Updates to Colleagues - IT Service - Newcastle University

Issues with University IT Systems - update from the Vice-Chancellor

17:00 Friday 11 September

Dear colleagues,

Apologies for sending two communications in one day but these are important and urgent issues for us all.

I wanted to update you on our recent IT issues before we head into the weekend.

Firstly, while the majority of our services can be accessed by colleagues and students as normal or via the workarounds that have been put in place, we are aware of a small number of staff who have lost all access to email and associated services.

We do understand how frustrating this is but please be assured that NUIT colleagues, working with your managers, will contact you as soon as possible to help.

From the outset we were acutely aware of the challenges we faced in terms of communicating to all colleagues during this time.

Please remember that all communications related to this incident – including the staff emails - are hosted on the NUIT external site so they are available to anyone.

We have also been pointing colleagues and students to this site via social media but please can I ask for your help in reaching out to any colleagues unable to access email and update them on what is happening or direct them to the online FAQs.

Overall, we are making progress with the technical work to assess the full extent of what has happened and to restore full service. As we have said from the start, this is going to take some time to fix and we may have further unexpected disruption to services in the next few weeks.

We have already registered over 1,000 students in the Faculty of Medical Sciences and we look forward to welcoming all other students as planned from 28^th September.

The vast majority of colleagues have IT and email access and are able to do their normal job. For those experiencing problems with access, we will contact you as soon as possible to help fix your access issues.

Zoom and Teams are working well and our meetings and communications are working normally.

We have communicated with all students with instructions on how to register, and with information on smartcards and access to accommodation.

Canvas, our new VLE, is working.

The Philip Robinson Library is open for “Click and Collect” and the Marjorie Robinson Library Rooms are open for pre-booked study space. The service for both of these is working normally.

Exam boards will be meeting next week as planned and we are confident that they will have all the information they need to assess resits etc.

Our student payment gateway is working and we are guiding self-funding students to correctly access the service.

In terms of financial operations, purchase orders are being issued, bills and expense claims are being paid, student payments were made on time in September and tuition fees and other payments are being collected.

In terms of People Services, our recruitment system is working and we are able to handle the vast majority of colleague queries. We are accelerating some of our processes so we can be confident that you will all be paid on time.

Research proposals are being costed using workaround processes and costing templates

Student services are available as normal for remote access and we are progressing plans for the reopening of campus-based facilities

Business Warehouse is working and we can produce management information on relevant activities.

The technical review of all our IT systems is complex and will take time to complete thoroughly. However, from the work we have done so far, we have not yet found any evidence of any exfiltration of personal data as a result of this cyber incident.

I recognise that we still have more work to do. Timetabling is a key priority and we are finding workarounds for this in the coming days.

We also need to address operational issues with some of our door locks and will send you an update on building access early next week.

Finally, I have been really heartened by the creative and flexible approach being taken by colleagues across the University to address these areas. I know how many of you are stepping forward and offering to work through weekends and evenings to help get all our services ready for our students returning at the end of the month. Thank you, for all your hard work.

With all my best wishes

Professor Chris Day, Vice-Chancellor and President

Issues with University IT Systems - update from Executive Board 17:00 Tuesday 8 September

Please see our Latest Staff FAQs.

17:00 Tuesday 8 September

Dear colleagues

We are writing to update you on the latest situation with regards to our ongoing IT issues and in particular the impact it is having on those students who returned to Newcastle this week.

Registration

As you will be aware, as a result of a cyber incident a number of our systems are currently offline. One of these is our registration system and we are working hard to find ways around this to ensure all our students can be registered for the start of term.

In FMS, our teams worked over the weekend to ensure the manual registration of over 1,000 returning medical students who started with us on Monday. This was a massive effort and we are grateful to everyone who worked so hard to complete this on time.

Unfortunately, the cyber incident has also affected the software that underpins resources in our Medical Learning Environment. This means that some of the pre-recorded lectures which our teams spent all summer preparing are currently inaccessible.

All the other material – lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations and timetables are still available and online induction was able to take place. The temporary loss of the pre-recorded lectures is extremely disappointing for all of us.

However, although some on-line resources are currently inaccessible the most important aspect of the returning students’ learning - working with patients and staff in the hospitals and general practices across our region - is proceeding as planned. We are very grateful to our clinical partners for restarting these clinical placements for our students.

Student finance

As a result of the registration system being down, a number of students have reported concerns about not being able to access their student loans.

The University is working hard to resolve the IT issues which are affecting S3P and liaising with the Student Loans Company to release the first instalment of the loans for students.

For any student whose programme starts before 28th September, we have already completed their registration to ensure they receive their loan on time. For students who are due to start programmes on 28th September, we are monitoring the situation closely but we will ensure they are registered on time to enable them to start their programme and receive their loan.

If any student is concerned about their financial situation or registration, please direct them to the student information pages at student communications

Information for colleagues

You may have seen some media coverage in respect of this cyber incident. Rest assured, we take all reports of this nature seriously and are working closely with our partner agencies whilst the investigation is progressing.

