The malware attack occurred on Oct. 12, Jonas Macapinlac, chief marketing and communications officer at the local university, confirmed on Sunday.
The breach started with an email containing the malware, which was inadvertently opened or downloaded within the UOG community. Malware is malicious software that hackers use to attack computer files or computer systems.
The malware gave the cyberattacker access to some of UOG’s files.
“We noticed unusual network activity and found the malware altering some system files. That’s when we isolated/contained it,” Macapinlac said.
The hacker then provided an email for UOG to reach out to for details on how to get its data back, Macapinlac said.
“To clarify, there wasn’t an active ransom attempt. Rather the intent of this type of malware — if successful — would be to compel an organization to pay to get back access to their files,” Macapinlac said.
“An anonymous email address was included in the files affected that were analyzed. Basically, ‘contact us if you want your files back,’” Macapinlac stated.
He said UOG didn’t pay any ransom and informed the FBI about the situation.
UOG never found out what the ransom demand was because the local university did not contact the email provided, Macapinlac said.
UOG’s information is stored on backup after backup of storage, Macapinlac said. UOG was able to prevent other files from being breached, he said.
UOG alerted its current faculty, staff and students about the malware attack and assured them their information was not compromised, Macapinlac said.
Former students and former staffers of the local university were not contacted.
The malware attack did not get into critical files UOG had — including personal information on its students, faculty and staff, Macapinlac said.
The attack did prompt UOG to install additional security measures to prevent future attacks on its system, he added.
