Keely Sugden and Evan Kruegel report: The mayor of Lafayette posted a video Tuesday, saying the City has paid a $45,000 ransom after a cyber attack affected city computer and phone systems. “The City was coerced into paying a $45,000 ransom to retrieve a ‘key’ to unlock encrypted data,” officials said. Read more on KDVR.
Category: Government Sector
NZ police terminate contract with Gravitas after breach
Tom Pullar-Strecker reports: Police are axing their contract with Auckland research firm Gravitas after information they sent the firm about police complainants was lost in a Nigerian hack. Assistant commissioner Jevon McSkimming announced earlier this month – without naming the company – that Gravitas had alerted Police to the data breach and had also reported it…
Vermont Tax Department exposed 3 years worth of tax return info
Sergiu Gatlan reports: The Vermont Department of Taxes today disclosed that taxpayers’ private information was exposed because of a security issue affecting its online filing site discovered on July 2, 2020. The data breach affected all Vermonters who electronically filed Property Transfer Tax returns using the tax department’s site between February 2017 and July 2020….
White House Tells EPIC to Delete COVID-19 Records, EPIC Declines
I usually post items from EPIC.org over on PogoWasRight.org, but this one gets posted as a government breach on this site, too. In an unusual development, the White House directed EPIC this week to delete a set of records that EPIC recently obtained from the Office of Science & Technology Policy—a request which EPIC declined….
Keizer discloses costs of recovering from recent ransomware attack
When Keizer, Oregon was attacked in June with ransomware, the attackers demanded $48,000, and the city paid. Now Keizer Times reports that the costs of recovering city data and preventing future digital strikes have already exceeded $60,000. Among the costs, which will be detailed more at a later date: — To handle negotiations with the…
TX: County judge: Public’s info compromised in REvil cyberattack
Megan Gray-Hatfield reports: A cyberattack on the Cooke County Sheriff’s Office compromised people’s personal information, County Judge Jason Brinkley said. A press release issued Monday, July 20, states a ransomware attack on the county’s information system for the CCSO on July 4 resulted in a data breach of personal identification information. Read more on Gainesville…