Sapienza University of Rome has suffered a cyberattack that disrupted its IT systems, forcing a precautionary network shutdown and taking its website offline. Italian reports link the incident to ransomware activity attributed to a pro‑Russian actor called Femwar02 and a Rorschach/Bablock‑style strain, while national cybersecurity teams work to restore systems from backups. #SapienzaUniversity #Femwar02
Keypoints
- The attack knocked Sapienza’s IT infrastructure offline and caused broad operational disruption across the university.
- The university ordered an immediate network shutdown and established temporary “infopoints” to support students while systems remain unavailable.
- Authorities were notified and a technical task force with Italian CSIRT, ACN, and Polizia Postale is working to restore services from reportedly unaffected backups.
- Italian media report the incident as ransomware encryption linked to a pro‑Russian actor called Femwar02 and a Rorschach/Bablock‑style strain built from leaked ransomware components.
- Students and staff are advised to remain vigilant for phishing, avoid unsolicited links, and monitor accounts for suspicious activity.