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Online learning still on pause following Howard University ransomware attack

Undergraduate hybrid and online courses remain suspended September 9.

WASHINGTON — Students and staff are allowed back on campus for in-person learning at Howard University Thursday, but undergraduate online classes remain suspended after Tuesday's ransomware attack.

Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Tashni-Ann Dubroy updated students and staff Wednesday on the status of the campus following the cyberattack.

In the update, Dr. Dubroy said the university will soon conduct an audit of all devices associated with the university. 

"These audits will require sweeping of phones, laptops, and other digital work tools, which may be susceptible to data breaching. All University usernames, email addresses and other login credentials will be verified for authenticity, access privileges, and activity," Dr. Dubroy said.

More immediately, the university broke down who should report to campus on Thursday, September 9, while the ransomware attack investigation continues.

Students:

  • Students enrolled in exclusively in-person classes should report to campus.
  • Undergraduate hybrid and online courses remain suspended for Thursday, September 9.
  • Graduate/professional students taking online/hybrid courses should remain remote and continue to access those courses remotely. (This instructional modality has typically been through Zoom or Microsoft Teams.) 

All Faculty:

  • Researchers are allowed to be on campus to continue their research. ETS will continue meeting in segmented clusters with various researchers according to the data asset class. 
  • Faculty convening face-to-face courses should come to campus to continue teaching their classes. Please note that any lecture content that requires online activity will not be accessible if you are on campus and are reliant on the Howard network or VPN access. If you have a hotspot or MiFi, you will be able to access your signal. 
  • Faculty who teach undergraduate hybrid and online courses should remain remote, as no WiFi is available in 6 out of 8 dorms on campus. (Our residential students use campus WiFi to connect to our network). Online and hybrid courses remain suspended for Thursday, September 9. 
  • Faculty who teach graduate/professional online/hybrid courses should remain remote, and students can continue to access those courses remotely. (This instructional modality has typically been through Zoom or Microsoft Teams.)
  • If your office is open to students, in-person meetings are allowed.  

Staff:

  • All staff who can perform their duties without being logged into the Howard University network must come to work.
  • No University offices should be closed, regardless of the network status. 
  • All essential staff will report to campus per their usual schedules. 

WiFi remains shutdown on the campus Thursday.

"We will continue to keep you updated on expected timelines for the restoration of campus wireless access. We are working on standing up WiFi in the safest environment possible,"Dr. Dubroy said.

RELATED: More classes canceled, WiFi shutdown on Howard U's campus due to ransomware cyberattack

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