Providence Schools Facing $1M Ransomware Demand, Says Cyber Threat Monitoring Company

Providence Schools Facing $1M Ransomware Demand, Says Cyber Threat Monitoring Company

A major cyber threat monitoring company went to social media on Tuesday to claim Providence Public Schools Department's (PPSD) internet network was hacked - and that ransom is $1 million. 

Last week, GoLocalProv was first to report that Providence Public Schools' internet network has been hit with "technical difficulties." 

Teachers and administrators were told internet connectivity was “out at all sites,” and were warned not to connect their computers to personal hotspots.

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On Tuesday morning, HackManac — which has over 50,000 followers on X, posted the following:

Cyberattack Alert!!

USA - Providence Public Schools, Medusa Demands $1,000,000

The ransomware group Medusa claims to have breached Providence Public Schools. 

Allegedly, 201.4 GB of data, including financial data, correspondence, students' and teachers' data, and PII, were exfiltrated. 

Ransom deadline: 25th Sept 24.

"Hackmanac’s core team members have over 20 years of hands-on, world-class experience in cyber security management, threat analysis and GRC consulting, and have been actively researching cyber threats for 13 years," writes the monitoring company on its website. "We’ve successfully completed hundreds of assignments, each unique in scope and context, to help our clients make the right decisions."

 

Medusa in the News 

On Monday, the website Cyber Security News published “Medusa Ransomware Exploiting Fortinet Flaw For Sophisticated Attacks.”

“The notorious Medusa ransomware group has been exploiting a critical vulnerability in Fortinet’s FortiClient EMS software to launch sophisticated ransomware attacks,” the publication reported. “Medusa, known for targeting a wide range of sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, and education, has been quick to capitalize on the Fortinet vulnerability.”

When asked about the hacking allegation by HackManac, PPSD responded with the following:

"As is standard operating procedure, the District and their professional third-party IT agency contacted RI State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last Wednesday. Please note that this was also done out of an abundance of caution and that the analysis is ongoing," said PPSD in a statement.

This article was first published 9/17/2024 3:14 PM

Updated 9/17/2024 4:44 PM