For lo, these many years, DataBreaches.net has been reminding everyone that not all leaks or breaches involving medical or sensitive personal health information are covered by HIPAA. Today’s story is a reminder of that. vpnMentor recently contacted DataBreaches.net about a leak their research team, led by Noam Rotem and Ran Locar, had discovered. The leak…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Six Russian GRU Officers Charged in Connection with Worldwide Deployment of Destructive Malware and Other Disruptive Actions in Cyberspace
From the U.S. Department of Justice yesterday: On Oct. 15, 2020, a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh returned an indictment charging six computer hackers, all of whom were residents and nationals of the Russian Federation (Russia) and officers in Unit 74455 of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU), a military intelligence agency of the General Staff…
Mysterious ‘Robin Hood’ hackers donating stolen money
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,…
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…