Some University of Manchester students and staff have been receiving emails, warning them that their personal information will soon be disclosed, because the University has not responded to the criminal’s demands.
University of Manchester: Students and staff sent data leak threat – BBC News
The students and staff number about 50,000 and some of their information was accessed by an unauthorised party, that is now making a final warning before threatening to sell this information on the Dark Web
The University is working with the North West Organised Crime Unit, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to resolve the issue and determine what information has been compromised. Those affected would be contacted through University channels.
However both the ICO and the NCSC have a view on paying cyber criminal ransoms. It is not illegal to pay some ransoms but there could be issues if the group was Russian, Iranian or deemed to be supporting terrorism.
NCSC and the ICO say – Don’t pay the malware ransom | Smart Thinking Solutions
Do you have a ransomware plan in place?
Clive Catton MSc (Cyber Security) – by-line and other articles
