Cybersecurity issue affecting Grenfell Campus of Memorial University

Memorial University says a cybersecurity incident is affecting Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook, though few other details are available.

In a statement released Sunday afternoon, the university says it became aware of an issue with Grenfell Campus's information technology services Friday. 

Security protocols were put in place to isolate the impacted systems, says MUN. There is no word yet on which systems were impacted. 

As a result of the incident, IT services at the Marine Institute have been temporarily shut down.

When asked for clarification on the connection between Grenfell and the Marine Institute, a MUN representative said, "Memorial's central IT team isolated Grenfell Campus and the Marine Institute as a precautionary measure and as part of the investigation."

The university said there is no indication at this stage that IT services or data on other campuses have been affected. 

MUN said an investigation has been launched and law enforcement has been notified. 

"Memorial is actively working with cybersecurity experts to conduct a forensic investigation to determine the cause and scope of the issue. This investigation is in its early stages and will likely take some time to complete. Memorial will directly notify any individuals whose information may have been affected by this incident," the statement reads.

MUN said it has activated its emergency operations centre. "A team of pan-university experts are working together to mitigate impacts on academic, research and administrative activities," says the statement.

The university says more information about any changes that affect faculty, staff or students at Grenfell Campus will be shared before the start of the winter 2024 semester.

Lectures are set to resume Thursday. 

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