AP reports State officials say a weekend cyberattack targeted about 160 computers at a dozen Connecticut state agencies. A spokesman for the state Department of Administrative Services says the ransomware attack was first detected Friday and state computer experts worked over the weekend to contain it. Agency spokesman Jeffrey Beckham says the attack appeared to…
Month: February 2018
Sweeping Georgia cybercrime bill would target ‘snoopers’
AP reports: Lying about your weight on an online dating site? Checking out who won the Falcons game from your work computer? Using your computer hacking knowledge as an “ethical hacker?” Those actions may become illegal if a Georgia bill gets voted into law, civil liberty advocates say. Supporters of a bill making its way…
University of Canberra accidentally sends 24 staff details of every employee
Emily Baker reports: The University of Canberra has accidentally sent some staff the personal details of every employee, including their birth date, classification, average hours and salary. Vice-chancellor Deep Saini said an “administrative error” led to 24 employees receiving the email with searchable data on all their colleagues attached. Read more on Canberra Times.
Teesside University urges hundreds of students and staff to reset passwords following security concern
Dave Robson reports: Students at Teesside University have been warned about a possible email security breach. Hundreds of students were contacted over the weekend and urged to reset their university password. But the university says it was purely a precautionary measure after it became aware of a “wider security concern completely unrelated to our data…
Understanding Data Breaches as National Security Threats
Susan Landau writes: For decades the theft of private individuals’ data has been treated as an annoyance. Activist state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission have pursued cases, but U.S. laws fail to treat theft of personal data as a serious crime in itself. The indictment detailing Russian activity during the 2016 presidential campaign…
UK think tanks hacked by groups in China, cyber-security firm says
Gordon Corera reports: Some UK think tanks were hacked by China-based groups last year, a US cyber-security company which said it investigated the breaches has claimed. Crowdstrike said it saw the repeated targeting of think tanks specialising in international security and defence issues, beginning in April 2017. Read more on BBC.