Hackers' extortion bid on schools

[Erica Absetz <eabsetz () opensecurityfoundation org>]

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/hackers-extortion-bid-on-schools/story-e6freuy9-1226537899164

SCHOOLS have emerged as a new cybercrime battleground, after a north
coast community school had its records seized by hackers.

Byron Bay Community School had its student records and accounts seized
by hackers who demanded payment in return for access to files.

Police advised the school not to pay up and the NSW Police Cybercrime
squad is investigating the attempted extortion.

It comes after hackers demanded $4000 to unlock patient records at
Miami Family Medical Centre on the Gold Coast, including prescription
details and medical histories.

The school's financial manager, Frank Binkley, said police had taken
the school's hard drives as part of the investigation.

"They are not disclosing too much about the case but police have
admitted that stealing computer data and holding it for ransom is
becoming a big problem," he said.A NSW police spokesman said the
technique used in the two latest cases was called Ransomware and was
increasingly being used to target Australian businesses.

"Ransomware has been a technique used by cybercriminals for many
years. We believe the main perpetrators of this technique are located
overseas, particularly in Russia," the spokesman said.

"In recent months there has been an increase in Australian victims."

Alastair MacGibbon, from the Centre for Internet Safety at the
University of Canberra, said small businesses were most often targeted
by Ransomware because bigger organisations had better protections
against hacking.

"Small businesses will usually outsource their IT support, if in fact
they have any IT support at all," he said.

Opposition frontbencher Walt Secord said small businesses and schools
needed support to better protect themselves against cybercrime.

"The state government should do more to help small community schools,
who are susceptible to attacks like this," Mr Secord said.

A spokesman for Police Minister Michael Gallacher said schools and
businesses who were targeted by hackers should contact the police.
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