Lewis & Clark College

Summary

Lewis and Clark Community College experienced a ransomware attack that prompted the director of information technology to shut down the computer network after detecting suspicious activity, leading to the closure of all campuses and cancellation of extracurricular activities including sports. College officials stated that although attackers gained access to the network, they did not achieve control over systems, and the incident occurred ahead of a holiday period when many staff were absent.

Motives

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TTPs

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Description

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the director of information technology at Lewis & Clark Community College in Godfrey observed suspicious activity on the institution’s computer network. In response, the director ordered the network to be shut down on the following Wednesday. Consequently, the college closed all of its campuses and cancelled all extra‑curricular activities, including sports. The timing of the incident placed it just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday period. The college president, Ken Trzaska, later commented on the nature of the breach.

President Trzaska stated that although hackers had gained entry into the network, they never achieved control over it. The shutdown of the network and the closure of campuses were actions taken by the college. No additional information about the attackers’ identity, motives, or methods was disclosed in the source. The article notes that the attack occurred before Thanksgiving, when many staff might be off or want to take off for the holiday week or long weekend. The source does not provide details on any data loss, system restoration timeline, or further investigative steps.

Sources

Sources available to members: 1 source.