Info-Tech Team At West Chester University Spotted Hack Attempt

WEST CHESTER, PA — West Chester University is still investigating an attempted breach of campus information systems that required a proactive shutdown this week.

West Chester University President Chris Fiorentino send a message advising the university community on Monday night of "some unusual activity" on the network and IT systems noticed by WCU's Information Services and Technology Team (IS&T).

Fiorentino explained that the team proactively shut down access to all IT services except for email, 0365 (Microsoft Office, OneDrive), Zoom, and D2L.

"We have learned that our IS&T team's quick action has helped to contain an external attempt to access the University's system," Fiorentino said.

"At this point, we believe that no employee or student data has been compromised. IS&T is now working with third-party digital forensics experts and our investigation will continue," he added.

Remote classes, D2L, and Zoom were not interrupted, the president's memo said.

Because of the shutdown, academic calendar deadlines have been adjusted, and the university said it will extend the course withdrawal deadline. The president said the university will communicate the new deadline when access to myWCU is restored.

Student registration for summer and fall classes via myWCU will commence as soon as the portal has returned to its online status, the university said.

Information and posts related to systems affected, and what is and is not operational across the university, can be found here.

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