So yesterday afternoon, Twitter exploded as word spread that Marcus Hutchins, aka @MalwareTechBlog, had been arrested as he attempted to board a flight back to the U.K. Hutchins, who became an “accidental hero” in stopping the spread of WannaCry, was accused of creating and conspiring with another unnamed defendant in the matter of the Kronos…
Category: Of Note
Department of Justice Releases Guidance for Vulnerability Disclosure Programs
Jennifer Martin, Ashden Fein and Weiss Nusraty write: Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) released a voluntary frameworkfor organizations to use in the development of a formal program to receive reports of network, software, and system vulnerabilities, and to disclose vulnerabilities identified in other organizations’ environments. This framework provides private entities a series…
Researcher Who Stopped WannaCry Ransomware Detained in US After Def Con
Update 1: This indictment may help explain things. Then again, it might not, as the more I read it, the more puzzled I am by the charges. Original Post: Joseph Cox reports: On Wednesday, US authorities detained a researcher who goes by the handle MalwareTech, best known for stopping the spread of the WannaCry ransomware…
Data breach class action against health insurer reinstated
If you search this site for CareFirst, you’ll find a lot of coverage of a breach they had in 2014 that was discovered in 2015, and the ensuing litigation. Now Judy Greenwald reports the latest twist and turn on the litigation front: A federal appeals court has reinstated a putative class action lawsuit filed by…
Senators introduce bill to secure Internet of Things devices; provide some protection for researchers
Zack Whittaker reports: A bipartisan group of senators have introduced legislation aimed at securing internet-connected smart devices, which were at the center of a massive cyberattack that brought down large swathes of the internet last year. The distributed denial-of-service in October lasted for less than a day, but it further fueled concerns about threats posed by…
No one taking responsibility for exposed medical records at Forest Hill
Barb Ickes reports: More than six weeks have passed since notice was given: Children were breaking into a vacant nursing home in East Moline and stealing people’s medical records. Several city officials, including police and the mayor, were notified immediately. The Illinois Attorney General was contacted. Ditto for the Illinois Department of Public Health and…