Sam Biddle and Murtaza Hussain report: As furious anti-government protests swept Iran, the authorities retaliated with both brute force and digital repression. Iranian mobile and internet users reported rolling network blackouts, mobile app restrictions, and other disruptions. Many expressed fears that the government can track their activities through their indispensable and ubiquitous smartphones. Iran’s tight…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Suffolk cyberattack: County consultant also lobbies for vendor hired to fortify system
Mark Harrington and Sandra Peddie report: A consulting firm hired to help manage Suffolk County’s response to a ransomware attack also has served as a lobbyist for the computer security company brought in more than three years ago to analyze and fortify Suffolk’s networks, according to a Newsday analysis of records. Computer security experts and…
Il: Security breach in Shas database could expose information of millions
Roman Meitav reports: A serious security breach in the Shas Party’s computerized election management system has left it vulnerable to easy exploitation, even by those with only basic knowledge of cybersecurity, according to tech experts. The breach in the system, which contains not just the data of Shas supporters and activists but rather the information of all Israeli…
After CommonSpirit ransomware attack: Why healthcare M&A is a ‘huge’ cybersecurity risk
Samantha Liss reports: As CommonSpirit Health, formed by the merger of Dignity Health and Catholic Health Initiatives in 2019, continues to deal with the fallout from a ransomware attack three weeks ago, security experts say such tie-ups and acquistions make healthcare systems more vulnerable to security breaches. M&A in healthcare “creates a huge risk” and a…
Microsoft links Raspberry Robin worm to Clop ransomware attacks
Sergiu Gatlan reports: Microsoft says a threat group tracked as DEV-0950 used Clop ransomware to encrypt the network of a victim previously infected with the Raspberry Robin worm. DEV-0950 malicious activity overlaps with financially motivated cybercrime groups tracked as FIN11 and TA505, known for deploying Clop payloads ransomware on targets’ systems. Read more at BleepingComputer
As Cybersecurity Awareness Month draws to a close, phishing incidents still pose a challenge
Despite attempts to educate employees and consumers how not to fall for phishing attacks, they continue to pose a significant risk to businesses and individuals. Here are just three current news items from different sectors that all show the impact of phishing. Kristen Jordan Shamus reports: The personal information of about 33,850 Michigan Medicine patients…