A hacker gained access to Bremerton Housing Authority’s website this week and threatened to release client information unless the agency paid a $4,000 ransom. The housing authority won’t negotiate with the cyber terrorist, Executive Director Kurt Wiest said. According to Wiest, the only information compromised in the attack was a database of about 1,100 client…
Category: Government Sector
OH: City says it wasn’t hacked by group
Kevin Grasha reports: City officials Wednesday rejected an alleged computer hacker group’s claim that they had obtained email passwords for more than 280 City of Cincinnati email accounts, including Mayor John Cranley’s. In a memo to Cranley and city council members, City Manager Harry Black said information technology officials are continuing to monitor and guard against hack attempts involving the…
Challenger Podlodowski discovers open door into state’s voter database
Joel Connelly reports: A yawning back-end pathway into the state’s voter registration database, through which private information could have been accessed, has been closed, thanks to the candidate challenging Secretary of State Kim Wyman. “Anyone with basic programming skills and knowledge about these weaknesses could conceivably (access) this data, look up and harvest private data…
NL: ‘Massive data breach’ at Almelo municipaility
DutchNews.nl reports: Hackers have stolen 22 gigabytes of data from municipal servers in Almelo, reports NU.nl. It says that although it is unclear what data have been leaked, people’s personal data have almost certainly been affected. Hackers reportedly gained access to systems for Werkplein Twente, a partnership between the UWV benefit agency and areas in Twente…
eThekwini shuts down e-services after user data leak
Kyle Venktess reports: Johannesburg – The eThekwini Municipality, which comprises Durban, has shut down its e-services website after it was revealed on Thursday that it was potentially leaking personal data. Fin24 reported on Thursday that the KwaZulu-Natal municipality’s e-services website is susceptible to hacking as residents’ personal information such as ID numbers and other data risks…
White House names retired Air Force general as first cyber security chief
Dustin Volz reports: The White House on Thursday named a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general as the government’s first federal cyber security chief, a position announced eight months ago that is intended to improve defenses against hackers. Gregory Touhill’s job will be to protect government networks and critical infrastructure from cyber threats as federal chief…