A major disruption has hit one of Europe’s largest higher education institutions after a cyber incident knocked its digital systems offline for several days.
Sapienza University of Rome, which serves around 120,000 students, has seen its computer systems remain down for 3 days following what appears to be a ransomware attack. The university said it shut down its systems as a precaution and is investigating the incident while working to restore all digital services.
In posts shared on Instagram on Tuesday, the university said some communication tools, including email and workstations, are “partially limited.” It added that restoration efforts are underway using backups that were not affected by the cyberattack.
As of now, the Sapienza website continues to remain offline.
An Italian daily newspaper reported that the outage was caused by a ransomware attack, although neither the university nor authorities have officially confirmed this. According to the report, the attackers sent the university a ransom demand link with a 72-hour countdown that would begin only after the link is opened.
The university did not respond to requests for comment sent by email. It remains unclear whether it is currently able to receive emails.
Spokespersons for Italy’s national cybersecurity agency, Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale, which is investigating the incident, also did not immediately respond to queries seeking further details or confirmation on whether ransomware was involved.
In a follow-up report published on Wednesday, the Italian daily newspaper said the hacking group behind the attack is called “Femwar02,” a name that had not been seen before this incident. The group is reported to have used BabLock malware, discovered in 2023 and also known as Rorschach.
Despite the digital disruption, the university said examinations are continuing as scheduled. Students who wish to register for exams have been asked to do so directly with their professors. The university has also set up “infopoints” at several campus locations to assist students.
Universities remain frequent targets for cyberattacks. Last year, the hacking group ShinyHunters breached Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, stealing data in an attempted extortion scheme. The hackers later disclosed that the institutions did not pay the ransom.
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