Italy's University of Siena, which is the world's first publicly funded university, was claimed to be compromised by the LockBit ransomware gang in an attack that has interrupted operations of several university services, reports The Cyber Express.
University officials noted that the attack has already resulted in the shutdown of its international admissions website, ticketing services, and payment management platforms. More than 500 GB of data from the university's systems was purported to be stolen by LockBit — including board-approved project and tender financing documents between 2022 and 2026, files detailing monthly expenses between 2020 and 2024, nondisclosure agreements regarding the upcoming WineCraft 2024 event, and contractor's investment plan for 2022, among others — with the group warning that a ransom be paid by May 28 to prevent the exposure of the exfiltrated information.
Such an incident comes weeks after LockBit had been disrupted in a sweeping international law enforcement crackdown.
