Adam Stone reports: When state and local IT systems get breached, there’s a balancing act to be struck. How much can and should the public be told? Some advocates of transparency and accountability say anything that happens in the public realm ought to be public knowledge. On the opposite extreme, some IT leaders worry that…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Magniber Ransomware Adopts JavaScript to Attack Individual Users
Beth Maundrill reports: Recent analysis shows that Magniber ransomware has been targeting home users by masquerading as software updates. A ransomware campaign isolated by HP Wolf Security in September 2022 saw Magniber ransomware spread. The malware is known as a single-client ransomware family that demands $2,500 from victims. Previously Magniber was primarily spread through MSI and EXE files, but…
Interview with Hardbit Ransomware, a new group with great ambitions
Marco A. DeFelice (@amvinfe) interviewed a relatively new ransomware group called “Hardbit.” At one point in the interview, the exchange went: SF – Do you have a specific target regarding the victims? Do you pay more attention to a particular sector such as education, health, construction or is a victim “just a business” for you? (Support): It’s…
Retirement plan participants urge judge not to dismiss Horizon Actuarial Services data breach class action
Abraham Jewett reports that a group of Horizon Actuarial Services retirement plan participants are trying to save their proposed class action lawsuit from dismissal by a judge. The litigation stems from a ransomware incident in November 2021. The proposed class of more than 2 million Horizon retirement plan participants argue that the data breach was…
Eventus WholeHealth notifies patients of breach
Eventus WholeHealth, PLLC (“Eventus”) provides integrated primary care and mental health services to medically vulnerable adults. In a press release issued this week, they disclose a breach involving protected health information. “On June 1, 2022, we observed suspicious activity associated with a single Eventus email account, despite multifactor authentication on the account.” Comment: That statement…
Quarter of Healthcare Ransomware Victims Forced to Halt Operations – Report
Trend Micro Incorporated, a global cybersecurity leader, today revealed that 86% of global healthcare organizations (HCOs) that have been compromised by ransomware suffered operational outages. Most (57%) global HCOs admit being compromised by ransomware over the past three years, according to the study. Of these, 25% say they were forced to completely halt operations, while…