A hacker attack has disrupted computer service for students and teachers in the Bay Shore school district — the second reported hit on a Long Island school system in the past week.
In a message posted on Bay Shore’s website, Superintendent Joseph Bond said the cyberattack was meant to flood the district’s computer system, rather than stealing information.
Technically, such assaults are known as distributed denial of service, or DDoS. A similar incident was reported in Lindenhurst’s school district Monday.
“It has led to intermittent service disruptions within our buildings, impacting both our staff and students,” Bond stated. “This attack is similar to what some other local school districts have experienced in the last few weeks.”
“There is no indication that there has been any kind of data breach of any of our systems,” Bond added.
Typically, DDoS attacks result in slowdowns of computer functions — a frustrating experience for students and teachers, especially those working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bond, who could not be reached by phone late Friday, added that the incident would be turned over to authorities, and that cyberattacks could result in imprisonment and fines up to $500,000, under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Bond thanked local teachers for continuing to work through the situation, and tech staff who joined the service provider in an effort to “solve this issue as quickly as possible.”
Such crimes are typically referred by local police to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In Lindenhurst, a cyberattack last week prevented teachers from livestreaming to remote students, according to a computer-networks firm executive who spoke for the district. A parent added that the incident made for a bumpy opening month of classes for students working at home, who occasionally witnessed teachers disappearing from computer screens during class.
Bay Shore and Lindenhurst are hardly the first districts struck by cybercriminals. Rockville Centre last year paid hackers $88,000 after a ransomware virus locked the district’s computer files. Insurance covered the expense.
At LightSpace Technologies, many of our services are in place to keep your business as safe and secure as possible. Without a secure IT infrastructure, your company is vulnerable to attacks from countless threats that can leave it badly compromised. Few things are as critical to ensuring the long-term survival of your business as its cyber security. Technology is constantly evolving, and unfortunately, the incalculable threats to a business’s cyber security continue to evolve, as well. Viruses and attackers continue to refine their techniques and search for new methods to compromise your data. One of the most formidable threats to your business’s security is ransomware.
Our expert IT specialists have countless applications in place to protect your business from ransomware. Providing companies with the newest and most impenetrable cyber security is among our core priorities. We employ state-of-the-art techniques in order to accurately establish potential risk factors, deliver cost-effective solutions and provide the kind of incomparable guidance and insight necessary to keeping your business safe. In this post, we’ll explore the threat of ransomware, what it is, what it’s done to countless companies and how to protect yourself from it.
Keep reading to find out more.
What Is Ransomware?
Essentially, ransomware is a form of malware (software that intentionally damages computers, servers, networks, etc.) that uses a very specific attack strategy. Once it penetrates your system, it automatically encrypts all of your business’s files and critical data. Then, the attacker demands a costly ransom from the victim in order to restore access to the files.
Usually, the attacker provides specific instructions for submitting the payment and accessing the “decryption key” (or password). Often, the fee ranges from a few hundred dollars to several thousand, payable to cybercriminals in Bitcoin. Unfortunately, an astonishing number of companies who experience ransomware attacks don’t ever recover from the setback.
How Does Ransomware Work?
There are numerous ways in which ransomware can access your computer. Among the most common methods of delivery is phishing emails. Attackers manipulate these emails in order to look like messages from trusted, reputable organizations like credit card companies or Netflix, to name a couple. They’ll even incorporate imagery into the email prominently displaying the official company logo, to make them appear even more convincing.
Within a phishing email, there will usually be a link or attachment with instructions to click and download. Once the user opens the attachment, the ransomware instantly begins to rapidly attack the system. In addition to phishing emails, ransomware can also penetrate security through corrupt, infected USB sticks or illegal torrents. Illegal torrents are online files that are usually pirated movies, TV shows, music, games or books. Attackers often present ransomware as a movie or TV show in the hopes that an unsuspecting user will download the file.
Once the ransomware accesses the computer, it will immediately block access to the system as well as the files and data within.
Types of Ransomware
When it comes to ransomware, there are two major types: crypto ransomware and locker ransomware. While they each operate with slight distinctions between them, they’re both equally as detrimental to your computer and your business’s data.
Crypto ransomware automatically targets and encrypts the specific files and data saved on your computer, so that you can’t access them in any capacity. The cybercriminals that utilize crypto ransomware immediately demand a payment in order to restore access to the files.
Locker ransomware does not work in quite the same way, although it’s just as destructive. While crypto ransomware targets a computer’s files, locker ransomware targets the computer as a whole. Without paying the ransom, users are unable to even log on to their device. Once the victim pays the attacker, they will restore access to the system.
How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks
The most effective way to keep your business and its assets safe from ransomware is to apply professional cyber security measures. We at LightSpace Technologies have years of experience collaborating with businesses in order to provide them with the very best protection available. We’re committed to developing security techniques that are consistently evolving in order to mitigate any vulnerabilities in your IT system and guarantee ransomware can’t penetrate it.
Without sufficient security applications, it’s very likely that ransomware (or some other form of malware) can eventually compromise your business’s most important assets, bringing operations to a catastrophic halt. Within the world of technology, we’re all too aware that without adequate security, it’s not a question of if your business will be exploited by ransomware, it’s a question of when.
Conclusion – LightSpace Technologies
Any measures you can take in order to keep your business and its data secure is absolutely critical. Too many businesses utilize systems with inherent vulnerabilities on a daily basis, unaware that, at any moment, an external attack can devastate their operations. LightSpace Technologies and our team of expert IT specialists have years of experience reinforcing systems in order to eliminate the risks and vulnerabilities that can eventually cripple them.
For more information on LightSpace Technologies or our services, contact us today!
