One day, I’ll read an IT audit from NYS Comptroller DiNapoli and will smile at the good report. Today is not that day, however. The following is a summary of the audit of of True North Rochester Preparatory Charter School. According to the state, “the School’s IT network and assets are managed by an IT…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Does improved infosec lead to delayed care and more fatal heart attacks in hospitals?
Nsikan Akpan has a report on PBS that is worth reading, especially now that I’ve gotten rid of their headline that I really really really didn’t think was accurate. Apkan starts by reminding us all how a ransomware attack on a hospital could have life-threatening consequences. But the main point of his piece is to…
A DDoS gang is extorting businesses posing as Russian government hackers
File this one under “Ooh, that’s clever!” Catalin Cimpanu reports. For the past week, a group of criminals has been launching DDoS attacks against companies in the financial sector and demanding ransom payments while posing as “Fancy Bear,” the infamous hacking group associated with the Russian government, known for hacking the White House in 2014…
Cluley: “Frankly, sometimes paying the ransom is a good idea”
I usually don’t link to podcasts, but this one was especially good, I thought, as an analysis of what happened in Baltimore’s ransomware incident. And I am glad to hear Graham say what I have said a number of times: “Sometimes paying the ransom is a good idea.” You can hear the podcast here. I…
False-flag hackers present a major security concern
This goes to the point I was making the other day about the risk of hackback when your attribution can be all wrong: an editorial by Financial Times begins: In the sordid world of cyber war, there is no such thing as professional courtesy. That was the finding of a report this week, which said…
White House kicks infosec team to curb in IT office shakeup
Sean Gallagher reports: An internal White House memo published today by Axios reveals that recent changes to the information operations and security organizations there have left the security team in tumult, with many members headed for the door. And the chief of the White House’s computer network defense branch—who wrote the memo after submitting his…