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The University of Winnipeg

Cyber attack and service outage


Cyber attack updates and support

Our investigation of the cyber attack is continuing. A list of the groups affected, what information was exposed, and an FAQ can be found on this page.

April 25, 2024 – Service Update

Library

Students and Faculty are now able to log in to the library system, to place holds on materials, renew books, and make inter-library loans. This was the last major user-facing system for the Library to restore.

Awards Management System

The web portal for Awards and Financial Aid is available for students connecting off-campus to apply for bursaries and awards.

Clinic Master

This system supports activities in the Athletic Therapy Centre to schedule appointments, case management and billing.

Orbis

Data feeds from Colleague to the Orbis system have been restored. Orbis is used by the Faculty of Business & Economics with their career portal, which supports career-ready graduates by connecting in-class learning with real-world experiences and opportunities.

Envoke – Contact Sync

Supports Marketing & Communications with their email notices, to have the most current lists of UWinnipeg email accounts.

April 23, 2024 – Service Update

Eduroam

The eduroam wi-fi service, which is used for personal devices, is available. However, all devices connecting to eduroam will need to login again and possibly be updated. Detailed instructions have been provided in a separate email that was sent from the Technology Service Desk on Friday, April 19.

Key Inventory

The Facilities Management Department administers the inventory of keys using this system.

Print Shop Billing

This system enables Printing Services to bill departments for print jobs.

Advanced Placement Exam Scores

This is used by Undergraduate Admissions to receive and securely process exam scores for the purpose of evaluating applications for admission.

Colleague Integrations

Colleague – Ares: This integration synchronizes data from Colleague to the Library's ARES course reserves system, providing the Library with course, instructor and student data required to set-up course reserves materials.
Colleague – FlyWire: This automates the process of receiving international payment files from Flywire for Financial Services and is imported into student financial accounts in Colleague.

April 18, 2024 – Eduroam, Online Course Maintenance, and 25Live-Colleague (LYNX interface)

Eduroam

The eduroam wi-fi service, which is used for personal devices, is available. However, all devices connecting to eduroam will need to login again and possibly be updated. Detailed instructions will be provided in a separate email.

Online Course Maintenance

The LMS/Nexus team uses this database to load course section information from Colleague into Nexus. This is a critical service for Nexus as it is required to create Nexus courses for the upcoming Terms.

25Live-Colleague (LYNX interface)

The LYNX Interface enables information to be shared between the Colleague student information system (SIS) and the 25Live scheduling system, to support activities in the Academic Scheduling Office.

April 16, 2024 – Wi-Fi, Prophix, WebGrants, StarRez, Library Access, Right of First Refusal, Collegiate Grades, Collegiate Textbooks, Student Loan Confirmation, Computer Updates restored

We are pleased to share that the following campus technology services have been restored.

Prophix

The financial budgeting system Prophix is now available and fully functional.

WebGrants

WebGrants is UWinnipeg's portal for internal and external research grants, human ethics, and animal ethics protocols. Grant Account Numbers (for internal and external research grants), Amendment forms, Renewal forms and Final Reports are also located in WebGrants.

StarRez – NAV Integration

The integration between StarRez (Campus Living) and the NAV financial system has now been implemented. This completes the efforts to restore StarRez, which now has full functionality.

Off-campus Library Access

This system provides students, faculty, and researchers access to electronic library resources such as e-books and journal articles by logging in with their UWinnipeg username and password.

Right of First Refusal

This system is used by Human Resources to maintain instructor information related to the hiring process for contract academic staff (CAS).

Collegiate Grades

The Collegiate uses this service to submit final grades for registered students who have applied to select Manitoba universities.

Collegiate Textbooks

This is a system used by The Collegiate to issue and return textbooks to registered students.

Student Loan Confirmation

Awards & Financial Aid are now able to confirm requests of student enrolment sent by Manitoba Student Aid.

Campus Wi-Fi

For those using a UWinnipeg managed laptop (it has an asset tag sticker) and using wi-fi on campus, please ensure that your computer is using the ‘uwinnipeg.ca’ wi-fi network. This is the standard on-campus wi-fi network that UWinnipeg managed laptops are normally configured to use. However, if you manually selected ‘TEMPWIFI’, you should ‘forget’ that network and manually select ‘uwinnipeg.ca’, ensuring the ‘Connect Automatically’. If you need assistance, please contact the Technology Service Desk.

