Dean Narciso reports: Phishing-scam training has become a commonplace requirement in many workplaces these days. But not everyone is adhering to its lessons. When emails from a fake paving company landed in the inbox of an accounting assistant working for a small Ohio city last month, the assistant was hooked. The author pretended to be an existing vendor and persuaded…
Category: Government Sector
Weeklong ransomware attack on Oakland government drags on
Da Lin reports: OAKLAND – 10 days after the City of Oakland experienced a ransomware attack, many of its departments remain shut down to the public. Emergency services like police and fire are operational. The lobby at the Oakland Police Department is one of few places still open to the public, but there are signs…
UK: Lancashire County Council has referred itself following a data breach
Amy Farnworth reports: Lancashire County Council has referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office following a data breach involving its new HR and finance system. At this point there is no evidence that personal data has been publicly available, only that this information has been visible to internal users should someone want to find it….
FBI says it has ‘contained’ cyber incident on bureau’s computer network
Evan Perez and Sean Lyngaas report: The FBI has been investigating and working to contain a malicious cyber incident on part of its computer network in recent days, according to people briefed on the matter. FBI officials believe the incident involved an FBI computer system used in investigations of images of child sexual exploitation, two…
City of Oakland declares state of emergency after ransomware attack
Sergiu Gatlan reports: Oakland has declared a local state of emergency because of the impact of a ransomware attack that forced the City to take all its IT systems offline on February 8th. Interim City Administrator G. Harold Duffey declared a state of emergency to allow the City of Oakland to expedite orders, materials and equipment procurement,…
GAO Report: Cybersecurity High-Risk Series: Challenges in Protecting Privacy and Sensitive Data
GAO-23-106443 Published: Feb 14, 2023. Fast Facts: Federal systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks. Our High Risk report identified 10 critical actions for addressing federal cybersecurity challenges. In this report, the last in a series of four, we cover the 2 actions related to Protecting Privacy and Sensitive Data: Improve federal efforts to protect privacy and sensitive data, such…