Lincoln College Closes After 157 Years Due To COVID-19 And Ransomware Attacks

Illinois college closed due to ransomware attack and COVID-19 pandemic (photo: Lincoln College Facebook)

JAKARTA - Lincoln College, a college in Illinois said it would close starting this week after a ransomware attack that took months to complete.

"Lincoln College has notified the Department of Higher Education and the Illinois Commission on Higher Education of its permanent closure, effective May 13, 2022. The Board of Trustees has voted to suspend all academic programs at the end of the spring semester," the Lincoln College announcement read.

This institution has gone through its tough times. In 2019, Lincoln College experienced record-breaking student enrollments, with dormitories at maximum capacity.

“Lincoln College has served students from around the world for more than 157 years,” said David Gerlach, president of Lincoln College. “The loss of history, careers, and the student and alumni community is enormous.”

While the impact of COVID-19 has severely impacted activities such as recruitment and fundraising, the cyberattack appears to have been a tipping point for Illinois institutions.

According to NBC News, this is the first US college or university to be partially closed due to a ransomware attack.

In December 2021, Lincoln became a cyberattack that resulted in the failure of reception activities and blocked access to all institutional data.

"All the systems required for recruitment, retention, and fundraising efforts were not operational," he explained.

Fortunately, no personally identifiable information was revealed. Once fully reinstated in March 2022, projections point to a significant enrollment shortfall, requiring transformational donations or partnerships to maintain Lincoln College beyond the current semester.

Over the past few years, ransomware hackers have attacked educational facilities, hospitals, game studios, the Sinclair Broadcast Group, as well as many other companies and institutions.