SWCC taking all high-tech precautions

After being shut down since June 4 because of a cyber attack, Des Moines Area Community College is hoping at least online classes will resume today.

The attack which eventually forced the community college to close, has kept officials at Southwestern Community College monitoring its information technology infrastructure.

“For the past several years, Southwestern Community College has retained an outside consulting firm to proactively prioritize the work of the college toward minimizing its information security risks. As part of this effort, the college has an information security committee in place. The committee meets regularly to share information about how the college’s program is progressing. The college has seen significant improvements during recent years regarding its risk posture,” according to a statement provided by Southwestern on Wednesday.

Des Moines Area Community College officials said ransomware forced a partial network shutdown that impacted the college’s online instruction and telephones. The cancellation of all online courses started June 3 and a full closure of the college was the following day. Students returned to in-person classes Wednesday, June 9. Des Moines Area Community College was hoping Sunday online classes would return to normal Tuesday, but they did not because of extended delays.

The college identified the incident as a ransomware attack with the help of a “third-party cybersecurity forensic firm,” in a statement from Susan Metheny, the college’s associate director of strategic marketing and communications on Monday.

For online classes Des Moines Area Community College staff and students were instructed to update their college network passwords before logging into the system.