Southern Oregon — We’re learning more about a hack that forced the evacuation of all Rogue Community College campuses Friday.
The hack was part of a larger attack which included at least three other states.
The Josephine County Sheriff’s Office says schools in Colorado and Florida were also sent the email threatening violence.
Through research online NBC5 News found out it was actually five different counties that were hit in Florida alone, and Maine was impacted as well.
It’s a school’s worst nightmare.
Counties in Maine, Colorado, Florida and right here in Oregon were all hit with an email threatening violence.
“Down in Camden Hills they received the same exact email that we did. And also it stems as far as Florida. So this is really a nationwide school for hoax, if you will,” Maine State Police said.
Similar to the threat received at Rogue Community College, other county school boards say the threat came from an unidentified sender with no specific campus identified.
All schools took precautions with RCC evacuating all three campuses.
“What can they really do to protect themselves and us. I don’t know what they could do other than shut it down,” RCC Student Conrad Waite said.
Soon, local police in all counties impacted discovered the threats were not credible and part of a larger hoax.
Maine State Police has dispatched its Computer Crimes Unit to help track down those responsible.
“When a message is transmitted electronically, often there are artifacts left behind that are useful for us in any investigation to help identify the origin and identity of the sender,” Sergeant Kyle Willette with Computer Crimes Unit said.
The question now… Where did the email come from in the first place? And why was it necessary?
“You just never know where it’s gonna come from or who is capable or perpetrating such an act. And so every message, every threat is considered credible until we determine that it’s not or somebody else determines that it’s not,” Sergeant Willette said.
The local threat here is still under investigation by the FBI Portland office.
NBC5 News reached out to several agencies on Monday, but no one was able to provide us with an update.
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