Aurora College Suspends Classes Following Holiday Cyber Attack

Aurora College in Canada's Northwest Territories suspended all classes from January 5 to January 9, 2026, after a cyber attack during the winter break. The school discovered the intrusion late Sunday 4th of January, forcing a shutdown of both in-person and online learning platforms just before the new semester started. 

Administrators announced the closure through a news release after realizing the extent of the network compromise.

The attack disabled multiple systems, including internal servers, e-learning platforms, and the student application portal. Staff are currently working to remove malicious code and restore the network. The public website remains online but the college's email and self-service portals are completely offline. Technical teams expect the recovery process to continue for most of the week.

The college has not disclosed the nature of the attack or number of affected individuals. College officials stated they have found no evidence of a data breach or ransomware and the investigation continues to look for signs of data theft. 

Faculty and staff are working on-site to help students by phone or in person while digital systems are down. The college is also talking to the territorial government to handle student financial assistance forms. They hope to set up temporary systems to minimize the impact on student funding and housing.

Students should check the college's social media for daily updates on the restoration of services.