LCC recognizes Cybersecurity Month

By Mallory Stiles
Editor in Chief

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. LCC is recognizing the month by putting together an informational release for students and staff over the course of several weeks.

The Star, LCC’s employee newsletter, has already reminded staff members key practices to keep the college safe from the rampant cyberattacks; practices such as reviewing software before downloading, securing home networks and disconnecting from the LCC VPN before shutting down.

LCC Director of Public Relations Marilyn Twine spoke with the LCC IT Department and provided the following statement.

“Although the college will not be doing any physical activities for Cybersecurity Month 2023,” Twine said, “there will be an article for students in the Top 10 newsletter and informational articles will be provided to all employees.”

As most may remember, there was a cybersecurity breach earlier this year at the college. LCC suspended operations at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15, and the college remained closed on March 16 and 17.

According to an internal newsletter, during that time LCC disconnected from the college network and the internet to determine the nature and scope of the incident.

LCC President Dr. Steve Robinson sent a mass email on March 23, recapping LCC’s understanding of the events up until that point.

“LCC detected suspicious activity in our network environment,” Robinson stated. “We notified state and federal law enforcement and quickly disconnected our servers and internet from the outside world as a precaution to protect our systems and prevent damage.

“We then worked with third-party specialists to launch an investigation. That remains on-going. … When we are able to share more, we absolutely will. I appreciate your patience, trust and understanding.”

An LCC press release in July stated the results of the investigation did in fact show an unauthorized entity had gained access to certain systems storing personal information.

Officials went on to confirm no evidence was found of “identity theft or fraud” in connection to the breach.

Although Twine said on Oct. 12 that no new information could be released surrounding the pending litigation, the last statement made to the media in July still applies.

“Lansing Community College is dedicated to taking the necessary steps to address this situation,” the statement read. “We notified those affected and continue to take measures to enhance the security of our systems and processes to avoid any similar events in the future.”