Computer Updates

A reminder that if you have not had your UWinnipeg managed laptop or desktop (it has an asset tag sticker) updated by a TSC technician, please contact the Technology Service Desk (servicedesk@uwinnipeg.ca or 204 786-9149). Please provide your contact information, as well as the dates/times you are available to work with a technician. A TSC staff member will be in touch with an appointment time.

April 15, 2024 – Exam Scanning, Wi-Fi, SPSS, Computer Updates

We are pleased to share that the following campus technology services have been restored.

Exam Scanning

The exam scanning service is now available. The process to submit exams remains the same. Please complete the request form (https://www.uwinnipeg.ca/tech-sector/docs/exam-scan-submission-form.pdf) and email the completed form to ExamScanning@UWinnipeg.ca

Campus Wi-Fi

For those using a UWinnipeg managed laptop (it has an asset tag sticker) and using wi-fi on campus, please ensure that your computer is using the ‘uwinnipeg.ca’ wi-fi network. This is the standard on-campus wi-fi network that UWinnipeg managed laptops are normally configured to use. However, if you manually selected ‘TEMPWIFI’, you should ‘forget’ that network and manually select ‘uwinnipeg.ca’, ensuring the ‘Connect Automatically’. If you need assistance, please contact the Technology Service Desk.

SPSS – UWinnipeg Managed Computers

The interruption to the SPSS license service for UWinnipeg managed computers has been resolved. SPSS on UWinnipeg managed computers is now functioning again.

Computer Updates

If you have not had your UWinnipeg managed laptop or desktop (it has an asset tag sticker) updated by a TSC technician, please contact the Technology Service Desk (servicedesk@uwinnipeg.ca or 204.786.9149). Please provide your contact information, as well as the dates/times you are available to work with a technician. A TSC staff member will be in touch with an appointment time.

April 12, 2024 – ClockWork, Recruit (Payments) and Lab Workstations now available

ClockWork

The Accessibility Services system ClockWork is now fully functional. All staff can access ClockWork using the app installed on their computers. Students, Faculty and Note Takers can access their respective web links locally and via the internet.

Recruit – Payments

The Recruit payment gateway is now enabled, allowing credit card payments.

Lab Workstations (Citrix)

Student workstations in 3G10 (Academic Tutoring), 2L01 (Aboriginal Student Services) and Psychology lab are now available for students to use. This is in addition to student workstations in Uplink and Library.

April 11, 2024 – File Servers, NAV Web Portal, Recruit, Crystal Reports, Lab Workstations now available

We are pleased to share that the following campus technology services have been restored.

File Servers (O and M Drives)

Both the departmental (O) and personal (M) network file storage drives are available and ready for use. The files have been restored as of March 23 at 3:00 a.m. (CT). To ensure your computer is mapped to the network folders you had earlier, please re-boot your UWinnipeg-managed computer while on campus.

NAV Web Portal

The internet portal for the NAV financial system is now available.

Recruit

Recruit for staff, including integration with Colleague, is now live. The Recruit web version for students continues to be available.

Crystal Reports

Efforts to restore Crystal Reports are now complete and reports are now available.

Lab Workstations (Citrix)

Student workstations in both the Uplink Lab (4C32B) and the Library are now operational and available for students to use.

Thank you for your continuing patience and support.

April 9, 2024 – NAV, Printing and StarRez now available

We are pleased to share that the following campus technology services have been restored.

Financial Systems

The NAV system is now live for administrative purposes only. This limited roll-out has allowed staff from multiple areas to start addressing the backlogs of work. Work continues to re-establish the integrations with associated systems (SIS, StarRez, Recruit). The web client portion of NAV remains unavailable until the integrations are complete.

Another associated service that has been restored is cheque printing for Accounts Payable.

Printing

Printing services on campus are now available. No changes have been made to on-campus printing services. To re-enable printing from your UW managed laptop or desktop (asset tag sticker on it), you must re-start your computer while on campus.

Student printing services at the usual designated printers across campus is also restored.

Campus Living

The StarRez system that supports Campus Living activities is now available. This will assist the activities of the Campus Living staff and allow them to support students in residence.

We would like to thank all of you for your patience and co-operation as our team continues to work towards restoring services.

April 5, 2024 – WebAdvisor now available

WebAdvisor is now available. There have been no changes in how you access the system. Using a compatible web browser, please visit the WebAdvisor login page.

All functions within WebAdvisor are available. The only service that is unavailable is the Ellucian GO app. There is currently no estimate for when that service will be available, but an update will be shared when it is.

