University of Calgary pays ransom in connection to cyber attack
Posted Jun 7, 2016 2:26 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The University of Calgary has paid a ransom of $20,000 dollars after its vital computer systems were hacked last week.
Ten days ago, the university was hit by malware that also hit organizations like NASA, law enforcement agencies and large health-care institutions.
The school says it paid the ransom to gain access to some critical software. The U of C is now in the process of assessing and evaluating the decryption keys. The university says a great deal of work is still required by IT to ensure all affected systems are operational again and maintains the process will take time.
As of Monday, the school’s email became available for all faculty and staff. There is no indication that any personal or other university data was released to the public. The university is working with various experts and because this was a criminal act, Calgary police are part of the investigation.
