How to protect yourself against ransomware at Minneapolis schools – Sahan Journal

This week, Minnesotans got a clearer picture of the “encryption event” that shut down many Minneapolis Public Schools systems three weeks ago. An active ransomware group—we’re not listing the name—claimed credit for the hack. On Tuesday, the group posted a 51-minute video to Vimeo showing samples of some of the data collected. The group also posted to the dark web an extensive list of file names, along with some screenshots of sensitive data. Minneapolis Public Schools announced it was working with the hosting company—that is, Vimeo—to remove the data, and by late Tuesday afternoon Vimeo had taken down the video. But the information posted to the dark web remains. And the hackers have threatened to release the rest of the information if Minneapolis Public Schools does not pay a $1 million ransom by March 17. So whose information was hacked? What information was it? What can (and should) you do to protect yourself? Do words like “ransomware” and “cybersecurity” make your brain freeze, or send you into a panic?  “Assume you’re in the breach,” said Ian Coldwater, a cybersecurity expert and Minneapolis Public Schools parent. “Don’t panic. But prepare yourself.” We compiled some expert advice—and broke it down into layman’s
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