Colleges can be victimized by hackers who break into their IT systems and then demand money in exchange for opening it back up. In today’s Martin Center article, journalist Matthew Robare looks at this ugly phenomenon.
Robare writes:
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that, once it infects a computer system, allows attackers to lock out victims until they pay a ransom to regain access. With budgets getting tighter for public and private colleges in the wake of the coronavirus, funding IT security could slip through the cracks.
K-12 systems are also vulnerable to these attacks.
Computer security experts advise against paying off the attackers, but some have done so. The only solution is better security. Maybe that should be a higher priority than hiring another diversity officer.
Robare concludes:
As colleges become ever more reliant on the internet and the number of devices on campus increases, providing more ways for malevolent actors to cause chaos, college leaders need to consider how they’ll react in a crisis.