European prestigious university was blackmailed by hackers and paid 30 bitcoins ransom

Beijing time on the 6th, Maastricht University disclosed on Wednesday that it had been attacked by hackers on December 24 last year and was forced to pay a ransom of 30 bitcoins, worth 200,000 euros at the time, to unblock its IT systems, including emails and computers.
Such hacking attacks have become commonplace in recent years, with insurers raising cybersecurity premiums by up to 25% after attacks on multiple companies, hospitals and airports in 2019.
Maastricht University vice-chancellor Nick Bos said the university decided to pay the ransom after considering alternatives to avoid the hassle of rebuilding its entire IT system from scratch.
“The damage this is doing to students, scientists, staff jobs and the continuity of the institution is almost unimaginable,” he said.
Bosse disclosed what the university knew about the hack at a news conference on Wednesday, including that a staff member clicked on a phishing email a month ago, leading to the initial intrusion.
Cybersecurity firm Fox-IT helped the university recover and analyze what happened, identifying the hackers as the notorious TA505.