FBI warns on Surge in Ransomware attack on Schools

Ransomware attacks surged that targeting schools in the US, the FBI came up with a warning.

The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), serving about 600,000 students released details of the attack on Monday’s Labor Day holiday. After detecting unusual activity, it’s been scrutinized and confirmed as a cyberattack

The analysis of critical business systems, employee healthcare and payroll are not impacted, nor has the cyber incident impacted safety and emergency mechanisms in place at schools. It reached out to US authorities.

It’s unclear which strain of ransomware impacted the LAUSD, a warning about Vice Society threat actors as been issued by FBI and CISA.

The advisory states that the group typically uses Hello Kitty/Five Hands and Zeppelin ransomware variants, but may deploy other types in the future. School institutions and managed service providers may be the target in future.

School districts with limited cybersecurity capabilities and constrained resources are often the most vulnerable; but, the opportunistic targeting often seen with cyber-criminals can still put school districts with robust cybersecurity programs at risk.