Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
Law Faculty at Maastricht University
Undated photo of the Law Faculty at Maastricht University Leonid_Andronov DepositPhotos Deposit Photos
Crime
Innovation
Maastricht University
Ransomware
cybercrime
cyber attack
Clop
Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg
NCTV
Friday, January 24, 2020 - 08:18
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Maastricht Univ. paid €250K to ransomware hackers: report

Maastricht University paid between 200 thousand and 300 thousand euros to hackers who had blocked access to the university's digital systems with ransomware, various people involved told the Volkskrant. The university board was forced to pay because the university's backups were also hijacked. The backups - stored on the university servers - contain research data and data from students and staff from the past decades.

On December 23rd, university employees discovered problems with the mail server. Shortly thereafter, the network turned out to be infected with Clop ransomware. Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks access to files and programs on a computer or network. These attackers blocked access to systems containing research data, financial information, email systems, the intranet, and the backups. The university eventually decided to pay up to regain access to its systems, the newspaper writes.

Maastricht University refused to comment in detail to the Volkskrant, saying that it will explain the situation and the investigation into the cyber attack at a symposium on February 5th.

PIeter-Jaap Aalbersberg, the Netherlands' National Coordinator for Counter-terrorism and Security, called the successful ransomware attack on Maastricht University a "wake-up call" for other universities and colleges. "If you have good backups and separated systems, and your software is up to date, you are not vulnerable to this," he said, according to the newspaper. 

Last year, the Dutch police created a website where victims of ransomware can check whether a decryption tool for the type of malware they're infected with is already available, before paying cyber criminals to regain access to their computers. 

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • 2.4 elderly can vote by mail this election; 13.2 million voters in total
  • Nearly seven thousand curfew violations last week
  • Pimps striking faster, more violently: Human Trafficking Center
  • Fifth of experimental cabaret attendees did not get Covid test after
  • New coronavirus hotspot in Noord-Holland
  • Van Gogh sketch auctions for record €8.6 million

Top Stories

  • Van Gogh sketch auctions for record €8.6 million
  • Don't enforce curfew on election days, mayors say
  • Restaurants, shops, sex workers protesting to reopen today
  • Coronavirus average dips for first time in two weeks
  • Major clashes in first election debate, including with voters
  • Netherlands 4th in EU ranking for Covid vaccination

© 2012-2021 NLTimes.nl, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact