Laurentian University has not had Internet access for the last week due to what officials call a cyber incident, which they say has affected most of their digital services.
According to the university, the incident was reported a week ago Sunday, with only its main page currently up and running.
While the loss did not affect staff and students to any great degree last week due to their mid-term break, technicians are working as quickly as possible to get their sites up and running with everyone returning today.
MONDAY MORNING UPDATE
Critical Security Update for Staff and Faculty
We are enhancing our network security to safeguard our community and your personal information. This update involves installing the SentinelOne (S1) Agent on all staff and faculty computers connected to the university network. This includes student employees of Laurentian University.
Staff and faculty will be required to physically visit an IT Services Kiosk on campus with their laptops before being able to access the campus network.
This is critical and mandatory to ensure protection against similar types of incidents. For those who have a desktop, you will need to notify your supervisor so they can advise IT when best to install the update.
IT Service Kiosks for Staff and Faculty
Four locations will be available as of Monday, February 26, from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM:
IT HelpDesk in the J.N. Desmarais Library
Parker Building Atrium (Liaison desk)
McEwen School of Architecture – SA-113 (9:30 to 12:00 PM, February 26 only)
School of Education – SE 104A
Please consult the schedule to view your assigned time to visit the kiosk.
Detailed installation instructions will be provided at the kiosks and online.
IT staff will be at these locations and will install S1 software. This will not only protect your devices moving forward but will be critical in ensuring that your devices are far less vulnerable to cyber attacks before joining the campus network. The process takes less than ten minutes and will best protect your device and the information it stores and accesses. Moving forward, the new software (SentinelOne) will be required for staff and faculty to access the campus network and cloud-based services like D2L, Google, and Zoom.
Submitting Timesheets
For managers with employees on timesheets (overseeing casual or bi-weekly staff), please visit the Parker Building Atrium on February 26 or 27 as Payroll will be handing out forms for you to complete and return on February 28. This is necessary to have your staff paid accurately and on time. An FAQ has also been prepared to help with this temporary process.
Look for updates at laurentian.ca .