Devon Warren-Kachelein reports: A new memo issued by the U.S. National Security Council within the Biden White House requires critical cybersecurity agencies to relay cyber incidents rising to national security threats to the council within 24 hours. The move is reportedly an effort to get cybersecurity advisers close to the president to assess incidents targeting…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Growing Cyberthreats, Surging Insurance Costs
Suzanne Smalley reports: Higher education institutions seeking cybersecurity insurance today are not unlike homeowners living on the water in a hurricane-prone coastal community: the riskier the environment, the harder it is to get insured. For both community colleges and four-year institutions, cyberthreats are now very pronounced, and that reality has led to more institutions facing…
NJ: Cancer Care Providers Will Adopt New Security Measures and Pay $425,000 to Settle Investigation into Two Data Breaches
CONSENT ORDER NEWARK – Acting Attorney General Andrew J. Bruck today announced that the Division of Consumer Affairs has reached a settlement with three New Jersey-based providers of cancer care that the State alleges failed to adequately safeguard patient data, exposing the personal and protected health information of 105,200 consumers, including 80,333 New Jersey residents. Under…
Oregon anesthesiology group notifies 750,000 about ransomware incident; FBI seized threat actors’ account with their files
Like many other healthcare entities, Oregon Anesthesiology Group, P.C. (OAG) became the victim of a ransomware attack this year. But somewhat atypically, the FBI seems to have seized a threat actor’s account that had their patient data. According to OAG’s statement of December 6, the medical group experienced what they described as a cyberattack that…
Canadian federal privacy commissioner says BMO security breach in 2017 affected 113,000 client accounts
James Bradshaw reports: A 2017 data breach that exposed personal information belonging to more than 113,000 Bank of Montreal customers exploited “significant weaknesses” in the bank’s safeguards that have since been strengthened, according to a report from the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. BMO previously disclosed the breach in May, 2018, after receiving a ransom demand…
UK: Claims firms turn their fire on data breaches
Rupert Jones reports: Claims companies and law firms looking for the next bonanza in payouts are targeting people who have been the victim of a data breach, with some telling those affected they could be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation. […] What is fuelling this growing market is the fact that the UK’s…