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Cyber Threat to Disrupt Start of U.K. University Term


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The U.K. National Cyber Security Center warns institutions of higher education that growing numbers of cyberattacks could disrupt the start of the Fall term.

Credit: Getty Images

The U.K.'s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) is warning colleges and universities that increasing numbers of cyberattacks threaten to disrupt the start of the Fall term.

The NCSC advisory follows a series of ransomware attacks against academic institutions, which are often followed by a note demanding payment for recovery of frozen or stolen data.

For example, colleges in Yorkshire and a higher education school in Lancashire were targeted by cyberattacks in August, as Newcastle and Northumbria universities were this month.

The warning emphasizes the risk to online systems for remote working, as more academic staff are working from home amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Universities UK, which represents 139 universities in that nation, said it is collaborating with the NCSC to produce "robust guidance on cybersecurity" for issuance later this academic year.

From BBC News
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