Lincoln College Is Closing Because of a Ransomware Attack

The same year that the American Civil War ended, a university opened its doors. Lincoln College administrators blame the attack on a time when the school was already struggling.

Lincoln, a predominantly Black university, will close on May 13. The rural college in Illinois has suffered from financial troubles in recent years, including a shrinking endowment. The Chicago Tribune reports that the school was hit by a cyberattack in December.

The administrators wrote on the school's website that it was difficult to manage their recruitment, retention and fund-raising campaigns because of the gang's attack on important data.

Lincoln College was a victim of a cyberattack in December of 2021, that prevented admissions activities and hindered access to all institutional data, creating an unclear picture of Fall 2022. The systems required for recruitment, retention, and fundraising were not functional.

Lincoln's president, David Gerlach, claimed that the attack put admissions applications into the system.