As this is a developing situation, and while the investigation is ongoing, I’m afraid we are not able to give you more detail at this stage.

IT colleagues continue to work hard on the systems recovery plan, and to support the Police and the National Crime Agency with their enquiries.

All updates and information will continue to be uploaded to the incident webpages and this includes a new section of FAQs so please do take a minute to look through these and familiarise yourself with some of the recommendations.

Remember, that as part of the standard University IT protocol, you should not be copying or sending files to your personal accounts. If you have used your work computer to input personal banking details or access your personal email then we would recommend you follow good IT practice and change your passwords.

At this time, there is no evidence that email has been widely affected and you should still be able to use Office365 to send and receive emails and to use Teams. We do know that a small number of people have been experiencing difficulties with this so please bear with us.

On behalf of the whole of EB we would like to say how grateful we are to you all for once again rising to the challenge that has been thrown at us and looking for work-arounds and solutions so that our students are not disadvantaged.

Like you, we feel sad and angry this has happened. All of you have worked so hard to ensure this group of young people - who have already been through so much this summer as a result of Covid – are able to continue their education with us here at Newcastle in a few weeks’ time.

Thank you for your commitment and resilience and we apologise once again for the inconvenience and disruption this is causing. Our IT teams continue to work round the clock to resolve the issue as soon as possible and we will continue to keep you updated.

With very best wishes

University Executive Board

Issues with University IT Systems - update from Executive Board
09:30 Friday 4 September

Dear colleagues

Apologies for the Friday email but we have some important information we’d like to share with you before the weekend with regards to the ongoing IT issues as a result of last weekend’s cyber incident.

First though, we felt it was important to update you on our plans for the safe return to campus in light of the SAGE report which is due to be published today, and the subsequent guidance from DfE which we expect next week.

Teams across the University have been working hard on careful preparations for a measured, phased and safe return to campus in light of our new ways of working and COVID-19.

A number of mitigation measures have been put in place to ensure that our campus is COVID-secure and our own guidance on how we plan to implement physical distancing, face coverings and hygiene measures across campus, in teaching, research and office settings, is now well advanced. We have also produced information around safe travel to work and our plans to bring teams back on campus, safely.

We know how important this information is to everyone and want to reassure you that, although we have had many other challenges in recent weeks, careful work has been going on around these issues. We will be in a position to share all this information and planning with you next week, once we have had chance to digest and incorporate any additional guidance that may come through nationally.

Access to buildings

As you will be aware, as a result of the ongoing IT issues, a number of our systems have been affected. One of these is the Access Control System which has been frozen. This means we are unable to make any changes to smartcard access and as a result, some buildings are stuck in ‘lockdown’ mode and will not be accessible in the normal way.

For those staff who are planning to return to campus next week and have therefore not already used their card access, please be aware this may not work. Notices have been posted at all building access points directing you to contact the Security Office who will respond to assist you.

We realise this is less than ideal, however ESS and NUIT are working on the problem and we will be providing regular updates as, and when, a solution is found.

Corrupted emails

While most colleagues still have access to their emails via Office365 (https://office365.ncl.ac.uk), we are aware that some accounts have been impacted to greater extent by the cyber incident.

If your email is not working then please contact the IT Service Desk on 0191 208 5999 or email it.servicedesk@ncl.ac.uk.

Additional support

Our teams have been working extremely hard with a number of agencies to address the issue and are taking further measures to secure the IT estate.

The nature of the problem means it will take a number of weeks to address properly and this will be an on-going situation for some time.

Please be aware:

Many IT services are not operating and will remain that way for the duration.
IT services that are operating may need to be taken down without notice.
Colleagues may lose access to their IT accounts without notice and they may not be re-enabled quickly.
NUIT may need access to any IT system you keep or use.

Work-arounds and alternatives are being prepared, but with the IT team at a stretch, they may not be able to answer everyone’s call or email immediately.

Please be assured that NUIT and the University are doing everything they can to address this situation as swiftly as possible and return the University to a more usual way of working, albeit under COVID-19.

Please keep checking the NUIT news site for the latest updates and information about the incident at https://www.ncl.ac.uk/itservice/latest-news/

As well as keeping colleagues informed, our teams are also sending regular communications to our students about the impact the cyber incident is having on them, in particular their ability to register, book accommodation, sit online exams and submit work.

All the student communications are also being hosted on the NUIT website for information.

We are also working hard to communicate with our key partners and alumni as they are likely to be unable to access some of our services during this time.

Finally, we’d like to extend a huge thank you to our colleagues in NUIT for their continued support and hard work. This is a 24/7 task at the moment and we know they are doing everything possible to get our systems back up and running in time for our students arriving at the end of the month.

We wish everyone a lovely weekend and a huge thanks once again for all your support.

With best wishes

University Executive Board

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