Bar-Ilan University was hacked on Sunday, but classes are expected to continue as usual.
“A limited number of portions of the computer network for research of Bar-Ilan University experienced a cyber event,” the school’s administration reported. “The administration of the university is handling the issue along with both internal and external cyber experts, as well as with support from the Israel National Cyber Directorate [INCD].”
“From what we know so far, the event is a narrow one,” it added. “Work and classes at the university are continuing as usual.”
Former INCD deputy chief and Code Blue cyber company founder Rafael Franco said: “The attack on Bar-Ilan University was only a matter of time. Educational institutions in Israel do not take sufficient steps to prevent these situations.”
He said he expected regulators to be more on top of these educational institutions “and to issue public warnings when there are such vulnerabilities.”
The nature of the ransomware requests involved in the current hack “do not conform with [those of] known criminal organizations, and so it is possible that this is only a diversion in which the real attack is a broader one by a nation-state,” Franco said.
Israel has been regularly engaging with Iran in cyberwarfare, but Hezbollah, Hamas and others also have cyber capabilities that could interfere with the functioning of websites.