Ransomware attack impacts university in Washington state

Washington-based Whitworth University has confirmed being impacted by a ransomware attack that has resulted in a data breach, which may have impacted 5,182 state residents, according to The Spokesman-Review. Whitworth University had its network infiltrated by various unauthorized actors, who were likely able to access names, student and state identification numbers, Social Security numbers, passport numbers, and health insurance information, noted a notification letter sent to the state attorney general's office. While the number of out-of-state residents impacted by the breach remains unclear, attackers have been found unable to compromise Whitworth's system with the most sensitive data, said Whitworth University Media Relations Manager Trisha Coder. Moreover, there has been no evidence suggesting any misuse of the potentially accessed data. Whitworth has sought to improve its security posture since it moved to restore impacted systems. Despite not mentioning the perpetrators of the attack, cybersecurity experts have attributed the incident to the LockBit ransomware gang, which previously compromised Accenture.