CPCC shutdown from ransomware attack continues into 2nd week
The ransomware attack and subsequent technology disruption at Central Piedmont Community College continued into a second week of canceled online classes and offline email and phone systems.
According to CPCC, the FBI and other state agencies are investigating the attack which was first detected last Wednesday. Based on an “exhaustive” investigation, there is no indication that any employee or student information was leaked, the school said.
Online classes are canceled through Wednesday, Feb. 17, but some classes will continue to meet in person, according to CPCC.
In a message to students Tuesday morning, CPCC President Kandi Deitemeyer urged resiliency and and said the college will work with students to make sure grades are not impacted permanently because of the outage.
“We will get through this together. I am so proud of the resilience and strength you’ve shown this past year,” Deitemeyer wrote.
The vast majority of employees will work remote this week, the school said, and most college events for this week should be canceled or postponed.
The ransomware attack was discovered last Wednesday night between 10 and 10:30, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg police report. The college’s Information Technology Services staff took systems offline as a precautionary measure, CPCC spokesman Jeff Lowrance said.
The college has been communicating with students and employees through text, voicemail, social media and its website, according to CPCC.
The school also set up a website for updates: https://www.cpcc.edu/technology-interruptions.
