Southwest Tennessee Community College Concludes Forensics Investigation of Cyber Incident

For more information, contact Diana Fedinec, Southwest Tennessee Community College Director of Public Relations and Media, at 901-333-4247 or dfedinec@southwest.tn.edu.

(Memphis, Tenn.) - Southwest Tennessee Community College has completed its forensic investigation into the cyber incident that disrupted campus computer systems on Friday, July 5, 2024. The investigation confirmed that the College was targeted in a sophisticated ransomware attack that led to unauthorized access to certain information maintained by the College.

Following the advice of law enforcement and external experts, as well as Tennessee law that prohibits state agencies from paying ransom in these circumstances, the College did not engage with the cybercriminal. 

Michael Boyd, chief of administrative services, said, “We are deeply committed to the privacy and security of our students, employees, and stakeholders. From the moment the incident was detected, we acted swiftly to mitigate the situation and prevent further access to our systems. Our efforts were focused on restoring our online services and reinforcing our cybersecurity measures to safeguard against future threats.”

The College’s IT team, in collaboration with an outside cybersecurity forensic team, is working diligently to restore all impacted systems.

The investigation revealed that information from certain businesses affiliated with the College was accessed. The College has promptly issued notification letters to all affected parties.

Although the College does not believe that personal data of students and employees was compromised, the College is proactively advising all members of the College community on steps to protect themselves from potential identity theft.

Additionally, the College has established a dedicated web page housed on its website at www.southwest.tn.edu to provide the campus community with comprehensive details about the incident, updates on the College’s operations, and advice on safeguarding personal information.