Cybercrooks hit Monroe,

Monroe College’s computer system was hacked by someone demanding a $2 million ransom in Bitcoin, the Daily News has learned.

A hacker crippled the Bronx-based school’s computer network by encrypting its files remotely at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, authorities said.

Police sources say the attack affected each of Monroe’s campuses in Manhattan, New Rochelle and St. Lucia. Nearly 8,000 students are enrolled at the college.

The school’s website was completely inaccessible after the hack, though its Facebook page is still up.

A spokeswoman for Monroe said emails have also been compromised, but that classes remain in session. Their payroll system is handled by an outside firm and was not impacted, she said.

The school’s IT team is working on getting the computer system up and running, spokeswoman Jackie Ruegger said.

“The good news is that the college was founded in 1933, so we know how to teach and educate without these tools,” Ruegger said. “Right now we are finding workarounds for our students taking online classes so they have their assignments.”

“We are rolling up are sleeves and working to figure things out,” she said.

The school’s president, Marc Jerome, said Monroe will work to shore up its cybersecurity.

“We are taking it very seriously,” Jerome said, “and have engaged our external experts to assist us.”

The school was told the system would be back up and running once it paid 170 Bitcoin. The digital currency is selling for about $11,530 per coin, putting the ransom at about $2 million. Bitcoin transactions are not linked to a person’s name, making it difficult to figure out who is involved.

Monroe officials have not said if the