{"id":194987,"date":"2021-07-20T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=194987"},"modified":"2021-07-19T18:30:23","modified_gmt":"2021-07-20T01:30:23","slug":"ransomware-attacks-california-schools-colleges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_es\/education\/2021\/07\/ransomware-attacks-california-schools-colleges\/","title":{"rendered":"C\u00f3mo las escuelas de California luchan contra los ataques de ransomware"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t\n\t\t
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In summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

As ransomware attacks target them, some California schools are scrambling to respond while others have done little to protect themselves. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

Schools aren\u2019t exactly known for their expansive budgets. Many struggle to pay for basic operations such as functioning air conditioning and employee salaries.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Schools Held Hostage<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Under attack: California schools face ransomware threat<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How California schools are fighting ransomware attacks<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

But this past year, cybercriminals have attacked a growing number of schools across California and the country. A handful of California schools, colleges and universities have experienced ransomware attacks, often with harsh consequences: Sierra College had some systems shut down during finals week<\/a>, Newhall School District\u2019s 10 elementary schools went a week without online school during the pandemic, and UC San Francisco paid a $1.14 million ransom<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While hospitals<\/a> and oil pipelines<\/a> might seem lucrative, schools hardly scream \u201cJackpot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average ransom<\/a> paid by mid-sized organizations across the world in 2021 is about $170,000, according to a survey by London-based software company Sophos. Still, cybercriminals try to make their ransoms affordable. UC Berkeley cybersecurity researcher Nick Merrill said he thinks would-be thieves will charge as much as schools are willing to pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, (the criminals) don’t want this to drag out for a long time, that increases their liability,\u201d he said. \u201cI’m guessing they’ll pick the highest number that they think you’ll pay quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ransomware attacks are increasing against schools not only in California<\/a> but across the country, according to several experts. How schools respond and what security measures they have in place are evolving rapidly.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do cyber criminals do first?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When cybercriminals first breach a school\u2019s systems, they sometimes try to find financial documents and insurance policies to figure out how much schools can afford to pay, according to Kevin McDonald, chief information security officer at Alvaka Networks, an Irvine-based cybersecurity company.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne example would be they have your insurance policy that says you have a million dollars of ransomware coverage,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, because you always negotiate with threat actors, you say, \u2018I can’t afford a million dollars.\u2019 And they go, \u2018Well, yeah, you can \u2014\u00a0here’s your policy.\u2019 And they actually send back your policy as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. schools pay the ransom fairly often, too, according to three experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One other expert clarified that they will more than likely pay only if they have the resources to do so, and they lack good backups.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, where do schools find the money to pay ransoms?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It’s unclear how many school districts in California carry cyber insurance. Cyber insurance is so new, in fact, that Mary Nicely, a senior policy advisor at the California Department of Education, said she wasn\u2019t sure how schools would decide whether cyber insurance is necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brian Walters is the school board president for Newhall School District located in Santa Clarita. Through his work as a lawyer, Walters became aware of a rise in cyber attacks in 2015, and Newhall purchased cyber insurance on his advice a couple of years later. That came in handy last September when the district had its servers locked up by ransomware<\/a>. But cyber insurance is \u201cnot widespread\u201d for schools in California, according to Troy Flint, chief information officer for the California School Boards Association, who said cyber attacks are still \u201crelatively rare.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cringe, literally cringe, when we hear, \u2018Oh, we’re covered.\u2019\u201d<\/p>Robert Fitzgerald, founder of Arcas Risk Management<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCyber insurance is just sort of a new realm and it would be a leap into the unknown for districts,\u201d he said \u201cWith budgets being tight traditionally in school districts, is that an expenditure that you want to make when most districts are not able to provide all the programs and services they want to give their kids?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cyber insurance isn\u2019t simple, either. There are several different types \u2014 ranging from cyber security to cyber terrorism insurance \u2014 and each policies affords different coverage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert Fitzgerald, founder of Boston-based consulting firm Arcas Risk Management, said schools should make sure they understand what kind of cyber insurance they\u2019re buying, and to not use insurance as an excuse to neglect other prevention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe cringe, literally cringe, when we hear, \u2018Oh, we’re covered,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cMore times than not, they’re not covered. And worse, because they haven’t maintained their IT systems the way they need to, there are times the insurance company will balk and say we’re not covering this because you didn’t have basic protections in place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if schools do pay ransoms through insurance or other funds, it\u2019s unlikely they\u2019ll get all of their data back: Less than 10% of victims across the globe recovered all of their data after paying a ransom, according to a report<\/a> from London-based software company Sophos. Even if they do get their data back, there\u2019s a chance that criminals have already sold some of it on the dark web, according to Ronald Manuel, a supervisor on the FBI\u2019s Los Angeles cyber task force. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cybersecurity hasn\u2019t been a priority \u2014 until now<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cybersecurity just wasn\u2019t a priority for many schools, especially with the sudden transition to online learning, said Chris Scott, director of security innovation for computer hardware giant IBM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, school administrators were focused on delivering online lessons and making sure their students had access to devices and WiFi.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey<\/a> of 1,200 educators and administrators across the country, commissioned by IBM, found that half of respondents unconcerned about a cyber attack against their institutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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