New York Monroe College has been attacked by a ransomware virus

Computer systems at New York Monroe College were attacked by an extortion virus, causing the school network to stop functioning.

It is reported that college campuses in Manhattan, in the city of New Rochelle and in the island state of Saint Lucia were attacked. The attack was recorded last Wednesday, but the college’s information security experts do not report which virus attacked the network.

Hackers demand a ransom of 170 BTC, which is about $ 1.7 million at the current rate. After receiving the required amount, the hackers promise to leave the college network alone and decipher all the data. It is unclear whether the college will pay the ransom, or the data will be restored from backup copies.

“The college was founded in 1933, so we know how to train students without these tools and computers. Now we are looking for workarounds for those students who study online, so they will have their own tasks, ”said college spokesman Jackie Ruegger.

Recall that at the beginning of this month, Kaspersky Lab experts discovered a cipher virus called Sodin, which requires a ransom in bitcoins, equivalent to $ 2,500.