College of the Desert website is having issues for users due to malware attack

Users trying to access the College of the Desert page have been having issues. On Sunday, College of the Desert fell victim to a malware attack that brought down email and web services.

A team of experts is said to be working diligently on this issue to get things back up and running as soon as possible. Experts have also helped the college fill out a report with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In a statement, superintendent Dr. Joel Kinnamon said, "The restoration process requires extensive system and data testing. We will not risk
resuming operations before testing the stability and reliability of the system. "While we cannot provide an exact timeframe for the complete remediation of College systems, we are working diligently to ensure systems and operations are restored as soon as possible."

Karston Williams is a student at College of the Desert. He said, "I am a little bit nervous because I'm not sure if I got into a couple of my classes because I was waitlisted." He also needed to pay some of the fees on his classes. College of the Desert is reassuring students that they will not be dropped from classes due to nonpayment fees.

Dr. Kinnamon added, "Although the attack has affected faculty, staff and students, there is no evidence that any personally identifiable information has been compromised."

Williams said, "As much as technology is great, it has its problems and not all of them can be fixed immediately." He added that he is still excited to take classes online. He said it gives him more time to work and create his own schedule.

College of the Desert said they will continue to use the college's emergency text alert system to provide updates and information to staff and students.

News Channel 3's Taban Sharifi will have more details in a full story tonight at 6 p.m.