Thomas Brewster reports: They’re called access brokers: hackers who find ways onto business or government computers and open up backdoors, charging others for entry. Typical buyers include cybercriminals wielding ransomware, the malware that’s been a scourge for global businesses and governments in recent months. For the sellers, advertising their breaches in the dark forums of…
Author: Dissent
KS: Hays schools hacked with ransomware
I seem to have missed this report that appeared on February 17. Preston Burrows reported on a Kansas school district incident: On Thursday, Hays USD 489 experienced a cyberattack on its systems with ransomware. This type of cyberattack locks users out of their systems and only returns access once the requested ransom is paid. Many…
Dr. Douglas C. Morrow, OD Notifies Patients of Data Security Incident
Look at the timeline. Was this a ransomware incident that encrypted data and made it more difficult to investigate? Why did it take so long from some of these benchmarks to notification? AUBURN, Ind., Feb. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — On May 16, 2021, Dr. Douglas C. Morrow, OD (“Dr. Morrow”) experienced a data security incident that prevented users from accessing…
Russian hackers infect network devices with new botnet malware
Dan Goodin reports: Hackers for one of Russia’s most elite and brazen spy agencies have infected home and small-office network devices around the world with a previously unseen malware that turns the devices into attack platforms that can steal confidential data and target other networks. Cyclops Blink, as the advanced malware has been dubbed, has…
UK: Cop appears at Hamilton Sheriff Court on trial over data protection breach
A police officer is on trial for accessing records related to an investigation into her alleged driving offenses. Rory Cassidy reports: A police officer has gone on trial accused of illegally accessing her own case file. Acting Sergeant Victoria Robb is said to have logged on to a computer and looked at details of driving offences she allegedly committed. Robb, 31, went…
Za: Absa data leak — more customers affected
Jan Vermeulen reports: Absa has sent a notice to several new clients found to be affected by a November 2020 data leak, when a former employee gave people’s personal information to a platform that sold it to third parties. The former Absa staff member behind the leak was a credit analyst who had access to risk modelling systems…