The UPR also suffers from cyberattacks, but ‘situation has been addressed’
The University of Puerto Rico The interim chair of the UPR, Dr. Mayra Olavaria Cruz, stated that (the UPR) has been the target of a series of cyberattacks in recent days with the aim of limiting the availability of services.
His statements come minutes after a press conference was held to give details of an attack by the government ransomware To the private operator system that operates AutoExpreso which has kept the recharge system out of service since Saturday. It was at this conference at the Miramar Convention Center that the cyber attack on the public school was first revealed.
The ransomware It is a type of virus that infects computers, encrypts or to kidnap Files in system storage (hard drives) then request a payment (usually via cryptocurrency Bitcoin) to restore access to the information.
on questions new day The UPR spokesperson, Daniel Rodriguez Leon, explained that The situation in enterprise systems is not attacked by ransomware. In this case, the cyber attacks caused numerous interruptions in the use of the Moodle virtual platform.
“It happens sporadically when many users around the world overload the platform to prevent real users from accessing. It happens through loops that can last half an hour and an hour during which attendance and resolution are made.”
He said it was not the first time they had encountered this kind of problem and that university students were being informed via email. “The university community is always informed, what happens is that the intercom has bypassed the networks and coincided with the AutoExpreso problem, but in reality they have nothing to do with it.”
This was confirmed by Olavaria Cruz The situation was addressed and had no consequences that could affect system users. He pointed out that There was no data loss, identity theft, or damage to UPR’s servers or network infrastructure.
“The Universal Periodic Review, like any other type of government or private organization, is constantly exposed to these cyber attacks. It is important that we have the necessary security tools to identify them and serve them quickly and effectively,” the interim president explained in a statement.
For her part, the Minister of the Interior, Noelia Garcia, stated at a press conference that the Puerto Rican Office of Innovation and Technology Services (PRITS) would participate in any UPR investigation into cyberattacks.
“We (the UPR) have basically been informed of what’s going on, and we’ll definitely save ourselves for cooperation,” Garcia said.
“The staff of the Information Systems Bureau, who are experts in security, work in cooperation with the security services to which information is provided to find out the source of the attacks,” said Olavaria Cruz.