Ransomware group executes cyberattack on Mercer University

Mercer University reported an incident involving unauthorized access to its computer network. Impacted data includes Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. Mercer University is in the process of notifying individuals who may have had their personal information stolen by Akira during the attack. According to a tweet posted on Tuesday, a ransomware group called "Akira" has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on Mercer University, resulting in the compromise of sensitive personal information. The tweet from the Twitter account @DailyDarkWeb stated that Akira had included Mercer University on its victim list and provided some details about the university. Akira accused Mercer of not valuing its community due to the university's refusal to pay the ransom, which the group claims was relatively affordable. A screenshot included in the tweet shows a statement from Akira stating that Mercer's personal information will be made available for downloading on their blog soon. This incident follows a series of system outages at Mercer that began on April 5. It took several days for Mercer IT to restore all systems. Mercer has not officially confirmed any connection between the April outages and the Akira attack disclosed on Tuesday. Communication from Mercer IT regarding the April outages has been limited, primarily focused on announcing the restoration of specific systems. A message allegedly from a Mercer IT employee circulated among Mercer student group chats on the day of the attack, advising students to change passwords for any accounts unrelated to Mercer.