'Cyber incident' takes down IT systems at Laurentian University

Laurentian University is seen in this file photo. (File)

A cyber incident has taken several IT systems at Laurentian University offline, including the university’s website.

It started on Sunday morning and the university said it immediately took steps to secure the network.

"We are in the process of re-establishing the services, investigating, and understanding the incident’s impact," Laurentian said in an update Tuesday night.

Students have this week off for reading week, a time where they don't have class and can catch up on school work.

Monday was the Family Day holiday, so an email was sent to the Laurentian community Tuesday saying a "cyber incident" was impacting many systems at the university, “leading to many of them being unavailable.”

"Laurentian’s IT team has been working diligently and will continue until we are able to restore services ... At the moment, many services remain unavailable, including Internet connectivity," the message continued.

"While there is no estimated timeline on when these services will be available, it is a priority to get the system back up."

Food service continues, along with other student services. The physical myLaurentian Hub will be closed Feb. 20-21.

"Online and phone services will be limited, which include, fees, admission, financial aid, student records and the Office of the Registrar," the message said.

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Payroll is not expected to be disrupted as a result of the network disruption.

Beginning Wednesday, the school will communicate with employees and students through social media and the website, which will be a static page.

"We appreciate that this incident raises a significant privacy concern, and we will be providing updates and sharing more information when we have it," LU said Tuesday night.

"We have reported the incident to law enforcement."

As a result of the outage, students might not be able access class materials or upload an assignment through D2L.

"If you have an assignment due, you are asked to send an email to the class instructor (if possible) to inform them you are not able to submit your assignment through D2L," LU said in a frequently asked questions page.

"The class instructor will provide further guidance when they are able."

Faculty has been instructed to be flexible with assignment due dates and tests as a result of the disruption.

"An email will be sent to the LU community when service has been restored," LU said.

 

Credentials such as usernames and passwords have not been compromised during the incident, the school said.