Please note that until you have reset your WebAdvisor password, you will not be able to access the system. For details on how to perform a password reset, please visit the Technology Sector website.

Thank you for continued patience and cooperation as we work to restore all systems.

April 4, 2024 – Cyber attack update

The University of Winnipeg first brought news of a cyber attack to our community last week. Regrettably, we are confirming that the individuals who attacked us stole information.

We have been investigating since the cyber incident first came to our attention on March 24, 2024. We have now confirmed that data from a University file server has been stolen and that the stolen information likely includes the personal information of current and former students and employees.

Our investigation is continuing. More information, including a list of the groups affected and what information was exposed can be found on this page.

April 3, 2024 - Nexus is now available

We are pleased to inform the campus community that the Learning Management System (Nexus) is now available.

The way to access the system has not changed. Using a compatible web browser, please visit the Nexus login page at: https://nexus.uwinnipeg.ca/d2l/login 

Please note that until you have reset your WebAdvisor password, you will not be able to access Nexus. For details on how to reset your password, please visit our password update page.

We would like to thank all of you—our entire campus community—for your patience as we resolved this issue. We are especially appreciative of the support you provided by updating your passwords. Your cooperation was a critical part of restoring access to Nexus.

We will continue to share updates on this page as more services are made available.

April 2, 2024 – Exam schedule now available

The new exam schedule is now available on the Exam Schedules website. We recognize that the change to the exam period will have an impact on faculty and students. We appreciate your cooperation in this matter as we are working towards minimizing the overall impact and bringing the term to a successful conclusion.

  • The April 18-April 24 schedule will remain as is to minimize the impact on students and faculty.
  • The April 11-17 initial schedule will be moved to April 25-May 2. This will include two days of larger “common exams” (multiple sections of the same course writing together).

Our priority is to minimize impact and timetabling conflict for students and faculty. The Scheduling office will continue to update the information as necessary, so please check the schedule periodically to see if there have been any further changes.

We are encouraging students who cannot attend the exam due to the exam date change to contact their instructor first. They can also follow up with Academic Advising at advising@uwinnipeg.ca regarding a deferred exam appeal.

April 1, 2024 – Resetting your UWinnipeg password

One important step toward restoring online services is that all members of the University community need to change their UWinnipeg password. Students, staff, and faculty should make this change before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3.

Note: Faculty and staff who have already updated their password as part of the in-person computer update process do not need to update it again.

Students, as well as faculty and staff with Colleague/WebAdvisor accounts, should follow these steps:

  1. Log in to WebAdvisor with your current password. (WebAdvisor is now accessible, but only for password changes. Other functionality has not yet been restored.)
  2. Once logged in, in the top right corner of your screen, click on the user profile icon. (This is a red button with your username and a symbol that looks like a person.)
  3. You will then see a 'Change Password' option. Click on that. You will then be prompted to change your password. Set a new password that meets the password requirement.

Faculty and staff who do not have a Colleague/WebAdvisor account should follow these steps:

  1. Log in at: up.uwinnipeg.ca 
  2. Once you have logged in using your current password, a new screen will appear. Please click on the ‘Change Password’ option. Set a new password that meets the password requirement.

If you do not change your password by 8 a.m. on April 3, then a forced password change will take place. This means you will be prompted to change your password the next time you attempt to access a system it is required for.

Thank you for taking this important step to help us restore online services.

March 31, 2024 – Residence move-out day postponed

Due to the extension of the term and the changes to the exam period dates, the new standard move-out date will be shifted to May 3. Campus Living will connect with each student in residence on Monday, April 1, to adjust the move-out date and provide further details.

March 29, 2024 – Service outage updates

DUO MFA service

The DUO multi-factor authentication (MFA) service has now been restored. This will allow you to access systems that use DUO to authenticate you when you are logging in.

Students, staff and faculty will now be able to log in to:

  • M365
  • Outlook
  • Teams 

Faculty and staff can also now log in to:

  • Avanti – SSO Login
  • Fusion Play
  • Fusion Staff Login
  • Qualtrics – Student Survey Login

Please be advised that, if you have any password issues with M365/Outlook/Teams, the systems that support account password resets remain unavailable at this time.

Campus community town hall

A second town hall is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Monday, April 1. The link to access to the town hall is available on this page.

Printing

Printing and copying are now available in Print Services. Print requests can be emailed to printjob@uwinnipeg.ca or dropped off at Print Services in 0B08 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Most orders will be completed within 24 hours.

