Hawaiʻi Community College, part of the state school system, has fallen victim to a ransomware attack, forcing the shutdown of its network. The two-year community college on the island of Hawai’i, with campuses in Kona and Pālamanui, serves over 2,500 students annually. College representatives are collaborating with federal authorities and cybersecurity experts to address the situation following the June 13 attack. The University of Hawaiʻi, first notified of the issue, took immediate action by disconnecting the Hawaiʻi Community College network and implementing additional measures to safeguard all UH networks.
The UH System Information Technology Services responded promptly to protect networks, and Hawaiʻi Community College is currently the only UH campus identified in the attack by the group claiming responsibility. While UH cybersecurity experts believe other campuses are unaffected, details about how campus systems were impacted and whether a ransom will be paid remain undisclosed.
According to Emsisoft ransomware expert Brett Callow, at least 49 post-secondary schools in the U.S. have experienced ransomware attacks this year, with 43 having data stolen. The attack on Hawaiʻi Community College follows a series of recent incidents affecting colleges in the United Kingdom, Germany, and elsewhere in the U.S., highlighting the persistent threat of ransomware to educational institutions. The NoEscape ransomware group, also known as N0_Esc4pe, claimed responsibility for the attack, threatening to leak 65 gigabytes of stolen data after a week.
