AP reports State officials say a weekend cyberattack targeted about 160 computers at a dozen Connecticut state agencies. A spokesman for the state Department of Administrative Services says the ransomware attack was first detected Friday and state computer experts worked over the weekend to contain it. Agency spokesman Jeffrey Beckham says the attack appeared to…
Category: Government Sector
Understanding Data Breaches as National Security Threats
Susan Landau writes: For decades the theft of private individuals’ data has been treated as an annoyance. Activist state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission have pursued cases, but U.S. laws fail to treat theft of personal data as a serious crime in itself. The indictment detailing Russian activity during the 2016 presidential campaign…
NZ: Cryptolocker malware hits Inland Revenue, locks 3500 files
Rob O’Neill reports: Thousands of Inland Revenue files were locked up after New Zealand’s tax department became the target of a cryptolocking attack in November. IRD said that in addition to the phishing emails targeting customers, the department also regularly receives phishing emails attempting to obtain money or information or to compromise the Inland Revenue…
Parking Officer, City Employee Involved In Privacy Breach: Molloy
The province’s Privacy Commissioner has made a number of recommendations in light of a recent case involving a parking enforcement officer who was assaulted while on duty in December of 2017. Commissioner Donovan Molloy’s report says while the matter was reported to the RNC and the man’s superiors, he took matters a step further and…
Sensitive info may be compromised after City of Houston employee’s laptop stolen
KHOU reports: Information about City of Houston employees’ health insurance may have been compromised after an employee’s laptop computer was stolen. City officials say the laptop was stolen from the employee’s car on Feb. 2. They say the password-protected computer may have contained city employees’ records, including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers…
SamSam ransomware infects Colorado Department of Transportation
Luana Pascu reports: SamSam ransomware is back and the Colorado Department of Transportation is its most recent victim. More than 2,000 agency computers had to be shut down on Feb 21 to prevent the ransomware from spreading across the entire infrastructure. According to CBS local news, the critical systems used to manage road traffic and…