Almost 4 weeks after computer shutdown, wi-fi, email returning to Southeastern campus

Southeastern Louisiana University reported another step toward normalcy this week with the return of Internet and Wi-Fi services campus-wide. 

The university has been reeling for weeks from a major computer system shutdown that hit in late February, 

In a social media post on Tuesday evening, the Hammond university also said that the web-based Moodle program, used by students and faculty for assignments and exams, is up and running again, as are card-based payment systems.

“Thank you for your continued support and patience,” the university said in a Facebook post. “We will update again as progress is made.”

In the days before the Internet and Wi-Fi returned to campus, Northshore Technical Community College in Walker had stepped in to bring a “learning support center,” using the computer network of the community college, to a site on Southeastern’s campus.

The university described the temporary site as a place where students would be able to sit down at computers and access Internet and Wi-Fi. 

While email has been restored for most students, faculty and staff, it hasn’t yet been fully restored for alumni, an issue that is actively being worked on, the university said last week.

The computer system issues at Southeastern began the weekend of Feb. 24, after what the university has described as a “security incident” caused the school to take its network offline.

Louisiana State Police are investigating the incident along with other local, state and federal agencies in the Louisiana Cyber Investigations Alliance, created by state law in 2020.

The university has not said publicly whether the “incident” was a cyberattack or what kind of attack it was, though experts have said it has all the hallmarks of one. The university has also not publicly said whether any student or faculty information was compromised, despite questions from students.