Joe Tidy reports: A hacking group is donating stolen money to charity in what is seen as a mysterious first for cyber-crime that’s puzzling experts. Darkside hackers claim to have extorted millions of dollars from companies, but say they now want to “make the world a better place”. In a post on the dark web,…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Hackers Smell Blood as Schools Grapple With Virtual Instruction
David Uberti reports that it’s been a rough school year already in terms of cybersecurity. And he wisely reached out to Doug Levin for his input. Doug created and maintains a wonderful resource — the K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center that maps reports in k-12 from around the country. At least 289 districts across the U.S….
AKO’s back — as “Ranzy Locker”
Lawrence Abrams reports: ThunderX has changed its name to Ranzy Locker and launched a data leak site where they shame victims who do not pay the ransom. ThunderX is a ransomware operation that was launched at the end of August 2020. Soon after launching, weaknesses were found in the ransomware that allowed a free decryptor to…
California AG Settlement Suggests Privacy and Security Practices of Digital Health Apps May Provide Fertile Ground for Enforcement Activity
Libbie Canter, Anna D. Kraus, and Rebecca Yergin of Covington & Burling write: California Attorney General Xavier Becerra (“AG”) announced in September a settlement against Glow, Inc., resolving allegations that the fertility app had “expose[d] millions of women’s personal and medical information.” In the complaint, the AG alleged violations of certain state consumer protection and privacy laws, stemming from privacy…
State Financial Regulators Issue Ransomware Mitigation Tool
Kimberly Peretti, Amy Mushahwar, and Alysa Austin of Alston & Bird write: On October 13, 2020, state financial regulators in partnership with the Bankers Electronic Crimes Taskforce and the U.S. Secret Service, released the Ransomware Self-Assessment Tool (R-SAT) to help financial institutions mitigate the risks of ransomware. The R-SAT is a detailed questionnaire designed to evaluate the…
Ca: Western students alerted about security breach at exam monitor Proctortrack
Andrew Lupton reports: A security breach of Proctortrack, the software Western University uses to monitor student exams remotely, is adding new fuel to a debate raging on campus over privacy concerns about the program. Proctortrack allows students to be monitored to prevent cheating while they take exams at home using their own computers. The program…