January 19 PM Outage Update

Dear Carson-Newman family:

As we previously confirmed, in the early hours of January 14, the University experienced an anomaly with its network. The difficult choice was made to shut down the entire network to assess the scope of the issue and attempt to identify the source, which presently appears to be external. The University team, in conjunction with an outside partner, continues to work around the clock on the investigation of our system.

It has since been reported that some members of our campus community have received suspicious messages.  Unfortunately, this is a common tactic used by malicious actors and we acknowledge that receiving such messages can be unsettling.

What can you do?  

If you receive a communication that you believe may be suspicious do not reply, click on any links, or otherwise engage with the message or the sender. 

As a best practice, we all need to remain vigilant and beware of phishing attacks through email and social media.

We would like to remind you about these important cybersecurity tips to help keep Carson-Newman University systems secure:

• Do not open attachments you are not expecting or appear suspicious to you. 
• Do not click on links in emails that you are not expecting.
• Do not provide your password or login information unless you can verify the request.
• Be on the lookout for messages that look authentic but may not be, including to your LinkedIn, email, social media accounts, etc.

Thank you for your vigilance and patience while we continue our investigation and efforts to

January 17 AM Outage Update

In the early hours of January 14, the University experienced an anomaly with its network.

Our IT team identified the interruption quickly and responded immediately. There are multiple avenues to explore and in the interest of protecting our systems, the difficult choice was made to shut down the entire network. That decision was necessary to assess the scope of the issue and attempt to identify the source, which presently appears to be external.

The University team, in conjunction with an outside partner, have worked around the clock on the investigation of our system.

We know the burden this situation has presented for our students, faculty and staff, especially at the start of the semester. There is not a member of the Carson-Newman community who has not been negatively affected in some way by this situation.

Until the scope of the impact has been determined and we can return to normal operations of the network, unfortunately, this shut down remains necessary. We understand the frustration. We are a society connected by instantaneous technology. We rely on it and maybe even take it for granted. When we lose access, it is a disruptive force.

We desire to find ways to ease the burden of the disruption caused by the network shut down and return to normal operations as quickly as possible.

A class instruction process is being created and will be communicated for both in-person and online classes. We appreciate your patience and prayers as we work through these challenges. Operations updates will be provided at www.carson-newman.com no later than January 20 prior to the return of classes January 21.