Dutch University Gets Cyber Ransom Money Back, With Interest

A Dutch college that fell sufferer to an enormous ransomware assault has partly obtained again its stolen cash… which within the meantime greater than doubled in worth, a information report stated on Saturday.

The southern Maastricht University in 2019 was hit by a big cyberattack wherein criminals used ransomware, a kind of malicious software program that locks priceless information and may solely be accessed as soon as the sufferer pays a ransom quantity.

“The criminals had encrypted hundreds of Windows servers and backup systems, preventing 25,000 students and employees from accessing scientific data, library and mail,” the day by day De Volkskrant stated.

The hackers demanded EUR 200,000 (roughly Rs.1.6 crore) in Bitcoins.

“After a week the university decide to accede to the criminal gang’s demand,” the paper stated.

“This was partly because personal data was in danger of being lost and students were unable to take an exam or work on their theses,” it stated.

Dutch police traced a part of the ransom paid to an account belonging to a cash launderer in Ukraine.

Prosecutors in 2020 seized this man’s account, which contained various completely different cryptocurrencies together with a part of the ransom cash paid by Maastricht.

“When, now after more than two years, it was finally possible to get that money to the Netherlands, the value had increased from 40,000 euros to half-a-million euros,” the paper stated.

Maastricht University will now get the EUR 500,000 (roughly Rs. 4.1 crore) again.

“This money will not go to a general fund, but into a fund to help financially strapped students,” Maastricht University ICT director Michiel Borgers stated.

The investigation into the hackers chargeable for the assault on the college remains to be ongoing, De Volkskrant added.