On Monday, Aug. 4, the UD Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and Information Technologies (IT) team conducted a cybersecurity tabletop exercise to simulate a ransomware attack on the University. OEM and IT staff organized the all-day event, with external support from Christiana Care’s emergency management unit. The event involved a ransomware scenario with network breaches, data theft and a $700,000 Bitcoin demand.

The training exercise comes amid rising cyber threats to institutes of higher education — including, among others, a 2023 attack on the University of Michigan, a 2024 ransomware attack on New Jersey City University and a 2025 event involving NYU.

“This exercise mirrored the complexity of responding to a real cyber crisis,” said Josh Kelly, UD’s Director of Emergency Management. “Training and exercise events like this really help us assess readiness and identify areas for improvement.”

More than two dozen staff members, representing multiple UD departments, participated in the exercise. Insights gained from the event will inform updates to UD’s cyber incident response plan, guide future exercises, and help improve the University’s operational coordination, cybersecurity, situational awareness and public information capabilities.

“Cyber incidents are increasing in frequency and severity and are something that we take very seriously,” Kelly said.

Associate VP of Safety and Emergency Management, Mark W. Seifert added, “This marks our third major exercise in three years. Each one sharpens our readiness for complex emergencies.”

For more information regarding cyber safety at UD, please visit: https://www1.udel.edu/security/