US college wound up over cyber attack

A disruptive ransomware attack has forced the 157-year-old Lincoln College to wind up for good

Illinois-based Lincoln College, founded in 1865, permanently closed its doors last week following a debilitating ransomware attack that rendered all systems inoperable in December 2021.

Founded in 1865, Lincoln College, which survived two World Wars, the Spanish Flu, and the Great Depression, notified the Illinois Department of Higher Education and Higher Learning Commission of permanent closure, effective May 13, 2022. The college said it could not survive the twin impact of the coronavirus pandemic effect and a ransomware attack that took place in Fall 2021. 

In a statement published on its website, the college said that the Board of Trustees voted to cease all academic programming at the end of the spring semester. This was despite the fact that Lincoln College experienced record-breaking student enrollment in Fall 2019.

“Lincoln College has been serving students from across the globe for more than 157 years. The loss of history, careers and a community of students and alumni is immense,” said David Gerlach, president of Lincoln College. 

The historically Black college said that the coronavirus pandemic drastically impacted recruitment and fundraising efforts, sporting events, and all campus life activities.

“The economic burdens initiated by the pandemic required large investments in technology and campus safety measures, as well as a significant drop in enrollment with students choosing to postpone college or take a leave of absence, which impacted the institution’s financial position.”

To make things worse, the college also suffered a debilitating cyber attack in December 2021 which affected all systems required for recruitment, retention, and fundraising. After paying a ransom of $100,000 to get the systems up and running, the college identified a significant shortfall in enrollment of students and was in much need of a transformational donation or partnership to sustain itself beyond the current semester.

The college also tried to raise $20 million with a GoFundMe campaign but was able to raise only $2,502 with just 25 donors. Student government President Klaudia Blaszczyk, who participated in the campaign, said, “It’s getting very tough. People are giving up. We’re still waiting for that amazing donor but it’s definitely not getting easier.”

Commenting on how a successful cyber attack destroyed a time-tested institution, Dr. Darren Williams, the CEO and founder of BlackFog said, “The very fact that this 157-year-old college survived multiple recessions, a major fire, the Spanish flu, the Great Depression, a world war and a global financial recession tells us a lot about the severity of ransomware and the potential repercussions for not being adequately prepared to prevent it.

“Prevention is so much easier than recovery. Yet so many businesses are failing to take the necessary steps allowing the bad actors to win the war. The average company suffers around 3 weeks of downtime after an attack, as the moment your files are encrypted business essentially grinds to a halt. Many have the resources to get back up and running and the funds to cover the damages, but when it comes to others like Lincoln College this sadly isn’t the case.

“When you look at the costs of ransomware recovery it’s only increasing, take for example the Colonial Pipeline attack that occurred this time last year, the ransom was paid to get the gas supply chain back up and running across the US, but the saga continues with the news that the US Government is now proposing a $1m fine for a series of violations.

“The way organisations look at cyber-security generally must change, and IT leaders need to look past the antiquated techniques that have been used since the 80’s. Next generation tools that tackle the problem in new ways are better served to prevent the types of attacks we see today,” he added.

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com