Ryuk's Rampage

The Ransomware Files

Rockford Public Schools in Illinois was infected with the Ryuk ransomware just days after the school year started in September 2019. They had one thought for the suspected Russia-based cybercriminal group at the root of the attack: "Screw them." The attack encrypted upwards of six million files, wrecked applications and locked up servers. But the district refused to pay the ransom and kept classes running while mounting a mighty recovery effort.

Speakers: Jason E. Barthel, Chief Information Officer, Rockford Public Schools; Earl Dotson Jr., Chief Communications Officer, Rockford Public Schools; Cathy Bayer, Senior Communications Manager, Rockford Public Schools; Doug Levin, National Director, K12 Security Information Exchange; Errol Weiss, Chief Security Officer, Health Information Sharing and Analysis Center; Jeremy Kirk, Executive Editor, Information Security Media Group.

Sources and the transcript for this episode are here.

Production Coordinator: Rashmi Ramesh.

The Ransomware Files theme song by Chris Gilbert/©Ordinary Weirdos Records.

Music by Uppbeat and Podcastmusic.com.

Follow The Ransomware Files on Twitter: @ransomwarefiles

Follow The Ransomware Files on Instagram: @theransomwarefiles