UEA’s internet is down after cyber attack

A cyber attack on university networks has left UEA students without internet as they try to hand in important coursework.

The current UEA internet outages began due to a student hacking Janet, the server which manages the Portal and Learn.

The lack of access to key literature could not have come at a worse time for many students, with many third years having their dissertation deadlines this week.

Emily Kench, a 3rd year Ecology student with her dissertation due on Thursday, said: “Although I realise this situation may be out of the University’s control, surely they should have better measures in place to stop this sort of situation arising two days before dissertations are due.”

In response to several complaints about the lack of internet access, the university released a statement saying: “The network used by most universities and other higher education organisations is experiencing technical problems.

“UEA uses this network and is currently seeing a loss of on-campus access, or intermittent access, to some key services (including email and Blackboard).

“ISD is monitoring this situation and taking all steps possible to minimise disruption.

“The next update will be provided at 3pm on 8 December.”

This means that it could be several hours until full internet access is restored to the university, greatly affecting the ability of many to meet crucial deadlines.