Sarah Doiron reports from Rhode Island: A local health center is working to resolve problems with its computer system after officials say it was the target of a “ransomware” attack. Thundermist Health Center, which is based out of Woonsocket and has offices in South Kingstown and West Warwick, was hit with the attack around 8…
Category: Hack
Police: Embry-Riddle student, employee hacked into school’s computer system
Jason Kelly and Megan Cruz report: A 27-year-old student and a 32-year-old employee at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University were arrested Thursday after police said they hacked into the school’s computer system. Investigators said Kevin Scott, a Ph.D. student, and Jeanette Barott, a communications specialist in the College of Engineering, hacked into the university’s computer system to…
The US Leans on Private Firms to Expose Foreign Hackers
William G. Rich reports: When the Democratic National Committee realized they had been hacked in April 2016, they turned to experts from a private company: the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Within a day, the company had identified two Russian state-sponsored hacking groups inside the DNC network. Within a few weeks, it publicly explained its analysis in a…
Marriott says data breach compromised info of up to 500 million guests
Erik Ortiz reports: Marriott International said Friday that up to 500 million guests’ information may have been accessed as part of a data breach of its Starwood guest reservation database. The world’s largest hotel chain said it determined on Nov. 19 that an “unauthorized party” had accessed the database as early as 2014. Read more…
Hackers are using leaked NSA hacking tools to quietly hijack thousands of computers
Zack Whittaker reports: More than a year after patches were released to thwart powerful NSA exploits that leaked online, hundreds of thousands of computers are unpatched and vulnerable. First they were used to spread ransomware. Then it was cryptocurrency mining attacks. Now, researchers say that hackers are using the leaked tools to create an even…
OPM to Rebid Identity Theft Protection Contract Affecting Millions of Hack Victims
Eric Katz reports: Millions of current and former federal employees could soon have a new company providing them with credit monitoring and identity theft protections, as the Office of Personnel Management plans to rebid a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The current contract, which OPM signed with ID Experts in the wake of…