UCalgary pays $20 K in ransom after cyber attack

The University of Calgary paid a $20 K ransom in response to a recent cyberattack, reports CBC. According to a UCalgary release, the university received a message demanding money after hackers managed to install “ransomware” that encrypted and locked UCalgary staff and faculty emails. In a speech made Tuesday, UCalgary's Vice-President of Finances and Services Linda Dalgetty said that the school decided to pay the ransom “because we do world-class research here … and we did not want to be in a position that we had exhausted the option to get people's potential life work back in the future.” The University has reportedly consulted with cyber experts in addition to contacting the Calgary Police Service to investigate the attack. CBC reports that the school has successfully decrypted the malware and is in the process of reopening the locked files. CBC (1) | CBC (2) | National Post | UCalgary