While only companies were the targets of hacker attacks and ransomware, reports from affected institutes and schools are now piling up. A few days ago, the Heilbronn University was hit, before that the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and at the end of October the Munich-Land media center, which means that 75 district schools also suffered data loss.
The Heilbronn University - HHN for short - confirms the hacker attack on their systems. Initial analyzes and evaluations with the Baden-Württemberg Cyber Security Agency and the State Criminal Police Office are ongoing. According to the university, internal and external experts are currently working flat out on the analysis and further evaluating the digital traces. A full statement on the attack situation can only be made once the investigations have been completed.
Experts expect failures for months
The university is currently still accessible to a limited extent. Affected are areas such as e-mail traffic and digital services that are operated in the university network. The team of experts does everything it can to find solutions for HHN members as quickly as possible. According to HHN, “experience has shown that several more weeks can be expected for the analysis and preparation of the systems being made available again, the normal situation can be expected in a few months.”
Institute ISTA goes offline
The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) was also the victim of a targeted cyber attack. On November 2, 2022, the institute had to take all servers used for institute operations, including the e-mail server, offline. For days, the institute's IT department observed an increasing number of attacks, which were initially repelled. After the attacks intensified, however, the entire research facility was taken offline for security reasons. Together with external supporters, ISTA is currently working on taking all technical and legal measures to eliminate and minimize the consequences of the attack. Details about the extent of the attack are still under investigation.
75 Bavarian schools lose data
Already on October 20th 75 schools in the districts of Munich and Berchtesgadener Land affected by a ransomware attack. The data, including names, addresses and timetables, could probably not be restored. Because the attack was carried out exactly at the time when the storage media were connected to the server for backup. The incident came just days before the Federal Office for Information Security released a report warning of heightened cybersecurity risks in Germany.
“With the proliferation of ransomware-as-a-software models, launching a ransomware attack has never been easier. With no programming or hacking skills, this business model allows anyone with an internet connection to run a customized ransomware bundle for as little as 10 EUR. DDoS attacks are also an equally inexpensive and easy-to-use weapon in the attackers' arsenal. So anyone can hire a DDoS service to launch attacks against a choice of targets without even needing a cryptocurrency account or even paying to use these highly disruptive services.” says Karl Heuser, Account Manager Security DACH at NETSCOUT.
More at HS-Heilbronn.de.com
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