Ruhr University Bochum shuts down servers after ransomware attack

guest · May 8, 2020

Ruhr University Bochum shuts down servers after ransomware attack
May 7, 2020
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...m-shuts-down-servers-after-ransomware-attack/

The Ruhr University Bochum (RUB), Ruhr-Universität Bochum in German, announced today that it was forced to shut down large parts of its central IT infrastructure, also including the backup systems, after a ransomware attack that took place overnight, between May 6 and May 7.

RUB is a German university from the central Ruhr area in Bochum with over 42,900 students and 5,800 employees, placed in the top 500 universities in the world by four ranking tables in the last two years.

"Due to significant technical problems in the IT infrastructure, a large number of systems have not been available since around 8 a.m. on Thursday, May 7, 2020," the university announced this morning.
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At 10:35AM, RUB said in an update that its systems were affected by a cyberattack that targeted the university's central IT infrastructure and prompted the shutdown of a large part of the IT infrastructure.

"As the overall situation is still unclear, IT Services recommends shutting down all connected Windows-based server systems in the faculties as well," RUB added.
The university also said that its administration systems are currently unavailable, as are e-mail services via the Exchange system.

University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) also issued a security advisory reminding their own employees and students to be careful while exchanging data over shared platforms and to be suspicious of any unexpected emails.
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guest · May 8, 2020

mood said: ↑

Ruhr University Bochum shuts down servers after ransomware attack May 7, 2020
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Updated (May 8, 2020):

Update May 08, 11:24 EDT: Added info about malware potentially being used to infect the university's Windows systems.
Update May 08, 18:43 EDT: Updated title and added info about ransomware being confirmed.

According to an update from 11:56 AM, May 8th, RUB suspects that the attackers used Windows malware to infect the university's systems since the Linux and macOS systems were not affected in the attack.
RUB confirmed that it was a ransomware attack in a FAQ published on the university's IT services page:
English (automated) translation:

Are files on the servers/drives affected?
Yes, server systems have been encrypted but, based on current knowledge, no user data was affected.
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