The Vice Society ransomware gang has claimed responsibility for a November 2022 cyberattack on the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) that forced the university to reconstruct its IT infrastructure, a process that’s still ongoing.
The threat actors have also leaked files they claim to have stolen from the university during the network breach, exposing potentially sensitive details about the university’s operations, students, and personnel.
UDE has since confirmed that they are aware the threat actors published the stolen data and said that they will not be paying a ransom.
“After the cyberattack on the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) at the end of November, the criminal group responsible for it has now published data on the Darknet,” UDE said in a statement.
“The university had not complied with the attackers’ demands and had not paid a ransom.”
BleepingComputer has reviewed some of the leaked files and found they include backup archives, financial documents, research papers, and student spreadsheets. While they appear to be genuine, we have no way to confirm their authenticity.
