Hana Bordey reports: The National Privacy Commission (NPC) has cleared the Commission on Elections and the Smartmatic Group of Companies of alleged violation of the Data Privacy Act (DPA) over the supposed breach of election data during the 2022 national and local polls. This was announced by Comelec spokesperson Rex Laudiangco in a press statement…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
NYS Comptroller releases another school district IT audit
Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District – Information Technology Assets and Network Access (2022M-151) Released December 30, 2022 Background The District serves the Towns of Frankfort and Schuyler in Herkimer County. The District is governed by the Board of Education (Board), which is composed of seven elected members. The Board is responsible for the general management and…
European data protection authorities issue record €2.92 billion in GDPR fines
Michael Hill reports: European data regulators issued a record €2.92 billion in fines last year, a 168% increase from 2021. That’s according to the latest GDPR and Data Breach survey from international law firm DLA Piper, which covers all 27 Member States of the European Union, plus the UK, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein. This year’s biggest fine…
Ransomware Diaries: Volume 1: LockBit
Written by Jon DiMaggio. Conducting a behavioral profile of ransomware attackers will give you a better understanding of who is behind the attacks threatening your organization. Behavioral profiling adds value to defenders who can use it to identify an attacker and negotiators who will know the motivations and beliefs of the human being they are…
Interview with Mallox ransomware group
Over on SuspectFile, Marco A. De Felice has a write-up of an interview with Mallox. Unlike some interviews where spokespeople brag or make claims or pose a bit, Mallox’s spokesperson comes across as a serious individual who is part of a closed group that has worked together for the past few years without the drama…
Avast releases free BianLian ransomware decryptor
Bill Toulas reports: Security software company Avast has released a free decryptor for the BianLian ransomware strain to help victims of the malware recover locked files without paying the hackers. The availability of a decryptor comes only about half a year after increased activity from BianLian ransomware over the summer of 2022, when the threat group breached multiple high-profile…