Cyber attack not yet repelled in Eindhoven

There is no contact with the hackers, the TU/e informs in an update, and it is still unknown who they are. The plan is to gradually bring the systems back online, starting with the education systems.
The university was quiet on Monday. ‘Most students have chosen not to come to campus,’ the TU/e reports, ‘and about half of the usual number of employees are present.’

‘Stay at home’

Various media confirm. The message ‘stay home’ was clear, writes university magazine Cursor, but some come to the library anyway to read professional literature that is available offline or on paper.
One teacher went to campus because he was not sure whether his students, who were actually supposed to come by with their questions, had gotten the message that teaching was off. ‘I’m going to create WhatsApp groups with my 15 student assistants to be able to reach them in another way, outside the TU/e systems,’ he told Cursor.

NOS spoke (in Dutch) to some students. The students are unable to access their email or learning resources, which is not ideal when trying to study for exams. The local Studio040 also went on campus with a camera and spoke (in Dutch) to students and staff, who told them how difficult such a hack is.

Malware

A university’s network is large and complex, so hackers are usually able to find an entry point in the case of a targeted attack. Someone can also use a usb stick on campus to install malware.
But, often these entry points are through phishing emails. Hackers send a fake email with a link or attachment. If the user clicks on it, the hackers have gained access. ‘Be alert of phishing mails and phone calls,’ says a TU/e FAQ page.
The university asks students and employees to forward such mails to a special address. ‘For this, try to gather as much information as possible to trace the origin. And indicate if you accidentally clicked on a link or opened an attachment.’

Target

The purpose of the attack is not yet clear. It could be espionage: an engineering university holds all kinds of data and designs that could have a commercial or military application.
Hostage-taking is also possible. In these cases the attack is usually less targeted. Hackers look to penetrate somewhere. Once they have penetrated all corners of the network, they encrypt the files and demand a ransom. In Germany last year, there was a wave of cyber attacks that mainly affected engineering colleges.

HOP, Bas Belleman