March 28, 2024 – Academic term extended

In light of the service outage, the following changes have been made to provide students more time to prepare for exams and the end of the term:

  • The winter term has been extended to April 12. It will be at the discretion of each instructor whether their course is extended. Students should consult their instructors for more information. April 8 is a make-up day for Good Friday (as approved by Senate), and April 9-12 are the additional days that instructors can make use of at their discretion. The schedule for these additional days will follow.

Monday April 8 – Friday schedule
Tuesday April 9 – Tuesday schedule
Wednesday April 10 – Wednesday schedule
Thursday April 11 – Thursday schedule
Friday April 12 – Monday schedule

Exam Schedule: to be communicated 

  • The exam period has been shifted to: April 18 to May 2. We are working with the Scheduling office on minimizing the impact of this change. Further information regarding the scheduling of exams will follow as soon as it is available.

We understand that our campus community will have many questions, and we are working to share updates on this page, as well as the FAQ page, as quickly as possible. Any students who have questions can connect with Student Central at 204.779.8946 or studentcentral@uwinnipeg.ca.

We know this has been a difficult time, and we thank everyone for their patience as we work together to complete a successful winter term.

March 27, 2024 – Service outage update: town hall today

To students, faculty, and staff:

We understand that the current service outage has caused considerable challenges for our campus community. Thank you for your patience as we work through this issue.

The University has been working as quickly as possible to restore services. In the meantime, we know that students, faculty, and staff have many questions. There will be a virtual town hall for our campus community at 4:00 p.m. today to provide an update on the situation.

The link to attend the town hall is available on this page.

We have also recently made updates to the service outage FAQs. These provide some additional information to students and faculty. We will continue to add to and update the FAQ as more details are available.

Concerning the cause of the service outage, we are continuing to investigate the incident to better understand its impact on the University. This was a targeted cyber attack on the University’s network. We have been working with expert partners to ensure that this attack has the least impact possible on our community, and we will continue to provide you updates as soon as we are able.

While this disruption does present significant challenges to all members of our community, I am confident that we can overcome them together and successfully complete our term and year.

Dr. Todd Mondor
President and Vice-Chancellor 

March 26, 2024 – Service outage update

Classes for University of Winnipeg, PACE, and Collegiate students are up and running with the exception of online courses that are run through NEXUS (for more information regarding asynchronous and synchronous courses, please see FAQs). We thank all students, faculty, and staff for their patience as we work to make all services available, and we look forward to having our community back on campus to finish the winter term.

Although regular campus internet/Wi-Fi is not yet available, anyone on campus can access the internet using a temporary network titled TEMPWIFI. Please note that the following systems remain unavailable:

  • Nexus learning management system
  • Web Advisor
  • Colleague
  • VPN 
  • Printing

More information for students, faculty, and staff can be found in the FAQ list. This list will be added to as more information becomes available.

March 25, 2024 – Service outage update

Classes for University of Winnipeg and Collegiate students will resume tomorrow (Tuesday, March 26). PACE courses will be online tomorrow, and PACE students should check their email for login details. We thank all students and faculty for their patience as we work to make all services available, and we look forward to having our community back on campus to finish the winter term.

Although regular campus internet/Wi-Fi is not yet available, anyone on campus will be able to access the internet using a temporary network titled TEMPWIFI.

More information for students, faculty, and staff can be found in the FAQ list. This list will be added to as more information becomes available.

The service outage is related to a cyber incident that was discovered on Sunday, March 24. Upon discovering the incident, the University took immediate steps to secure its network, which included making a variety of services unavailable. We are now in the process of restoring the interrupted services, investigating the incident, and better understanding its impact.

We appreciate that this incident raises concerns within our campus community, and we will continue to share updates as more information becomes available. We are working with expert partners to resolve the incident and have reported it to the authorities.

Thank you for your understanding as we work through this issue.

March 24, 2024 – Classes cancelled on Monday, March 25

Due to a service outage on campus, all University of Winnipeg classes (including the Collegiate) on Monday, March 25, are cancelled. This includes any tests/exams planned for this day.

Although the Technology Sector team is working to restore service, we anticipate that key systems used by students, faculty, and staff on campus will not be available. These include campus Wi-Fi and classroom technology resources.

Additionally, staff members who require an internet/Wi-Fi connection for their work are advised to work from home on Monday if they are able.

The Technology Services team is also continuing work to restore the other services that are currently unavailable, including Web Advisor, Nexus, and Colleague Further updates will be shared on this page and the UW Safe App as they become available.