Canada-based Memorial University has confirmed that its Grenfell Campus in Corner Brook suffered a cyberattack in December.
It has been noted that the attack involved ransomware.
MUN president Neil Bose told CBC News on Wednesday that the hack on December 29 encrypted Grenfell's servers' data and prevented users from accessing it.
An investigation by the university's technology and external teams, in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security revealed that no data was compromised in the attack.
In an emailed statement, the university mentions that they cannot give details regarding the ransom, as this could impact the investigation.
Following this MUN officials did not comment regarding the issue for a few days.
On Wednesday, Bose noted that the university did not want to compromise any information in the initial days of the investigation.
Before MUN agreed to an interview, Sheldon Handcock, an information technology expert located in Gander, spoke to CBC News and said that the university's initial response is standard procedure among affected parties as they investigate attacks and attempt to shore up possible flaws.
When a ransomware attack hit the province's healthcare system in 2021, then-health minister John Haggie stated that discussing the attack could jeopardize the investigation, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador took a similar stance.
Bose further informs that the affected Grenfell sever is slowly improving and some of its components are gradually returning online.
He stated that email systems are operational, but it is taking longer than expected to have Internet connectivity restored in some laboratories.
This Cyber News was published on www.cysecurity.news. Publication date: Sun, 21 Jan 2024 14:43:05 +0000