New Mexico Highlands University and Oklahoma-based East Central University have reported being targeted by separate ransomware intrusions, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
All classes have been canceled at NMHU as a result of a ransomware attack disclosed last week, which also resulted in the disruption of the university's internet and VPN connectivity, campus police switchboard and police poles, and payroll system. Investigation into the extent of the incident is underway, said NMHU, which has already installed malicious activity-detecting software on its computers.
On the other hand, ECU disclosed that it had significant student data breached in an attack by the BlackSuit ransomware gang in February. None of the university's critical services had been compromised as a result of the intrusion but BlackSuit may have been able to access students' names and Social Security numbers, said the university, which has already worked to mitigate the attack while implementing password resets to prevent further compromise.
