NYC Students Rejoice as Hackers Extort College for $2 Million in Bitcoin

Hackers have successfully breached the network of the New York City-based Monroe College, demanding $2 million in Bitcoin to restore the institution's encrypted data following a carefully-orchestrated ransomware attack.

But while school administrators scramble to address the crisis, students are rejoicing at their unexpected luck.

Hackers demand millions in Bitcoin

The college – which has nearly 8,000 enrolled students – was hit by the ransomware attack on Wednesday morning, affecting the Manhattan, New Rochelle, and St. Lucia campuses, the Daily News reported yesterday.

The hackers crippled the whole network of the institution, including its website which is currently offline. However, Monroe has still access to its official Facebook handle.

Posted by Monroe College on Friday, July 12, 2019

While the college's emails are compromised, the school is still running classes. Its payroll system also remains untouched by the hackers as a third-party firm handles it, Monroe spokeswoman Jackie Ruegger stated.

In the meantime, Monroe's IT team is trying to get the school's system back online, Ruegger added.

Read the full story on CCN.com.

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