LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – After a cybersecurity incident last week, Lansing Community College went offline for several days, locking students and staff out of vital tools and sites.
“It’s a big deal to take yourself off the internet. We really need our email and website. And the community really stepped up by communicating in other ways through social media and text messages,” said LCC President Steve Robinson.
Robinson was one of several voices on the Board of Trustees who thanked the LCC community and IT staff for navigating a system shutdown on Wednesday.
On Monday, students and staff lined up to change account passwords and unlock university-issued devices after an undisclosed cybersecurity issue forced the school’s website and email system offline.
Robinson said they do not believe any personal information was accessed and said the IT team is combing through data to see the full scope of the threat.
“We’ve done a great job getting ahead of this situation, and we are still on an ongoing basis analyzing what we know about it,” said Robinson.
LCC is one of the latest educational institutions hit by cybercrime in the state.
Late last year, schools in Jackson and Hillsdale counties went offline for days after a cyberattack took aim at their systems.
“I think this is part of running a complex organization with multiple, complex information systems, with email, with web, and all the things we use with technology. We are always scanning the horizon to see what those vulnerabilities might be,” said Robinson.
While the recovery brought some headaches along the way, students said staff made the right call.
“They really addressed this as best as they could with due diligence, and they really deserve their flowers,” said Adrian Rios, a writing tutor.
Robinson said he’s confident there’s no ongoing risk to students and staff and adds his team plans to inform students of any new updates as the investigation goes on.
As for assignments and deadlines missed because of the threat, he said professors have been working with students to help make up for the lost time.
