Incident: Ransomware Attack on Finalsite Affects 5,000 Schools in US

Published Date: 2022-01-07

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite happened on Tuesday, as mentioned in the article [123216]. 2. The article was published on 2022-01-07. 3. Therefore, the software failure incident occurred in January 2022.
System 1. Finalsite's computer systems [123216]
Responsible Organization 1. The software failure incident, a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite, was caused by external threat actors who deployed the ransomware on Finalsite's computer systems [Article 123216].
Impacted Organization 1. About 5,000 schools, mostly in the US, were impacted by the ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite [Article 123216]. 2. The Aquinas Institute of Theology, a Catholic graduate school in St. Louis, also experienced interruptions in communications with applicants due to the incident involving Finalsite [Article 123216].
Software Causes 1. Ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite [Article 123216]
Non-software Causes 1. Ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite [Article 123216] 2. Lack of up-to-date plan based on a current assessment of cybersecurity risks facing the education sector by the Department of Education [Article 123216]
Impacts 1. The software failure incident caused interruptions in communications with applicants at the Aquinas Institute of Theology, affecting their ability to promote programs during a critical application period [123216]. 2. The ransomware attack on Finalsite disrupted the web presence of about 5,000 schools, including boarding schools, high schools, and colleges, impacting their ability to communicate with students, parents, and the public [123216]. 3. The incident led to the temporary closure of Baltimore County Public Schools in November 2020, affecting students' ability to engage in remote learning during the pandemic [123216].
Preventions 1. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures such as regular security audits, penetration testing, and network monitoring could have potentially prevented the ransomware attack on Finalsite [Article 123216]. 2. Ensuring timely software updates and patches to address known vulnerabilities could have helped in preventing the exploitation of weaknesses by cyber attackers [Article 123216]. 3. Educating staff and users about cybersecurity best practices, such as avoiding clicking on suspicious links or attachments, could have reduced the risk of a successful ransomware attack [Article 123216].
Fixes 1. Implementing robust cybersecurity measures such as regular security audits, penetration testing, and employee training to prevent ransomware attacks [Article 123216]. 2. Developing and maintaining up-to-date cybersecurity plans and risk assessments to address the evolving threats in the education sector [Article 123216].
References 1. Finalsite spokesperson Morgan Delack [Article 123216] 2. Aquinas Institute of Theology representative Jessica Adams [Article 123216] 3. Threat analyst Brett Callow from cybersecurity firm Emsisoft [Article 123216] 4. Government Accountability Office (GAO) [Article 123216]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization, multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: - Finalsite, a software provider, experienced a ransomware attack affecting the websites of about 5,000 schools, with a majority of them in the US [Article 123216]. - Finalsite had to shut down its network and rebuild everything in a clean environment due to the ransomware attack [Article 123216]. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: - Ransomware attacks, similar to the one on Finalsite, have also interrupted remote learning for a number of schools in the US during the coronavirus pandemic [Article 123216]. - Over the last three years, ransomware has disrupted more than a thousand K-12 schools in the US, according to cybersecurity firm Emsisoft [Article 123216].
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident in the article can be attributed to the design phase. The ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite affected the websites of about 5,000 schools, with the incident originating from a ransomware discovered on some of its computer systems [123216]. This indicates that the failure was due to contributing factors introduced during the system development or updates, leading to vulnerabilities that allowed the ransomware attack to occur.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) within_system: The software failure incident, a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite, was detected on some of its computer systems, leading the company to shut down its network and rebuild everything in a clean environment [123216]. This indicates that the failure originated from within the system itself. (b) outside_system: The ransomware attack on Finalsite's software was caused by external factors, specifically a malicious attack from outside sources. The attack affected the websites of about 5,000 schools, highlighting that the failure originated from outside the system [123216].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions, human_actions (a) The software failure incident in this case was due to a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite, affecting the websites of about 5,000 schools. The ransomware was discovered on some of Finalsite's computer systems, prompting the decision to shut down the network and rebuild everything in a clean environment to address the issue [123216]. (b) Human actions were involved in the response to the software failure incident, as Finalsite made the decision to shut down their network and rebuild everything in a clean environment after discovering the ransomware on their systems. Additionally, the Government Accountability Office highlighted the need for the Department of Education to do more to protect schools from hacking threats, indicating the importance of human actions in enhancing cybersecurity measures [123216].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) software (a) The software failure incident reported in the article was due to a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite, affecting the websites of about 5,000 schools. The attack led to the interruption of communications and services provided by Finalsite's software to these schools [123216]. (b) The software failure incident was primarily caused by a ransomware attack on Finalsite's computer systems, indicating a failure originating in the software itself. The ransomware led to the shutdown of the network and the rebuilding of systems in a clean environment to mitigate the impact of the attack on the affected schools [123216].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) malicious (a) The software failure incident in this case was malicious, as it was a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite, affecting the websites of about 5,000 schools, with most of them in the US [123216]. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out with the intent to harm the system and extort money from the affected parties.
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) poor_decisions (a) The software failure incident involving Finalsite was a result of poor decisions made by the attackers who launched a ransomware attack on the software provider. The attackers' decision to deploy ransomware on Finalsite's computer systems led to the disruption of services for thousands of schools, including the Aquinas Institute of Theology. Finalsite had to shut down its network and rebuild everything in a clean environment to mitigate the impact of the attack [123216].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) accidental (a) The software failure incident reported in the article was a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite, affecting the websites of about 5,000 schools, with most of them in the US [123216]. This incident was not due to development incompetence but rather a deliberate attack by external threat actors. (b) The ransomware attack on Finalsite's software was an accidental incident caused by external threat actors exploiting vulnerabilities in the system, rather than being introduced accidentally by the development team or organization [123216].
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident in this case was temporary. Finalsite discovered the ransomware on some of its computer systems on Tuesday and made the decision to shut down their network when they saw the problem. They then rebuilt everything in a clean environment, and the majority of the affected schools had their websites back online the following morning [123216].
Behaviour omission, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the article is not described as a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions [123216]. (b) omission: The incident caused an omission in the system's intended functions as it interrupted communications with applicants to the Aquinas Institute of Theology, impacting their ability to provide information about programs due to the website being down [123216]. (c) timing: The timing of the software failure incident is not explicitly mentioned in the article as the system performing its intended functions correctly but too late or too early [123216]. (d) value: The incident did not result in the system performing its intended functions incorrectly [123216]. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident is not described as the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions [123216]. (f) other: The other behavior observed in the software failure incident is a ransomware attack on the software provider Finalsite, leading to the disruption of websites of about 5,000 schools, including boarding schools, high schools, and colleges worldwide [123216].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence property, delay (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure The software failure incident, a ransomware attack on software provider Finalsite, affected the websites of about 5,000 schools, with about 8,000 schools worldwide using Finalsite's software for their websites and public communications [Article 123216]. The incident interrupted communications with applicants to the Aquinas Institute of Theology, impacting their web presence and ability to provide information about programs to potential students [Article 123216]. Additionally, ransomware attacks like this have disrupted remote learning for schools in the US, including an incident that forced Baltimore County Public Schools to temporarily close in November 2020 [Article 123216].
Domain information, knowledge (a) The software failure incident affected the education sector, specifically schools and educational institutions that use Finalsite's software for their websites and public communications [Article 123216].

Sources

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