Lewis & Clark College

Profile narrative

Lewis & Clark College operates as an educational institution in the United States of America, serving students through academic programs and associated campus services. The college maintains core operational systems including payroll, student information platforms, and tuition payment infrastructure, with references to Workday, Colleague, and Nelnet as key technology components. Its activities span multiple campuses where it delivers instruction and supports student life, including extracurricular activities such as sports programs. The institution provides services to current and former students as well as employees, extending certain protections such as credit monitoring and identity restoration services following security incidents.

The college has experienced significant cybersecurity events that disrupted operations across its campuses. In March 2023, a ransomware attack targeting educational institutions led to unauthorized access and theft of data stored on LC Files, including sensitive personal information such as passport details and social security numbers. Attackers published portions of the stolen data on a dark web site, prompting the institution to engage external forensic experts to assess the breach and restore systems from backups without paying the ransom. While core systems including Workday, Colleague, and Nelnet remained uncompromised, some employees reported fraudulent tax filings using their social security numbers. The college implemented additional security measures, including multi-factor authentication for its virtual private network, as part of its response.

A separate ransomware incident occurred in November 2021 when suspicious network activity detected on a Tuesday led the director of information technology to shut down the computer network the following day. This attack prompted the closure of all campuses and cancellation of extracurricular activities including sports, occurring ahead of a holiday period when many staff were absent. College officials stated that although attackers gained access to the network, they did not achieve control over systems. The institution's president confirmed the limited scope of the intrusion, and forensic analysis to determine the full scope of impacted data remained ongoing in both incidents.

Incidents

4 incidents linked to this organisation.