NJ: Weak password blamed in Swedesboro school hack
Carly Q. Romalino reports:
A weak network password allowed hackers to infiltrate a Gloucester County school district’s network last week, holding its files hostage for more than $125,000, according to Educational Information and Resource Center experts.
A ransomware attack on Swedesboro-Woolwich Elementary School District’s network last week interrupted state-mandated testing and locked down network files last week. The attackers demanded 500 bitcoins — a hard-to-trace digital currency.
Read more on Courier-Post. Of note, the weak password was used by an unnamed vendor doing work for the school. The vendor reportedly used the account name “breaker” with a weak password for all of its work on clients’ systems.