Ransomware Gang Booba Hits University Medical School and Small Local Governments

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) has confirmed a ransomware attack on its College of Medicine that limited access to some systems. A spokesperson said attackers were able to steal some information from the college's servers, and an investigation is underway to determine whether any personal, research or academic information was compromised. The university says all affected systems have been restored, its main network was not affected, and patient care at UI Health was not impacted. The incident was reported to law enforcement, and the university plans to notify anyone whose information was stolen.

A ransomware gang called Booba claimed the attack last week, saying it stole 344 gigabytes of data. The group emerged at the end of July and has already claimed 49 attacks. SentinelOne's Brett Williams said Booba appears to be a rebrand of the Frag ransomware, based on the style of its leak site and how it handles negotiations. Encrypted files are renamed with the .booba extension, and there appear to be versions for both Linux and Windows.

Booba has also targeted several companies and small county governments. Merrimack County, New Hampshire, confirmed a cyberattack several weeks ago and has since recovered. Local media reported that county dispatchers could not access criminal data from the state's software to share with officers during the incident.