Cincinnati Public Schools Hit by Major Ransomware Attack
Incident Date:
September 5, 2024
Overview
Title
Cincinnati Public Schools Hit by Major Ransomware Attack
Victim
Cincinnati Public Schools
Attacker
Ransomhub
Location
First Reported
September 5, 2024
Ransomware Attack on Cincinnati Public Schools
Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS), the largest school district in Greater Cincinnati, has fallen victim to a ransomware attack orchestrated by the threat actor group known as RansomHub. The attack was discovered on September 6, 2024, and has resulted in a significant data breach, with a leak size amounting to 177GB.
About Cincinnati Public Schools
CPS serves approximately 36,000 students from preschool to 12th grade across 66 schools, covering a 91-square-mile area in southwest Ohio. The district is known for its commitment to academic excellence, equity, and innovation, offering a wide range of educational programs, including specialized programs for gifted students, English learners, and those requiring special education services. CPS also emphasizes career and technical education, preparing students for the workforce or higher education.
Attack Overview
The ransomware attack on CPS has compromised a substantial amount of sensitive data, posing a significant risk to the district's operations and the privacy of its students and staff. The breach has affected various elementary, middle, and high schools within the district, disrupting educational activities and potentially exposing personal information.
About RansomHub
RansomHub, a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) group, emerged in February 2024 and quickly gained notoriety for its aggressive affiliate model and double extortion tactics. The group encrypts victims' data and exfiltrates sensitive information to increase leverage in ransom demands. RansomHub is known for its speed and efficiency, targeting high-value sectors such as healthcare, financial services, and government.
Penetration Methods
RansomHub affiliates primarily use phishing campaigns, vulnerability exploitation, and password spraying to gain initial access to target systems. In the case of CPS, the group likely exploited unpatched systems or used phishing techniques to infiltrate the network. Once inside, they conducted multi-phase attacks involving network reconnaissance, privilege escalation, and data exfiltration before encrypting files.
Impact on CPS
The ransomware attack has severely impacted CPS's ability to provide educational services, with potential long-term consequences for the district's reputation and financial stability. The breach underscores the vulnerabilities that educational institutions face in the digital age, highlighting the need for advanced cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data and ensure the continuity of operations.
Recent Ransomware Attacks
The Recent Ransomware Attacks (RRA) site acts as a watchtower, providing you with near real-time ransomware tracking of attacks, groups and their victims. Given threat actors’ overarching, lucrative success so far, ransomware attacks have become the most ubiquitous, and financially and informationally impactful cyber threat to businesses and organizations today.
The site’s data is generated based on hosting choices of real-world threat actors, and a handful of other trackers. While sanitization efforts have been taken, we cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of the data. Attack updates will be made as source data is reported by reputable sources. By viewing, accessing, or using RRA you acknowledge you are doing so at your own risk.