Hackers Exploit Students
The Maze Ransomware group is using stolen data on students to force Ransomware payments.
Aggressive title, I get it.
But it's true.
This happened after the infamous Maze Ransomware crew compromised Fairfax County Schools in Virginia. This is the same group who introduced the world to the first Ransomware Cartel.
As much has I hate to say it, Maze is a very effective organization - in their cybercriminal pursuits. And they make good on their threats.
Documents published by the hackers appear to show student disciplinary letters sent by the school district to families and insurance data for some district employees.
The Maze group first steals all the data they can find, then they lock up (or encrypt) the network. It's only after the data theft that they notify the victim organization of the attack and demand a hefty ransom.
If victim organizations don't pay the ransom, the Maze team begins leaking data on the Dark Web. Fairfax students become the victims.
This leaves schools shut down and sensitive student data exposed. The school shut downs are disappointing for students and families, and the data loss is plain scary. That's exactly why schools are paying up when hackers demand eye-watering ransoms.
Multimillion-dollar demands are becoming ever more commonplace.
And Maze is not the only team in this game. The NetWalker group runs a similarly active organization, compromising businesses, schools, hospitals and non-profits across the country.
This business is outrageously for the cybercrime organizations. In fact, NetWalker is publicly (on the Dark Web) recruiting new talent to expand their reach.
This makes for a cybercrime world that seems to get crazier by the day.
The good news is that