Ransom paid for NoEscape attack on Hawai’i Community College

The University of Hawai'i has confirmed that it has resolved a ransomware attack against one of its campuses Hawai'i Community College in June after providing the NoEscape ransomware operation payment to avert the exposure of data from nearly 28,000 individuals, reports BleepingComputer. Initially listed on its extortion site on June 19, UH was threatened by NoEscape to have 65 GB of data exposed in a week should it refuse to pay the demanded ransom, with Hawai'i College disclosing the following day that it had been compromised on June 13. UH said that it ultimately decided to pay the ransom due to NoEscape's reputation of leaking stolen data from victims that refused payment. "Working with an external team of cybersecurity experts, UH reached an agreement with the threat actors to destroy all of the information it illegally obtained," said UH, which noted ongoing efforts to restore the college's IT infrastructure, with completion expected by Aug. 14.