East Central University issues notice of data incident

ADA, Okla. (KFOR) - The University of East Central University (ECU) is providing notice of a recent data incident that potentially compromised the security of some private information that ECU maintains.

ECU says, it experienced a directed attack from a cybercriminal group and malicious software known as BlackSuit.  While the criminals were not successful in taking down ECU’s critical services, they were able to conduct a successful attack on a variety of campus computers.

According to the University, BlackSuit is a very active cybercriminal ransomware group that is believed to be a spinoff of a known malicious party called Royal.  Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) believe that Royal/BlackSuit have had over 350 known victims with ransomware demands of more than $275 million worldwide. BlackSuit has taken credit for taking down other school systems around the country. Currently ECU confirms, BlackSuit attempted to attack ECU systems, steal data, encrypt ECU computers, and otherwise extort the campus. 

The specific entry point to the ECU campus is current unknown, according to ECU's website.

However, ECU confirms I.T. is working closely with the third party cyber security team to look for ways to enhance security, understand attack points, and otherwise help the campus become more aware of the new tactics used by attackers.

A investigation is still underway in addressing the scope and scale of the data involved on the servers that were attacked.  ECU's leadership affirms they will keep its community updated as any additional information is found.

Those who believe they were affected can visit identitytheft.gov for steps to take if your information is or may be compromised.

For additional questions email it_updates@ecok.edu or call 580-559-5967.