Responding to the Cyberattack

Dear Howard University Community,
 
This past week has been a trying one for our University. As so many in our community were still adjusting to being back on campus after a prolonged absence and acclimating to campus life amidst our pandemic response, we encountered yet a new challenge. The ransomware cyberattack of September 3 has disrupted our University’s operations and made it difficult for our students to study, our faculty to teach and our staff to work.
 
Howard University is no stranger to adversity and bad actors, with criminals having tried to attack our University for ages. Like we have done in the past, we will emerge from this crisis stronger than we were before.
 
The full measure of our University’s strength is tallied by the efforts and dedication of every single member of our community. As the malicious cyber actors have demonstrated, it only takes a small window of opportunity for individuals intent upon doing us harm to do so. Over the past few years, we have strengthened our cybersecurity posture. Those measures have made our cyber recovery more attainable. At this time, there is no evidence that files have been exfiltrated from our University’s systems.    
 
Ever since the onset of the cyberattack, I have been immensely proud of how our University has responded. Whatever their role within the University ecosystem, people in our community have been diligently reading their communications and taking the requested actions to ensure our campus’ security. The volume of volunteers that have assisted ETS with various aspects of our cyber response has demonstrated the Bison spirit that we know and love.
 
Our Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) team of IT professionals has been working 24 hours a day, seven days a week to refortify our network and help us move forward. I say that without exaggeration; as a team, ETS has not taken a break since this incident occurred. During a period of heightened vulnerability, we could ill afford any lapses. ETS took that to heart and has done absolutely phenomenal work over this period. I am also grateful to our external partners whose guidance and expertise has been instrumental in triaging our immediate needs and planning for our long-term protection.
 
The issues caused by the cyberattack are not yet over. Our status remains dynamic and fluid as we encounter new problems and work to restore operations to normal. I recognize that the past week has been difficult and frustrating, especially as the facts on the ground constantly shifted. Despite our best efforts, I understand that communication with the campus community was not perfect. But in an evolving and fast-paced environment, we cannot strive for perfection – we simply must do the very best we can in any given moment, even if the situation changes from one minute to the next.
 
I want to thank you all for your forbearance. Because of your patience as well as your diligence, we were able to resume classes and restore internet connectivity to campus in less than a week. I recognize that the disruptions we encountered were discouraging. But truly, the speed with which we have been able to move forward and restore order has been remarkable.
 
There is more work to do – for all of us. Please, continue to track all updates here and monitor your email inbox for communications related to the cyberattack. Make sure you are informed and capable of spotting the phishing attempts that could compromise our network once again. While I firmly believe that we are on stable ground, setbacks are always possible. Again, thank you for all your efforts during this difficult time. I know that this situation has distracted all of us from the work we are most passionate about. But in order to pursue our missions most effectively, we need to maintain a stable and secure environment. Service to others, and on behalf of a greater whole, always requires personal sacrifice. Thank you for sacrificing your time and energy on this cause of greatest importance to our University. We will emerge stronger on the other side.
 
Excellence in Truth and Service,
 
Wayne A. I. Frederick
Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery
President