In-person bar exams are currently out of the question in the United States.
So the State of Michigan decided to offer a virtual bar exam.
Unfortunately, at the exact time of this remote test, a cyberattack prevented the next crop of lawyers from even getting started.
Cyberattack delays Michigan bar exam
Taking a bar exam is already stressful.
But when Michigan became the first state to offer the test virtually, it experienced some problems that made things even harder for exam takers.
According to Bloomberg Law, the test was the subject of a DDoS attack.
"Test takers were briefly locked out of the exam Tuesday because of a 'sophisticated attack specifically aimed at the login process for the ExamSoft Portal,' Nici Sandberg, a representative for ExamSoft, told Bloomberg Law."
Sandberg confirmed that no data was compromised during the attack. But the incident still sparked anxiety for applicants:
"The attack 'left me feeling pretty rattled,' said Kerry Martin, a graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. 'I felt much less in the zone.'"
According to the Michigan Board of Law Examiners, students impacted by the delay were granted extra time, and all test takers eventually finished the exam.
Perhaps some of those who pass will be inspired to work on cyber law.
Michigan's relationship with cyberattacks
This is not the first education-related cyber incident Michigan has experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In May, SecureWorld News covered a ransomware attack that hit Michigan State University:
"If the university fails to pay the ransom? The hackers claim they'll release personal student information and the college's private financial records, among other documents.
The orchestrators are using NetWalker, a form of ransomware that emerged in 2019 and is designed specifically to target larger networks, like those for companies and organizations."
Hackers and cybercriminals seem to have an increasing affinity for cyberattacks on the education field.
