A cyberattack on the University of New Mexico Libraries on July 31 led to significant disruptions in accessing library resources, although no student or employee data was compromised, according to Mark Emmons, associate dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences. Following the attack, publicly accessible resources were restored by the semester’s start, but off-campus access issues continued to affect students and staff seeking remote library resources.
The University’s leadership responded by taking down network components linked to UNM Libraries, which included sending a campus-wide notification on August 1 alerting the community to the library’s service disruptions. By August 15, another campus-wide email informed students and staff that full access to library services had been reestablished, though further efforts were needed to stabilize access for remote users.
Testing of the network by September 6 indicated that the off-campus access issues may have been largely resolved, according to Emmons. The prolonged disruption underscored the susceptibility of higher education institutions to cyberattacks, which have increasingly targeted libraries and educational resources due to their vast digital infrastructure and reliance on networked services.
Emmons emphasized the importance of cybersecurity awareness across the university, noting that individual attackers and motives are often unknown in these incidents. He encouraged students and faculty to adopt information security best practices to help protect the university’s digital environment, fostering a more secure campus network amid a growing number of cyber threats to educational institutions.
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