Northern medical school suffers cyberattack, systems offline

NOSM University, which has campuses in Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay, learned it was the victim of a cyberattack on Wednesday of this week.

“Campus internet in both Sudbury and Thunder Bay, as well as shared and departmental drives, and many university websites and services, continue to be inaccessible,” NOSM said in a news release Friday.

“Upon discovery of the issue, NOSM University staff immediately took steps to secure and protect the network and data/information. The university also retained experts who are advising as to next steps.”

No other details about the incident were released, such as whether personal information was compromised. A request for an on-camera interview was refused.

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But the release quotes NOSM president Dr. Sarita Verma as saying the investigation is in its early stages.

“Be rest assured that we have taken the necessary measures to mitigate risk and address business continuity,” Verma said in the release.

Employees and learners are asked to work remotely unless on-campus presence is required for student support or other in-person activities, the release said.

“NOSM University is working to ensure critical systems are operational as soon as possible.”