September 4, 2020. The education sector has been one of the worst-affected by the pandemic, but … Universities, unlike many companies, are unusual in that they often try to maintain relatively open networks to encourage collaboration and ease of use, said Mike Stanfield, senior security analyst at the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research at Indiana University. British universities and colleges have been warned about a spike in ransomware attacks targeting the education sector by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ. Columbia College, Chicago has become the third US college in a week to fall victim to a cyber-attack involving the Netwalker family of ransomware. A blog run by the cybercriminals behind NetWalker reportedly boasts that stolen information from the institutions includes Social Security numbers, among other sensitive information. Experts say more institutions are likely to be affected. Higher education institutions face unique threats in their data security. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has confirmed it paid a ransom totaling $1.14 million (£925,000) to the criminals behind a cyber-attack on its School of Medicine. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) had issued an alert to the sector containing several steps […] Nov. 13, 2020 9:52 am ET Just as school was to start this semester, technology chief Tony Brooks rushed to his office in Athens, Texas. To stop phishing emails from being successful, institutions can train college employees to identify suspicious-looking emails, said Stanfield. In 2003, there were several attacks directed on … The warning from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – the cyber arm of GCHQ – comes following a recent spike in hackers targeting universities with ransomware attacks … While Blackbaud managed to minimise the damage to its systems, the cyber criminals behind the attack … #NetWalker leaked data from the MSU (@michiganstate) ransomware incident. This was closely followed by a sophisticated cyber attack on Lancaster University. The combination of employee and student personal and financial … Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college located in Salem, Virginia, with approximately 2,000 students. Universities need to plug into threat of cyber-attacks Read more “Lancaster University has been subject to a sophisticated and malicious phishing attack which has resulted in breaches of … British universities and colleges have been warned about a spike in ransomware attacks targeting the education sector by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a part of GCHQ. Publicly, CIOs may not be sharing much information about how these attacks take place and the indicators they are looking for, but there are networks where IT leaders are sharing information, such as the REN-ISAC network based out of Indiana University. Columbia College Chicago and the University of California, San Francisco, appear to have taken a different approach in responding to the attack, said Brett Callow, threat analyst at cybersecurity solutions company Emsisoft. The university immediately informed the affected students and reported the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has confirmed it paid a ransom totaling $1.14 million (£925,000) to the criminals behind a cyber-attack on its School of Medicine. Ayala said he was unable to share many details about the attack to “protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation.”. “As universities start to welcome students back – and inundate inboxes with updates about online learning and social distancing — it’s critical that they take action to build robust security measures that can protect their staff and students against email scams.”, Paul Chichester, the NCSC’s director of operations, said: “The criminal targeting of the education sector, particularly at such a challenging time, is utterly reprehensible.”, “I would strongly urge all academic institutions to take heed of our alert.”. The University of Saskatchewan was targeted by a cyber attack last week, but the school says its IT was able to detect the threat and isolate the potential for the attack. Hackers specifically target universities for the sensitive information stored in their systems. Successful ransomware attacks are relatively unusual in higher ed, but they do happen. Neither institution responded to questions on whether or not they paid the ransom demanded by hackers or addressed the scale of the breaches. "We need institutions to continuously practice good data hygiene," she said. The first was Michigan State University, then the University of California, San Francisco, and, most recently, Columbia College Chicago. The decision not to pay the ransom has been “generally supported by the MSU community, especially with the understanding that paying such amounts perpetuates the practice,” Ayala said. “In order to preserve the integrity of the investigation, we will need to limit what we can share at this time.”. Historically, malicious software known as ransomware has been used by hackers to block access to computer networks and files -- causing huge inconvenience to the target. Anticipating Cyberattacks on College and University Campuses By // Volume 23, Number 7 // Special Issue 2015 You need to login with AGB member credentials to view this content. The university has not confirmed the target of the attack. Colleges and Universities are Prime Cyber Attack Targets Cutting edge research has made Higher Education a prime target. The Illinois educational establishment, along with Michigan State University and the University of California, San Francisco, was targeted by cyber … Attacks may also target valuable research or attempt to hijack equipment. “You can’t take them at their word,” he said. Anthony O’Mara, VP EMEA of Malwarebytes, highlights the cyber security issues universities are facing and what steps they can take to protect themselves from a cyber attack Oxford, Warwick , and Greenwich Universities are among many of the higher education institutes to have fallen victim to attacks in recent years, with hackers attempting to steal research data and documents. The University of Vermont Health Network has confirmed it suffered a cyberattack that compromised some of its systems, and is working with the FBI and Vermont Department of Public … The UK’s cybersecurity agency NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) has warned of a recent spike in “reprehensible” attacks on educational institutions, particularly ransomware, cautioning that a surge of attacks could “de-rail” preparations to restart. Colleges Toughen Cyber Defenses as Hacking Threats Linger Sept. 20, 2015 02:21 "For a university that's understaffed and under-resourced, it can … The education sector has been one of the worst-affected by the pandemic, but just as a new term is about to start for UK universities, a further disruption could be added by the rising threat of cyber attacks. "We continue to provide updates to all students, faculty and staff on our ongoing investigation with information that we are able to share, when we are able to share it," he said. The problem with encrypting everything at the institutional level is usability. Many senior university … The United Kingdom’s cyber-security agency has warned that the universities and colleges are a huge target for cyber … Ransomware Attacks in September 2020 A cyber-attack has struck Newcastle University, which is expected to take "a number of weeks" to sort out. The threat of cyber attacks is heightened in 2020 with the adoption of. Students were originally scheduled to return on January 19 th, 2021, but due to the delay, they are now looking at a February 8 th return date. Malware is used to lockout users from their own computer systems, which can bring networks down indefinitely, ceasing access to online services, websites, and phone networks. The University of Utah in Salt Lake City is pictured on Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Fitch Ratings, a global leader in credit ratings and research, recently commented on the prevalence of cyber attacks at colleges … policies in place, which refers to measures to prevent attackers from directly impersonating an organization’s email domains. 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