College continues to recover from ransomware attack

Lewis and Clark Community College is continuing to recover from a hack of its network systems last week.

The college issued this statement on Monday:

“On Nov. 23, 2021, Lewis and Clark Community College experienced a cybersecurity incident that affected some of our IT systems.

“Upon discovery, we proactively took our systems offline and, out of an abundance of caution, have closed Lewis and Clark campuses this week to provide necessary recovery time for our systems.

“Since discovering this incident, our team has been in close contact with law enforcement and working constantly with data security experts to assess this situation, determine its scope, and bring systems back online as quickly and safely as possible. At this time, the ongoing investigation has not yet determined if any specific information was affected.

“We are proud of our team’s quick response and will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

“While our investigation and restoration continues, our focus remains on our students. Their success is our top priority. Timelines for student assignments and exams will be adjusted to account for any work that cannot be completed at this time.

“Thank you for your understanding as we conduct a thorough investigation and work to restore our systems.”

Separately, the college’s president, Ken Trzaska, said LCCC hopes to restore its computer systems by week’s end.

In a story in today’s edition of The Telegraph in Alton, the president said the ransomware attack was made on the college’s computer network. He, however, declined to disclose the exact amount that had been demanded from LCCC.

There is no evidence that personal information was affected by the attack, he told the paper, and the college is working with the police and the FBI has been notified.

Trzaska (shown) also said that information technology experts have been on campus since Friday to review systems.