Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Community College Pays Hacker $28,000 for Ransomware Attack

  • By Staff
  • 01/10/17

Last month, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC) was hit with a ransomware attack, forcing the California Community College system to pay an unidentified hacker nearly $28,000 to retrieve stolen data. The investigation is still in the early stages, and as of now no breach data was identified.

LAVC consulted with its leadership, outside cybersecurity experts and law enforcement before making the payment. “It was the assessment of our outside cybersecurity experts that making a payment would offer an extremely high probability of restoring access to the affected systems, while failure to pay would virtually guarantee that data would be lost,” according to a statement. The attack has disrupted many computer, online, e-mail and voicemail systems.

The United States Department of Justice estimates that approximately 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred every day in the U.S. in 2016. Education is the sector most targeted by ransomware, according to a recent report from security analyst BitSight, which found that 13 percent of institutions experienced ransomware attacks last year.

A PDF explaining what happened at LAVC in more detail is available here.

Featured

  • abstract smartphone translucent screen displaying AI interface

    Apple Introduces Redesigned Siri AI

    At its recent Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple introduced Siri AI, a redesigned version of its voice assistant that Apple describes in its own announcement as "a profoundly more capable and personal assistant." The update is intended to make Siri more conversational, more context-aware, and more useful across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro.

  • woman speaking into microphone

    Best Practices for Designing Higher-Ed AV Environments

    Cloud-based management, interoperability, and upfront planning are helping campuses build AV infrastructure that performs at scale.

  • Illustration of campus building with wireless symbol

    Campuses Ready Their Wireless Infrastructure for the Future

    Universities aim to be ready to turn new technologies and practices into opportunities for innovation and ultimately, ROI on the institution's investment in wireless infrastructure.

  • glowing ai text in a digital cube surrounded by data elements

    USC Launches AI Initiative to Accelerate Innovation in Health Sciences, Security, Business, and the Arts

    The University of Southern California recently announced that it has launched a "transformational" new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift from venture capitalist Mark Stevens and his wife. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.