U. of Calgary hit by Ransomware

This is a disturbing trend in cyber attacks...

University of Calgary pays $20,000 to restore email after ‘ransomware’ attack

The University of Calgary says it paid a ransom of $20,000 demanded after a recent cyberattack in order to regain access to its own email system.

The school said in a news release Tuesday that staff were able to isolate some of the attack and were working to ensure its computer systems are operational.

Linda Dalgetty, a university vice-president, said there’s no indication that any personal data was released to the public.

Dalgetty said while its unfortunate to pay the ransom, the university could not risk losing critical data.

* * *

This type of attack involves an unknown cyber-attacker locking or encrypting computers or computer networks until a ransom is paid, and when it is, keys, or methods of decryption, are provided.

The attacks started at the end of May, locking staff, students and faculty out of their emails.

Now that a ransom has been paid, the university hopes it can regain control of its systems quickly.

The university said Calgary police were investigating.

The Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre issued a joint alert with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security earlier this year warning about the proliferation of ransomware.

It estimates that there were more than 1,600 ransomware attacks per day in 2015 against Canadians.

(The Star)

via ehMac.ca http://ift.tt/25M92F6