities,