The ‘Netwalker’ criminal gang attacked University of California San Francisco (UCSF) on 1 June 2020. IT staff unplugged computers in a race to stop the malware spreading. The UCSF negotiator said the attack couldn’t have come at a worse time. The department was racing to try to help develop some kind of treatment or vaccine for Covid-19, the negotiator said, and hinted that the researchers hadn’t taken the time to duly back up their data.
This is a useful case-study that came out in the press which vividly illustrates the realities of the more serious ransomware attacks and payment negotiations.
We often encounter this in our investigations, but we are never able to share much detail in public due to obvious client confidentiality constraints. This is the first time a case is so explicitly uncovered to bring some real details to the public attention. We invite any of our readership that take an interest in knowing more about ransomware to read the feature article on the Bloomberg website.
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