One of the most historic universities in the United States, Howard University, was forced to cancel its classes on Tuesday after falling victim to a ransomware attack.
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The attack shut down campus Wi-Fi and some employees were ordered not to report to work, said Monday. In-person classes will resume Wednesday, but online classes remain canceled until at least Thursday.
Ransomware attacks have become a scourge in recent years, and universities are among the most attractive targets for cybercriminals. Hackers managed to infect at least 19 colleges and universities in 2021 alone, according to Allan Liska, an analyst at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. In at least three other cases in the U.S. this year, schools were forced to cancel classes for at least one day.
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Cybercriminals use ransomware to infiltrate a victim's computer networks and lock files on as many computers as possible, and then demand money in exchange for a recovery key.
Many ransomware hackers also threaten to release stolen files if they don't receive the ransom they demand. So far, the university has "no indication that any personal information has been compromised or stolen," Howard said in a statement. Its investigation is ongoing, however, and identifying the full extent of the problem the hackers have created could take weeks or months.
Howard said that his IT team first noticed issues on Friday. This is typical for ransomware hackers, who often schedule their attacks to start at the beginning of the weekend or holidays, when there are likely fewer staff who could stop them. Since then the university has notified the federal law enforcement.
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The Wi‑Fi at Howard's campus continues to be out of service, but the university is working to implement an emergency replacement system, it reported on Tuesday.
