Yikes! Education is the Number 1 Target for Ransomware Attacks

Here are 15+ Colleges, Universities, and K-12 Schools and Districts hit by Ransomware (and many more that have been hit have avoided ending up in the news).

At the recent UBTech conference, I sat through several worrisome presentations focused on the proliferation of ransomware. These attacks are rising rapidly and education is now the number one target according to many experts.

Higher education's philosophy of openness, and the fact that we tend to have a lot of foreign students on our campuses, make us more vulnerable than many other industries (several presenters noted that hospitals are the second most vulnerable industry, also very concerning).

Additionally, ransomware attacks are on the rise, growing by 250% thus far in 2017, with the US being hit hardest, according to this Newsweek article.

Looking to see how this trend reflects in terms of articles published about attacks, I poked around the web and found these articles. I was surprised there weren't more, but then again, many schools are likely to to their best to keep this sort of thing under wraps, as it can tarnish their reputation.

Bigfork public schools in Montana
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/01/11/ransomware-attacks-force-school-districts-to.html

Los Angeles Valley College
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/la-school-coughs-up-28000/

Pekin Community High School in Illinois
https://www.databreaches.net/il-pekin-high-school-hit-by-ransomware-and-37000-demand/

University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada
http://fortune.com/2016/06/08/university-ransomware/

Swedesboro-Woolwich district in New Jersey
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2901527/microsoft-subnet/crypto-ransomware-attack-hit-new-jersey-school-district-locked-up-entire-network.html

University College London
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jun/15/university-college-london-hit-by-ransomware-attack-hospitals-email-phishing

This article claims, “Nearly 2/3rd of Universities in the U.K.” have been hit be ransomeware
http://www.newsweek.com/two-thirds-universities-hit-ransomware-492988

Cambridge University in London
http://www.tcs.cam.ac.uk/news/0037263-university-targeted-by-ransomware-attack.html

Indiana University, Indiana
http://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/indiana-university-targeted-by-ransomware-attacks

Horry County school district in South Carolina
http://news.softpedia.com/news/us-school-agrees-to-pay-8-500-to-get-rid-of-ransomware-500684.shtml

Oxford, Mississippi Schools
http://www.localmemphis.com/news/local-news/oxford-school-computers-hacked-with-ransomware

The Cloquet School District in Cloquet, Minnesota
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/crime/3989320-cloquet-schools-suffer-ransomware-attack

Spring Lake Park schools in Minnesota
http://www.twincities.com/2016/12/01/spring-lake-park-schools-attacked-by-ransomeware-computer-virus/

Moore Public School District in Oklahoma
http://www.news9.com/story/29956107/virus-hits-moore-public-schools-computer-systems

Gurnick Academy, a California-based nursing school
http://www.csoonline.com/article/3161469/security/ransomware-makes-california-nursing-school-feel-ill.html

Riverdale Schools District, Riverdale, NJ
http://www.northjersey.com/story/news/morris/butler/2016/03/27/riverdale-schools-computer-system-held-for-ransom/94587154/