Des Moines Area Community College on-line classes will resume today after a two-week hiatus caused by a ransomware attack. DMACC canceled online classes on June 3 and wound up closing the entire campus on June 4 due to the security breach. In-person classes resumed June 9.
Governor Kim Reynolds said the State of Iowa did not pay any ransom to the hackers. The Office of the Chief Information Officer, a part of the executive branch of state government, wasn’t involved either, according to the governor.
“The state wasn’t involved. We did reach out — OCIO reached out to them to see if we could be of any assistance. At this time they didn’t request or ask for any assistance,” Reynolds said during a question-and-answer session with reporters in Ames yesterday, “so they’ve been on their own dealing with this.”
All students and staff have been directed to change the passwords they use to access DMACC’s computer network. DMACC faculty are adjusting course schedules. Students will be advised tomorrow about new deadlines for dropping classes and getting tuition refunds.