The Department of State is offering a reward of up to $10,000,000 for information leading to the identification and/or location of any individual(s) who hold a key leadership position in the Conti ransomware variant transnational organized crime group. In addition, the Department is also offering a reward of up to $5,000,000 for information leading to…
Category: Of Note
Lincoln College was already struggling. Then came ransomware.
Emily Bamforth reported this on April 21 on EdScoop. Somehow I missed it, but it’s so important that I am adding it now: As Illinois’ Lincoln College approached its two-week winter hiatus last December, workers walked in one weekend to find printers spewing threatening notes saying the school’s data was locked up and could only…
North Carolina Becomes First State to Prohibit Public Entities from Paying Ransoms
Hunton Andrews Kurth writes: On April 5, 2022, North Carolina became the first state in the U.S. to prohibit state agencies and local government entities from paying a ransom following a ransomware attack. North Carolina’s new law, which was passed as part of the state’s 2021-2022 budget appropriations, prohibits government entities from paying a ransom to…
Court Rejects Demand for “Corrective” Notice in Blackbaud Data Breach MDL
Brianna Soltys and Kristin L. Bryan of Squire Patton Boggs write that the the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, which had consolidated all federal lawsuits against Blackbaud in the District of South Carolina, has rejected plaintiffs’ motion to require Blackbaud to issue a corrective notice. As a brief reminder: Blackbaud provides third-party services for entities…
New Black Basta ransomware springs into action with a dozen breaches
Lawrence Abrams reports: A new ransomware gang known as Black Basta has quickly catapulted into operation this month, breaching at least twelve companies in just a few weeks. The first known Black Basta attacks occurred in the second week of April, as the operation quickly began attacking companies worldwide. While ransom demands likely vary between victims,…
Illuminate Education Breach Notice
New York State Education Department has addressed the Illuminate data breach in a notice on the state’s site that advises school districts that they must make their best effort to contact all students, including former students for whom they have addresses. They are also advising districts to keep records of who they notified and who…