John Beauge reports: The man accused of downloading protected information of more than 1.2 million Geisinger Health System patients in 2023 will defend himself at his criminal trial. U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew W. Brann granted the motion of Max Vance to proceed pro se but assigned assistant public defender Gerald A. Lord as standby…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Hospital cyberattack investigation complete, no formal review needed (1)
Paul Pedro reports a follow-up to the massive ransomware attack on Ontario hospitals via an attack on TransForm by the Daixin threat actors: The Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC) has completed a review into a massive cyberattack on five regional hospitals in 2023 and found hospital officials acted “adequately.” But in its decision,…
Anubis: A Closer Look at an Emerging Ransomware with Built-in Wiper
Maristel Policarpio, Sarah Pearl Camiling, and Sophia Nilette Robles write: A new ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group has emerged and has been making a name for itself in 2025. Anubis is a recently identified group that sets itself apart by partnering encryption with more destructive capabilities—wiping directories which severely impact chances of file recovery. Given its brief history and…
The Growing Cyber Risks from AI — and How Organizations Can Fight Back
Joseph J. Lazzarotti writes: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming businesses—automating tasks, powering analytics, and reshaping customer interactions. But like any powerful tool, AI is a double-edged sword. While some adopt AI for protection, attackers are using it to scale and intensify cybercrime. Here’s a high-level discussion at emerging AI-powered cyber risks in 2025—and steps organizations…
Plastic surgeons often store nude photos of patients with their identity information. When would we call that “negligent?”
Claims of “negligence” are often raised in lawsuits. DataBreaches is not a lawyer, of course, but wonders whether by now, we should consider a plastic surgeon “negligent” in their data security if they store nude photos of their patients with patient names and identity information in plain text and no strong encryption or suitable alternative…
A guilty plea in the PowerSchool case still leaves unanswered questions
On June 6, 19-year-old Matthew D. Lane pleaded guilty in federal court in Massachusetts to one count each of conspiracy to commit cyber extortion, cyber extortion, unauthorized access to protected computers, and aggravated identity theft. The first two charges were related to an unnamed telecom company identified as “Victim 1.” The third and fourth charges…