The National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) has released a new joint-seal ransomware fact sheet. This educational product is intended to provide the public important information on the current ransomware threat and the government’s response, as well as common infection vectors, tools for attack prevention, and important contacts in the event of a ransomware…
Month: February 2021
Contractor for USAO Southern District of Iowa Provided Sensitive, Non-Public Info on Criminal Investigations to a Friend; Informants Wound Up “Outed” Online
An Iowa woman pleaded guilty today for unlawfully using a former Department of Justice contractor’s government computer to access government records and to obtain sensitive, non-public law enforcement information, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicholas L. McQuaid of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. According to admissions made in connection with her guilty plea, Rachel Manna,…
Democrats propose bill to protect privacy, data security amid growing use of pandemic-related tech
Anuja Vaidya reports: Technology is the linchpin of the United States’ response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the growing use of digital solutions raises the complicated issue of ensuring individuals’ right to privacy. Now, a group of Congressional Democrats have introduced a bill to address this concern. The Public Health Emergency Privacy Act would set enforceable privacy…
BR: Eletronuclear administrative network suffers ransomware attack
Luis Queiroz reports (translation): In a statement to the market, Eletrobras ensures that the systems of the administrative network of the subsidiary Eletronuclear are not connected, for security reasons, with the operating systems of the nuclear plants Angra I and Angra II. IT teams were able to contain the attack and prevent damage to the…
Oxfam Australia investigates data breach after database sold online
Lawrence Abrams reports: Oxfam Australia is a charity focused on alleviating poverty within the indigenous Australian people and people from Africa, Asia, and the middle east. The charity is part of a confederation of twenty charities worldwide operating under the Oxfam umbrella. Last week, BleepingComputer learned of a threat actor claiming to be selling a database…
USDA Denies Data Breach at Payroll Facility
Mariam Baksh reports: The U.S. Department of Agriculture has found “no evidence” of a data breach at a payroll processing center but is investigating, a spokesperson said in response to news reports to the contrary. Reuters first reported on Tuesday that the department’s National Finance Center, which runs a payroll system serving over 600,000 federal employees…