Cyberattack victimizes universities nationwide
Accellion hacked, with secure files put online
LOS ANGELES – The University of California is warning its students and staff that a ransomware group might have stolen and published their personal data and that of hundreds of other schools, government agencies and companies nationwide.
A cybersecurity attack targeted a vulnerability in Accellion, a third-party vendor that is used to securely transfer files, the university said in a statement Wednesday.
“We understand those behind this attack have published online screenshots of personal information, and we will notify members of the UC community if we believe their data was leaked in this manner,” the university said.
The hacker or hackers also have been sending mass emails threatening to publish data “in an attempt to scare people into giving them money,” the statement said.
In an update Friday, the university system said the cyberattack affected about 300 organizations, “including universities, government institutions and private companies.”
Other schools, including Stanford University’s School of Medicine and Yeshiva University in New York City, have reported that student and employee Social Security numbers and financial information were stolen and that some were posted online.
The information was obtained in December and January, when hackers exploited a vulnerability in a 20-yearold Accellion file transfer service, various reports have said. However, some organizations said they only recently became aware of the breach.
The Baltimore Sun on Thursday reported that private information of staff members and students at the University of Maryland, Baltimore was posted online last week. The school said a hacking group known as Clop gained access to Accellion in December, the Sun said.
The University of Colorado and the University of Miami reported that files were accessed in January and included personal data and some health, study and research data.
The Washington State Auditor’s Office reported last month that information on nearly 1.5 million unemployment applicants had been stolen.
Accellion released a statement in March that said it had closed “all known” vulnerabilities and no new ones had been found.
In an unrelated attack, the computer system of one of the nation’s largest school districts was hacked by a criminal gang that encrypted district data and demanded $40 million in ransom or it would erase the files and post students’ and employees’ personal information online. Broward County Public Schools, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said in a statement Thursday that there is no indication that any personal information has been stolen and that it made no extortion payment to the ransomware group.
An epidemic of ransomware attacks has been hindering government agencies, businesses and individuals for the past three years. Most are Russianspeaking groups based in Eastern Europe and enjoy safe harbor from tolerant governments.