Entire US school district shutdown due to ransomware attack- Comment

It has been reported that a ransomware attack hitting Las Cruces Public Schools has forced the district to shut down the entire computer system to contain the infection. Exchanging information with schools is impaired as email and other forms of computer-based communication is no longer possible at this moment. The district activated the crisis response team and is working to restore critical services. It is unclear at this point how long the systems will be down.

Full story here: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/ransomware-attack-causes-school-district-wide-shutdown/

Commenting on the story is Javvad Malik, security awareness advocate at KnowBe4:

“In recent months, we’ve seen an increase in ransomware attacks which have been targeting specific sectors such as schools and government departments. This is a shrewd move by criminals who know that these are vital services that cannot afford prolonged outages, and can access funds to pay ransom if need be.

It is vitally important for organisations to develop robust plans to prevent ransomware, and have effective recovery controls to bring systems back online in the event that ransomware does infect systems. In many cases, phishing remains one of the main root causes for ransomware, so it’s important that companies, in addition to technical controls, educate staff and all users on the dangers of phishing, and how to spot and report suspicious emails.

Only through a coordinated and comprehensive strategy can companies expect to stem the ongoing tide of security threats.”

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