A cyberattack has disrupted operations at the Community College of Beaver County after hackers encrypted the institution’s digital systems and demanded a ransom payment. Officials said the incident was discovered on Monday morning, which also marked the first day of the college’s spring break. The situation came to light after the IT department found a ransom note linked to the attack.
CCBC’s vice president of communications, Leslie Tennant, said, “We came to campus this morning, the first day of spring break, and our IT department notified us that they had received a ransom note and that we had been under a cyberattack.”
The attack involved ransomware, a form of cyberattack that encrypts data and blocks access to computer systems until a payment demand is met. As a result, the college currently cannot access several critical systems, including student grades, transcripts, and financial records. Cybersecurity expert Paul Lauttamus explained, “It's like breaking into a building, locking all the file cabinets and demanding money for the keys back. In this case, they've locked down the computer network, and they're demanding payment to unlock the computer network.”
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Investigation and response
College administrators have begun discussions with their insurance provider to assess the impact of the attack and explore possible solutions. The investigation will seek to identify those responsible and determine whether the encrypted data can be recovered.
However, Paul Lauttamus noted that such cyberattacks are often carried out by actors operating from outside the country. He said, “They can be from in the homeland, but in most cases, they are terrorist states that have conflict with the United States.”
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Campus IT services shut down
The college has temporarily shut down its IT resources and warned students and staff not to use campus devices or log into the system remotely. Tennant said on Monday, “We have currently locked down all IT resources. No one is to be using their computers, logging into VPN, even from home. As of 9:30 this morning, we closed the campus.”
Leslie Tennant added, “Our goal is to work through this process to ensure that our students and our employees and all their information is protected.”
The college is scheduled to reopen next Monday, giving officials roughly a week to resolve the issue and restore access to its systems. Without access to the data, regular classes cannot resume.
