Kristina Beek reports: On Jan. 28, the Freehold Township School District informed its staff, families, and students that its schools and offices would be closed today due to a cybersecurity incident. School officials said that because of the incident, the district, located in Freehold, N.J., was experiencing technical difficulties and that it is working with third-party cybersecurity experts to…
Author: Dissent
Ex-IRS contractor who leaked Trump’s tax returns sentenced to 5 years
Salvador Rizzo reports: A former IRS contractor who leaked a slew of confidential tax records filed by the wealthiest Americans, including those of President Donald Trump, was sentenced Monday to the maximum of five years in prison. Charles Littlejohn pleaded guilty last year to one count of unauthorized disclosure of income tax returns. Littlejohn, 38, admitted that he…
750 million Indian mobile subscribers’ info for sale on dark web
Laura Dobberstein reports: Indian infosec firm CloudSEK last week claimed it found records describing 750 million Indian mobile network subscribers on the dark web, with two crime gangs offering the trove of data for just $3,000. CloudSEK named CYBO CREW affiliates CyboDevil and UNIT8200 as the vendors of a 1.8TB trove, which contains mobile subscribers’…
Canadian malware spreader gets 2 years in prison
Joe Warminsky reports: A Canadian court handed down a two-year prison sentence to a man who admitted coordinating ransomware and malware attacks on private citizens, businesses and government agencies. Matthew Philbert, 33, pleaded guilty in October of last year to charges of fraud and unauthorized access to computers after his arrest in 2021 in Canada….
Ransomware payments drop to record low as victims refuse to pay
Bill Toulas reports: The number of ransomware victims paying ransom demands has dropped to a record low of 29% in the final quarter of 2023, according to ransomware negotiation firm Coveware. This trend became apparent in mid-2021 when the payment rate dropped to 46% after previously being 85% at the start of 2019. According to Coveware, the…
Italy government proposes tougher jail terms for cybercriminals
Reuters reports: Italy’s government is set to propose tougher jail terms for cybercrime and stricter disclosure rules for public bodies that come under attack from hackers, according to a draft law seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The bill, set for discussion at a cabinet meeting on Thursday, comes after repeated instances of ransomware and other…