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Image source: APSU
Austin Peay State University (APSU) confirmed yesterday that it had been the victim of a ransomware attack.
The university, located in Clarksville, Tennessee, advised students, staff and faculty to disconnect their computers and devices from the university network immediately as a precaution.
Subsequent tweets from APSU confirm that the attack is being contained and all employees are expected to report as usual.
‘Ransomeware’, ‘ransomware’, ran somewhere
On Wednesday, April 27, Austin Peay State University (APSU), through its official Twitter account, confirmed that it had been the victim of a cyberattack.
Established in 1927, APSU is an American public university based in Clarksville, Tennessee, whose notable alumni have included reality television fitness coach Bob Harper, former NFL player Bonnie Sloan, and current Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Safety. Public of Kentucky, the Honorable Mary C. Noble.
“We are under Ransomeware [sic] stroke. If your computer is connected to the APSU network, disconnect it IMMEDIATELY, ” tweeted college yesterday.
Within hours of posting these tweets, APSU said the cyberattack was in the process of being contained and D2L, the university’s Learning Management System (LMS), was back online at elearn.apsu.edu.
Additionally, the school confirms that it is open today, April 28, and advises that “all employees report normally” and check their APSU email inbox for further instructions.
Despite that, some users continue to report problems with the D2L portal.
ONESTOP and D2L do not work. The server does not connect or gives me that my login is incorrect. I have not received emails to update either.
-Harley (@CreedjHarley) April 28, 2022
while some admitted transparency of the university in quickly disclosing the cyber attack, not everyone seems happy.
“PSA: That’s Not How You Alert Your Teachers and Students of a Violation” saying IT Consultant Adam Parsons.
“I hope that Twitter is not the only way to notify students and teachers.” tweeted another user Dan King.
Some were also skeptical about the institution’s approach to incident response. [1, 2].
However, during an active ransomware attack, email and IT systems are usually shut down, often voluntarily by system administrators trying to control the damage of the cyber attack.
The various spellings of ‘ransomware’ used by the school, ‘ransomeware’ and ‘ransomware’, within tweets and webpages, also drew its fair share of ridicule. [1, 2].
Higher education is another sector that continues to be targeted by ransomware groups.
Previously, prominent institutions including Stanford Medicine, the University of California, Howard, and UK-based Sunderland have been the victims of ransomware attacks, with some attacks resulting in data theft, system outages, and class cancellations.
The whereabouts of the threat actors who attacked APSU and the details of the ransom demand are not yet known.
BleepingComputer has contacted APSU officials with specific questions and we are awaiting their response.
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