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Cyber Threat
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Ransomware victim Education

The University and College Union

Listed by Incransom on · organisation based in United Kingdom

ucu.org.uk

Disclosed
Aug 25, 2024
Leak-site listing date
Threat group
Incransom
968 victims listed
Country
United Kingdom
#4 most targeted
Sector
Education

ThreatAI analysis

Compiled from this incident record and the threat intelligence profile for Incransom. Figures and technique mappings are quoted from the source data, not inferred.

About the Incransom group

INC Ransom is a prolific ransomware-as-a-service operation active since July 2023 that systematically targets healthcare, government, education, and manufacturing sectors in North America and Europe, having posted over 200 victims in 2025 alone with no sector off-limits. Incransom has listed 968 victims since August 2023.

How Incransom is documented to operate

Valid Accounts T1078 Stealth Persistence

Adversaries may obtain and abuse credentials of existing accounts as a means of gaining Initial Access, Persistence, Privilege Escalation, or Defense Evasion. Compromised credentials may be used to bypass access controls placed on various resources on systems within the network and may even be used for persistent access to remote systems and externally available services, such as VPNs, Outlook Web Access, network devices, and remote desktop. Compromised credentials may also grant an adversary increased privilege to specific systems or access to restricted areas of the network.

Mitigations: Application Developer Guidance, User Training, Password Policies, User Account Management, Privileged Account Management, Multi-factor Authentication

MITRE ATT&CK reference
Exploit Public-Facing Application T1190 Initial Access

Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a software bug, a temporary glitch, or a misconfiguration. Exploited applications are often websites/web servers, but can also include databases (like SQL), standard services (like SMB or SSH), network device administration and management protocols (like SNMP and Smart Install), and any other system with Internet-accessible open sockets. On ESXi infrastructure, adversaries may exploit exposed OpenSLP services; they may alternatively exploit exposed VMware vCenter servers.

Mitigations: Vulnerability Scanning, Limit Access to Resource Over Network, Filter Network Traffic, Network Segmentation, Privileged Account Management, Application Isolation and Sandboxing

MITRE ATT&CK reference
Phishing T1566 Initial Access

Adversaries may send phishing messages to gain access to victim systems. All forms of phishing are electronically delivered social engineering. Phishing can be targeted, known as spearphishing. In spearphishing, a specific individual, company, or industry will be targeted by the adversary. More generally, adversaries can conduct non-targeted phishing, such as in mass malware spam campaigns. Adversaries may send victims emails containing malicious attachments or links, typically to execute malicious code on victim systems. Phishing may also be conducted via third-party services, like social media platforms.

Mitigations: Network Intrusion Prevention, Restrict Web-Based Content, User Training, Antivirus/Antimalware, Software Configuration, Audit

MITRE ATT&CK reference
Windows Management Instrumentation T1047 Execution

Adversaries may abuse Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) to execute malicious commands and payloads. WMI is designed for programmers and is the infrastructure for management data and operations on Windows systems. WMI is an administration feature that provides a uniform environment to access Windows system components. The WMI service enables both local and remote access, though the latter is facilitated by Remote Services such as Distributed Component Object Model and Windows Remote Management. Remote WMI over DCOM operates using port 135, whereas WMI over WinRM operates over port 5985 when using HTTP and 5986 for HTTPS.

Mitigations: Execution Prevention, Behavior Prevention on Endpoint, User Account Management, Privileged Account Management

MITRE ATT&CK reference

MITRE ATT&CK techniques attributed to Incransom across its recorded activity, not a finding about how The University and College Union was reached.

Vulnerabilities Incransom is recorded exploiting

2 of these 2 are in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, 2 of them recorded by CISA as used in ransomware campaigns. CVEs attributed to Incransom across its reported activity. There is no indication that any of these was involved in the The University and College Union incident — the source data does not record an entry point.

Incident analysis

The University and College Union was listed by Incransom ransomware, a group with 968 victims recorded in this database. The listing appeared on the group's leak site on August 25, 2024.

The University and College Union is based in United Kingdom and operates in the Education sector. United Kingdom ranks #4 worldwide for ransomware disclosures, with 968 victims in this database.

Sector context. Educational institutions often have under-resourced IT security teams and hold large amounts of student and faculty personal data, making them attractive targets for ransomware groups.

Incransom typically follows a double extortion model: data is exfiltrated from the victim's systems before files are encrypted, so the victim faces two demands at once — pay to restore access, and pay to keep stolen data unpublished. The leak site, where this listing appeared, is the lever for the second demand.

Source. Public leak-site disclosures aggregated via the ransomware.live API. The disclosure date is when the listing was published, which can differ from the date of compromise. This site does not publish or link to stolen data. Last updated .

Frequently asked questions

Was The University and College Union attacked by ransomware?

Yes. The University and College Union was listed as a victim of the Incransom ransomware group on August 25, 2024. The organisation is based in United Kingdom and operates in the Education sector. The disclosure appeared on the group's dark web leak site.

Which ransomware group attacked The University and College Union?

The University and College Union was attacked by Incransom ransomware. Incransom is one of the most active ransomware groups, having claimed 968 victims globally. The group typically employs a double-extortion model: encrypting the victim's files and threatening to publish stolen data.

When did the The University and College Union ransomware attack occur?

The ransomware attack on The University and College Union was disclosed on August 25, 2024. This date reflects when the victim was published on the threat group's leak site, which may differ from the actual date of initial compromise.

What data was stolen in the The University and College Union ransomware attack?

The specific data stolen from The University and College Union has not been independently verified by this platform. Ransomware groups typically exfiltrate data before encrypting systems and use the threat of publication to pressure victims. As a Education organisation, The University and College Union likely held student and faculty personal data and academic records.

How can organisations protect against Incransom attacks?

To defend against Incransom and similar threat actors, organisations should: maintain regular offline backups tested for restoration; implement network segmentation to limit lateral movement; deploy multi-factor authentication on all remote access; use endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools; conduct regular phishing and security awareness training; and monitor threat intelligence feeds for indicators of compromise (IOCs) associated with active groups.