Come Friday, Illinois based Lincoln College plans to officially close doors due to a combination of both the ongoing pandemic and a recent ransomware attack, which put a large portion of the school's day-to-day activities in major jeopardy. Lincoln College's closure marks the first of its kind in the closure of a higher-education institution, one note only rooted in American history, but likewise shaped by its chiefly Black students, as noted by the Department of Education.
The institution laid to bear this abrupt news via an announcement on its website, highlighting this grand historical makeup reaching all the way back to 1865, which incidentally is the birthdate of the school's namesake, President Abraham Lincoln. It cites a flurry of major historical events as monuments of its long legs and survivalist nature, pointing to the Great Depression, the Spanish flu epidemic, as well as not one but two World Wars.
"Lincoln College was a victim of a cyberattack in December 2021 that thwarted admissions activities and hindered access to all institutional data, creating an unclear picture of Fall 2022 enrollment projections. All systems required for recruitment, retention, and fundraising efforts were inoperable," the note reads.
The school notes that "no personal identifying information was exposed," but goes on to state the inevitable downturn of its operations due in large part to these combined constraints. Limited enrollment brought on via the pandemic, coupled with this rather malignant cyber attack proved to put an untimely damper on the 157-year-strong institution.
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"Once fully restored in March 2022, the projections displayed significant enrollment shortfalls, requiring a transformational donation or partnership to sustain Lincoln College beyond the current semester," the school writes.
It goes on to specify that it attempted to make up for these losses through various means, such as selling off its assets, heading fundraising campaigns, reworking staff salaries, and "exploring alternatives for the leased building in Normal." Unfortunately, it could not make ends meet, despite having a record-shattering enrollment in Fall of 2019.
Lincoln College's note also includes three FAQ pages to answer all the necessary questions on faculty, student, and alumni considerations moving forward. It also noted that it will continue to support and facilitate transitional services for students going into the semester's remaining few months.
It's a sad beat as malware and cyberattacks continue to expand into ever-more tyrannical concepts. Russia is among the biggest culprits behind China in its efforts to take over Ukraine. Increased vigilance for such concepts is a must, as even Microsoft announced today, May 9th, of the formation of cybersecurity services to aid against such ransomware and malware attacks.
Ransomware is a very specific type of cyberattack in that it involves the exchange of money to reacquiring lost or controlled systems via bad parties. It's been utilized in various cases, most prominent among them being city governments, paycheck services, hospitals, and schools. The aftereffects of such a cyberattack can also be debilitating financially, as witnessed in the $10 million system restoration required for Baltimore County public schools.
Concluding its note, Lincoln College writes, "Though we are experiencing undeniable grief and sadness, we find comfort in knowing Lincoln College has served generations of alumni who have undoubtedly impacted our world."
