The University of Utah’s College of Social and Behavioral Science confirmed that they were hit by a ransomware attack.
It has been reported by the University that the gang left many computers inaccessible for several hours as staff took servers offline to prevent the malware from spreading to other machines on the school’s network.
However, after internal discussion, officials decided to work with the school’s cyber insurance provider to pay a $457,059 ransom in order to prevent a data leak.
Staff from the university clarified that the insurance policy paid part of the ransom and they covered the rest themselves. No details about the crypto involved in the transaction were disclosed.
As reported early in June, media outlets reported that the NetWalker ransomware gang had attacked Michigan State University (MSU).
University officials decided to pay the criminals in order to protect their students’ data, reports @conexiondigicol https://t.co/LFnFWl4bfD — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) August 22, 2020
While the gang threatened to leak students’ records and financial documents, officials from the university have said that they refused to pay the ransom.
Thus, the NetWalker ransomware group had also targeted three US-based universities.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Strunk Media Group