The University of Calgary paid just over $15,000 to unlock emails and files that were encrypted following a ransomware attack. The BBC reported on the story here.
The attack took place last month and more than 100 of its computers were affected. Linda Dalgetty, the vice president of finance and services at the University of Calgary, posted a statement on the university’s website:
“The university is now in the process of assessing and evaluating the decryption keys. The actual process of decryption is time-consuming and must be performed with care. It is important to note that decryption keys do not automatically restore all systems or guarantee the recovery of all data. A great deal of work is still required by IT to ensure all affected systems are operational again, and this process will take time.”
The Calgary Police Service are investigating the matter.
Calgary Police Inspector Ryan Jepsen told Global News in this story that the University of Calgary is far from alone:
“We suspect that there are quite a few individuals and businesses in Calgary that have been hit by ransomware,” Jepson said. “We encourage anyone who has been hit by something like that to report it to police, that way we have a better understanding of what’s out there so we can better align our resources to respond to that type of event.”
Ransomware is becoming increasingly more prevalent.
“This attack is part of a disturbing global trend of highly sophisticated and malicious malware attacks against organizations including NASA, law enforcement agencies and large health-care institutions,” Dalgetty said.
Indeed, the University of Calgary attack comes just on the heels of the ransomware attack that left around 1,800 staff and teachers at Los Angeles Valley College locked out of their computers after a malicious hacker spread ransomware throughout the entire college computer system.
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