A new group called DarkBit has claimed responsibility for the ransomware attack and demanded that the ransom of 80 Bitcoins be paid within the next 48 hours.
Israel’s Technion University on Sunday suffered a ransomware attack by a new group calling itself DarkBit. The attack has forced the university to proactively block all communication networks.
“The Technion is under cyber attack. The scope and nature of the attack are under investigation,” Technion University, Israel’s top public university in Haifa wrote in a Tweet.
Established in 1912, Technion University has become a global pioneer in fields such as biotechnology, stem cell research, space, computer science, nanotechnology, and energy. Four Technion professors have won Nobel Prizes. The university also contributed to the growth of Israel’s high-tech industry and innovation, including the country’s technical cluster in Silicon Wadi.
The university said it is postponing scheduled exams due to the ransomware attack, but classes will continue as usual. Its website remained inaccessible at the time of writing.
DarkBit has demanded 80 Bitcoins (US$1,729,320) as ransom from the university. The group has also said that the amount will go up by 30 per cent if the ransom is not received within 48 hours.
“You will receive a decrypting key after the payment. Notice that you just have 48 hours. After the deadline, a 30 per cent penalty will be added to the price. We put data for sale after 5 days,” DarkBit wrote in a message on the University website, which was shared by Tel Aviv-based cybersecurity professional Alon Gal, co-founder and CTO of Hudson Rock.
Read the article by Apurva Venkat (CSO (US)) on ARN.