Vanderbilt University tells staff to shut down devices amid cybersecurity incident
The gist
Vanderbilt University urged faculty and staff to shut down devices and leave university Wi-Fi during an active cybersecurity incident.
A ransomware group claimed the breach; the university's IT team has not confirmed it.
How it unfolded
- Nov 9, 2026Vanderbilt urged faculty and staff to shut down university devices, disconnect from university Wi-Fi and remain extremely vigilant while it investigated and contained an active cybersecurity incident.
- Nov 9, 2026 10:06Dean of the Blair School of Music Melissa Rose said in a statement that VUIT was working on the issue and asked everyone to stay off the network entirely until more was known.
- Nov 9, 2026Students reported VUIT staff entering classrooms to tell faculty school-issued computers were safe, and VUIT urged the community to close Microsoft Word documents and OneDrive and DropBox folders.
Key terms
- ransomware
- Malware that holds a victim's data hostage, often by encryption, until a ransom is paid.
Source: Wikipedia