UWaterloo responds to suspected ransomware attack

The University of Waterloo is investigating a suspected ransomware attack on its online systems. The Record reports that UWaterloo received an alert last week from the RCMP and was able to promptly interrupt the attack. As a result, only the on-premises email server was compromised, affecting approximately 12 email accounts in total. UWaterloo spokesperson Rebecca Elming maintained that other email users were not affected. “We are fortunate that the prompt actions of law enforcement agencies, our internal IT teams, Microsoft and external cybersecurity partners acted quickly to identify and respond to this threat to avoid the worst outcomes,” said Elming. The RCMP and UWaterloo are currently investigating the source of the attack.