BENTONVILLE, Ark. — The Northwest Arkansas Community College (NWACC) experienced a cyber threat, the college announced on Wednesday.
The cyber threat was detected by the college's team on the morning of July 30, leading to the immediate, intentional shutdown of the college's tech network.
At 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, NWACC Vice President of Student Affairs Justin White gave a press conference about the cyber threat, where he said there was no indication that student or employee records had been "accessed at all by any external entity."
A typed-out note was reportedly sent to all printers on campus that threatened to post the data to "our TOR darknet sites" unless the college paid the ransom.
"We did contact an external cyber-security team that immediately went to work, worked overnight, and are continuing to work," said White, who confirmed that the shutdown was caused by NWACC as a protective measure. "As those systems are cleared, we will open those back up for faculty, staff and students," said White.
White also confirmed that a note demanding money was sent via the school printers, but no money has been paid, and all campuses are safe.
The school said beyond the cyber-security team, they are also working with the FBI out of Little Rock.
"The college is insured by a cyber-security policy. We were prepared for this. That external partner that we've employed in conjunction with our insurance provider has been really wonderful," said White.
NWACC's phones and website remain operational. However, the college's email system is impacted by the outage. White said a text message line is available for anyone needing to reach NWACC. That number is 479-309-5532.
As of Thursday, Aug. 1, NWACC said they are still working to restore their systems.
NWACC provided the following statement:
"Under the guidance of NWACC’s President and cabinet leadership, we are working with external forensic experts to investigate a ransomware incident that disrupted access to campus information technology systems and applications. Our investigation into this matter is ongoing, and our teams are working diligently to restore systems in a safe and secure environment. We understand the frustration this has caused and appreciate our community’s patience as we continue through the restoration process."
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July 31 NWACC Press Conference:
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