Alexander Martin reports: A suspected ransomware attack on Miljödata, a Swedish software provider used for managing sick leave and similar HR reports, is believed to have impacted around 200 of the country’s municipal governments. The attack was detected on Saturday, according to the company’s chief executive Erik Hallén. The attackers are attempting to extort Miljödata,…
Category: Government Sector
DOGE accused of copying entire Social Security database to insecure cloud system
Jon Brodkin reports: A Social Security Administration (SSA) official alleged in a whistleblower disclosure that DOGE officials created “a live copy of the country’s Social Security information in a cloud environment that circumvents oversight.” Chuck Borges, the SSA’s Chief Data Officer (CDO), “has become aware through reports to him of serious data security lapses, evidently…
Silver State goes dark as cyberattack knocks Nevada websites offline
Connor Jones reports: The state of Nevada is now two days into a cyberattack that has brought down many of its digital services. The Office of Governor Joseph Lombardo announced the attack via social media on Monday, saying that a “network security incident” took hold in the early hours of August 24. Official state websites…
Government papers found in an Alaskan hotel reveal new details of Trump-Putin summit
For the “No need to hack when it’s leaking” and the “our government is our insider threat” files, Chiara Eisner of NPR reports: Papers with U.S. State Department markings, found Friday morning in the business center of an Alaskan hotel, revealed previously undisclosed and potentially sensitive details about the Aug. 15 meetings between President Donald…
UK: HMRC sacks dozens of staff for snooping on taxpayers
Neil Shaw reports: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed that hundreds of staff have accessed the records of taxpayers without permission or breached security in other ways. HMRC dismissed 50 members of staff last year for accessing or risking the exposure of taxpayers’ records, according to The Telegraph. 354 tax employees have been disciplined for…
Russia Is Suspected to Be Behind Breach of Federal Court Filing System
Adam Goldman, Glenn Thrush, and Mattathias Schwartz report: Investigators have uncovered evidence that Russia is at least partly responsible for a recent hack of the computer system that manages federal court documents, including highly sensitive records with information that could reveal sources and people charged with national security crimes, according to several people briefed on…