Salesian College Siliguri Campus Targeted by Lockbit2 Ransomware Group

About the Victim

Salesian College Siliguri Campus is a minority educational institution of the Catholic Church, run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, Kolkata Province. Established in 1933, it is affiliated with North Bengal University. The college offers a wide range of undergraduate programs across various disciplines, including but not limited to English, Economics, Political Science, History, and Computer Sciences, along with postgraduate programs in Education, English, and Psychology.

Size and Unique Features

With over 2200 students, Salesian College is recognized under section 2(f) and 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956. The institution is known for its rigorous academic engagement and provides a variety of facilities such as libraries, tech-enabled classrooms, laboratories, and sports facilities. It maintains a secular outlook, welcoming students from diverse backgrounds.

Vulnerabilities

The specific vulnerabilities exploited by the Lockbit2 ransomware group in this incident have not been disclosed. Generally, ransomware attacks leverage weaknesses in software, outdated systems, or human error to infiltrate networks.

Impact

The exact impact of the ransomware attack on the college's operations and data security remains unspecified. Typically, such attacks can lead to significant data loss or theft, financial damage, and operational disruptions.

Response

As of now, Salesian College has not publicly addressed the ransomware attack or outlined any response measures. The steps taken by the institution to mitigate the attack's impact or whether a ransom was paid remain unclear.

Sources

• Salesian College Siliguri Campus website: https://salesiancollege.ac.in
• ICMAI Journal: March 2024
• Snap project: https://snap.berkeley.edu/project/11166188
• enwiki-words-frequency.txt: https://huggingface.co/dalle-mini/dalle-mega/resolve/main/enwiki-words-frequency.txt
• Kaggle code: https://www.kaggle.com/code/yakolle/quora-basic-analysis