Chris Havergal reports: A teenage computer hacker who caused widespread disruption to the computer network used by UK higher education institutions has been spared jail. Jack Chappell, now 19, launched a distributed denial of service attack against the Janet network in December 2015 which brought down websites and limited connectivity for staff and students over…
Category: Government Sector
Air Force Hackers Earn Biggest Government Bug Bounty Ever
Kate Conger reports: A pair of hackers discovered a vulnerability in Air Force software that allowed them to gain access to the Department of Defense’s unclassified network—a find that earned them more than $10,000, the largest payout ever in a government bug bounty program. Read more on Gizmodo.
500 Stanislaus County computers from mental health department quarantined after ransomware detected on network
Ken Carlson reports on Modesto Bee: Stanislaus County’s mental health department was the target of a ransomware attack that disabled its computers this week. About 500 computers in county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services were compromised by the cyberattack Tuesday, according to a press release issued Friday. It appears that the county will not be paying…
East Texas area school officials: Scope of computer breach still unclear
Meredith Shamburger provides an update to a previously reported incident: More than a week after several East Texas school districts were notified of a computer security breach that exposed personal information, officials say they still don’t know how many of their students have been affected. The Texas Department of Agriculture notified nine area districts that…
WI: After computer hack, Nashotah pays $2K ransom for residents’ personal information
Steven Martinez reports: The village recently paid an unidentified hacker a $2,000 ransom to decrypt its computer system after a hack in late November that left some residents’ personal information exposed. Village President Richard Lartz said Thursday, Dec. 7, that the hack “totally encrypted” Nashotah’s computer files, making them inaccessible to staff. He said the only information that…
Hacker holds Mecklenburg County server files for ransom; deadline at 1 p.m.
Joe Bruno reports: Mecklenburg County officials are holding a 2 p.m. news conference on the attack and ransom demand. Channel 9 will carry it live HERE and on Facebook Live. A hacker is holding files on Mecklenburg County‘s server for ransom and has given the county a Wednesday deadline to pay up, according to Mecklenburg County…