SFA reports online system targeted in cyber attack

NACOGDOCHES, Texas (KTRE) - SFA’s online systems appear to have been the target of a cyberattack, likely between Saturday evening and Monday morning, the university has announced.

Upon discovery, they severed connection to the internet to prevent further attack and are now working with authorities and UT System colleagues to determine the extent of compromise and to return to normal operations. They do not yet have a timeline, officials say.

As SFA’s ITS department assesses status, they will begin to restore systems and eventually internet access. Because official SFA online resources are not available, they ask everyone to watch for official updates on SFA social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Essential personnel must report to campus. Other employees should work with their supervisors for instructions. Supervisors may choose to have employees work on campus without access to systems or to work from home, or use appropriate leave, officials told their employees.

Safety, dining and housing are prioritized for SFA students, summer camp attendees, faculty and staff, officials said.

Individual faculty members were advised to use their own discretion about holding classes in person or providing alternative activities. Work with department chairs and school and college offices to share plans and receive additional instructions.

Kirstyn Leija, a senior student taking summer classes, realized there was a problem as she attempted to access the school’s online learning platform. “I noticed it just wouldn’t let me, so we had trouble trying to connect basically and I was like ‘okay that’s weird,’” Leija said.

Chief Marketing Communications Officer Graham Garner said the disconnection resulted from the university shutting down access to the internet and its network to stop any malicious remote access from a cyber attack.

“Our team has spent the day evaluating what has been exposed, what might have been exposed, what might have been breached, learning what we can do to eliminate any vulnerabilities,” said Garner.

Student worker Carmen Cervantes said she would be attending an emergency meeting to get directions on how to move forward working for the school dorms. “All of our files are online, so we can’t access those, things like rosters, or key numbers, or anything like that,” Cervantes said.

Senior student Madison Brooks said that all online assignment results as incomplete. “Not being able to do that is really affecting it and it still shows up on our grades, ‘oh, you have a zero for not turning it in,’” Brooks said.

Garner said as of now, they will post any new updates through their social media platforms.

“Our hope is our systems will come back up and we can communicate with people directly as soon as we are sure that those are protected and safe to bring back up.”