And yet more police departments pay ransom to unlock their systems. WCSH in Maine reports: Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett said four towns and the county have a special computer network to share files and records. Someone accidentally downloaded a virus, called “megacode”, that put an encryption code on all the computer data. The Sheriff…
Category: Malware
White Lodging confirms another long-running payment card “suspected breach”
White Lodging, an independent hotel management company, continues to struggle to really secure customer card data. Since January 2014, when Brian Krebs reported that White Lodging card data had been compromised for most of 2013, White Lodging has attempted to harden its security. In February 2014, the firm confirmed the suspected breach of point of sales…
OK: EyeCare of Bartlesville notifies patients after hard drive locked by malware
EyeCare of Bartlesville in Oklahoma reported a breach to HHS on March 13 that appeared on HHS’s public breach tool on March 19. There was no notice on their web site that I could find at that time. Nor could I locate any public notices via a Google search. The incident was coded on HHS’s breach tool as a…
Tewskbury Police Pay Ransom After CryptoLocker Lockup
Jayne W. Miller reports that when Tewksbury Police discovered that the department’s network had been locked up by CryptoLocker last December, the town decided to pay the $500 bitcoin ransom. Of course, that’s exactly what experts recommend folks NOT do, as it only encourages more attacks on others, but hey, this is the same town that just…
Hackers attack the energy industry with malware designed for snooping
Robert Hackett reports: Hackers have been targeting energy industry workers with malicious emails containing malware that, when opened, leave the recipients vulnerable to snooping, software security giant Symantec reported Monday. The campaign has primarily targeted Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. But it has also afflicted other nations as well,…
Hacked uni’s admins hand ID theft prevention reward to data burglars
I wish this was an April Fools’ Day prank, but it’s not. Alexander J. Martin reports that Bradley University’s response to their recent breach may just have made things worse for their employees. Keep in mind as you read the following that the breach involved Social Security numbers: The private institution then attempted to mitigate…