Bitcoin Ransomware Extortionists Strike Canadian University & Demand $29,000
Ottawa-based Carleton University in Canada is the latest institutional target of ransomware hackers who struck the university’s IT network, potentially compromising any Windows-based computer with access to the university’s main network. Encryption-based ransomware fundamentally blocks access to victims’ files on local storage media and only allows access when a decryption key is entered, typically delivered in return for a ransom. The institution’s IT department confirmed the ransomware attack upon its network with a post on social media yesterday at 11 AM local time: The IT department is....
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According to a cyber-security survey, 33% of UK companies are buying Bitcoin in anticipation of ransomware attacks. This comes after a Canadian university paid 20,000 Canadian dollars in Bitcoin for the encryption keys to their data this week. Canadian university ransomware attack. More than 100 of the computers at the University of Calgary had been infected with the ransomware, causing email and other files to become encrypted. After their IT department spent countless hours trying to find a solution to the attack, it was resolved that they would pay the ransom money of CAD $20,000 (USD....
The FBI has changed its stance on ransomware extortionists saying people targeted should refuse to pay the bitcoin ransom despite a previous statement from the FBI encouraging victims to pay a ransom. At a recent Federal Trade Commission’s Fall Technology Series, supervisory special agent for the FBI’s Cyber Division, Will Bales, said that businesses or individuals targeted by ransomware should refuse to pay the ransom, as reported in Dark Reading. He said: People have to remember that ransomware does not affect just one person or one business. It will more than likely move on and affect....
Paying the fee associated with a ransomware should always be seen as a last resort. There is no guarantee the decryption keys will restore full system access or revert all data back to its original state. The University of Calgary is the most recent victim of ransomware attacks, and the school paid CND$20,000 in Bitcoin to get rid of the malware. Despite paying the fee, not all systems are back online, as the provided decryption keys do not restore all systems automatically. Trouble started brewing for the University of Calgary on May 28, and students were advised not to connect their....
A cyberattack targeting a Hollywood hospital laced with ransomware malware has been making rounds in mainstream news circles recently. In a separate incident, the Horry County school system in North Carolina was also struck by a ransomware cyberattack. The cyberattack on Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center lasted nearly a fortnight after beginning on 5 Feb, with hospital systems affected and staff declaring an ‘internal emergency’. On Wednesday, the hospital announced that it had relented and paid the ransom demanded by extortionists. $17,000 in bitcoins. The attack began on the evening....
A recent survey by corporate networking firm Citrix has revealed that companies are ‘stockpiling’ bitcoin to use the cryptocurrency as ransom payment if faced with a ransomware attack. Over the years, cybercriminals have conducted phishing campaigns, hacking endeavors and DDoS attacks as effective means to engage in cybercrime. In recent times, the emergence of ransomware malware has targeted everyday individuals and large companies alike. The malware typically uses cryptography to encrypt a target’s files on the hard drive, demanding a ransom payment – typically in bitcoin – in exchange....