The IT systems of the Italian university La Sapienza in Rome have been down for days following a cyberattack.
In messages on the university’s Instagram page, noted by TechCrunch, the university announced that its systems had been shut down as a precaution due to a cyberattack. The university is investigating the incident and is currently working on a solution. La Sapienza’s website is not accessible at the time of writing.
72 hours
The disruption is the result of a ransomware attack, according to the Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera. The school itself has not yet confirmed this. The malicious actors are said to have sent a link to the school requesting a ransom payment. The university would have 72 hours to pay the ransom before millions of data remain encrypted.
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Investigation underway
According to the Italian daily, a pro-Russian crew is not excluded. The university’s technicians discovered the cyberattack and immediately called in specialists from the National Cybersecurity Agency.
The cyberattack comes in the middle of the exam period. Students must register directly with the professors for their exams. In addition, the school provides information points where students can go with their questions.