Threat to Southeastern’s network being investigated by La. officials

HAMMOND, La. (WAFB) - Since Friday, students and faculty at Southeastern Louisiana University have been unable to access the school’s internet. In today’s world that can turn a normal day of school completely upside down.

“All of your assignments are on there, all your due dates are on there,” said one student.

“I was actually in the middle of a test and Moodle closed down on me,” said another.

Professors say contacting students has been more than a struggle. Even posting their social media accounts on their door for students to reach them that way.

“The simple idea of, I’m not sure what to do. And I can understand that completely, we can’t contact them on mass,” said university Communications professor Dr. Joe Burns.

Burns says although most of his classes are in-person, it’s still been difficult keeping up with everyone’s work.

“I don’t know what it is I can only speculate on what it is,” Dr. Burns added.

Another professor, who mostly teaches online, says it’s been a headache.

“My main thing is when is it gonna be done so I can kinda figure out and plan out how the due dates are gonna work when our midterms are actually going to be taken or if we need to go back to paper,” said University English professor Christopher Genre.

University officials say they contacted state police as soon as they detected an irregularity in the network which has prompted an investigation. We asked them if they’ve heard any update.

“No, I can’t, I can’t comment on any of the specifics about that because it is an ongoing investigation so I can’t say,” said the University’s Senior Director of Marketing Mike Rivault.

Several people we spoke with shared concerns about their personal data.

“If the school system does have everybody’s information and somebody else has that information, that could fall back on us depending on what information they have,” one student explained.

“I just don’t know what to think of it, I don’t know how they’re handling it, I don’t know what steps they’re taking, I feel like all the students are in the dark right now,” another student added.

“I would be lying if I said I was not a little bit worried but I’m hoping all of that is secure,” Professor Genre continued.

State police issued a statement confirming they are investigating the incident alongside the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness but added no additional information.

University officials say they hope to have the problem sorted and the internet back up and running as soon as possible.

RELATED: Communications networks experience outage for several days at Southeastern Louisiana University

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