Canadian University hit by Ransomware - Complete IT

Complete I.T. Blog

Canadian University hit by Ransomware

by | Jun 15, 2016 | Archived Articles

On the 8th June 2016 the University of Calgary in Canada, had to pay a $20,000 ransom to cyber criminals in order to release their computer systems’ files, after being hit by ransomware.

The ransomware installed itself on their machines, taking documents and demanding cash to recover the data.

According to reports, they were not using any good backup procedures, and therefore they have had to agreed to pay up the ransom in Bitcoins.

As part of efforts to maintain all options to address these systems issues, the university has paid a ransom totaling about $20,000 CDN that was demanded as part of this ‘ransomware’ attack,” the VP of finance and services Linda Dalgetty stated. “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.”

Around 100 systems were locked up during the attack. The students and the staff have now got their email service back, however, it is on a different system to the original.

According to reports, the police had been called in and were investigating the attack.

If you are at all worried about cyber-attacks, contact us today to discuss the best protection for your business. Contact us today!