Italian University La Sapienza Offline After Cyber Attack

Italian University La Sapienza Offline After Cyber Attack 🚨

Rome’s La Sapienza University has been severely impacted by a cyberattack that disrupted its IT systems and caused significant operational issues. Since February 2, the university has been offline, leaving students unable to book exams, check tuition payments, or access faculty contacts.

The university confirmed it was a victim of a cyberattack and was forced to shut down its infrastructure to mitigate the threat and prevent further damage. This situation suggests a potential ransomware attack.

“As a precautionary measure, and to ensure the integrity and security of data, an immediate shutdown of network systems has been ordered,” stated the university.

Public reports indicate that the university suffered a ransomware attack, with some media suggesting that a new Russian cybercrime group known as Femwar02 is behind it. Reports from Italian media outlet La Stampa highlighted the use of a next-generation ransomware strain called ‘Bablock,’ which has been identified as one of the most destructive malware strains of 2025.

La Stampa noted, “This form of extortion malware typically avoids encrypting devices set to Russian or other post-Soviet languages, raising suspicions that the attack was carried out by a pro-Russian group.”

An update from the university on February 3 stated, “Sapienza is managing the emergency in a unified and coordinated manner, meeting all deadlines within its remit and working with other institutions involved.” The incident has been reported to law enforcement and the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), who are assisting in the response.

As the investigation continues, university technicians are working to assess the scope of the security breach before restoring data from backups. It remains unclear whether the backups contain all data or if some remains inaccessible due to ransomware encryption.

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