John Bresnahan, Anna Palmer, and Jake Sherman report that iConstituent, a vendor providing an e-newsletter system used by many members of Congress for constituent outreach, was the victim of a ransomware attack. The attack has reportedly impacted approximately 60 members of the House from both parties, who have been unable to retrieve constituent information for…
Operators of MoviePass Subscription Service Agree to Settle FTC Allegations that They Limited Usage, Failed to Secure User Data
The operators of the MoviePass subscription service have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations they took steps to block subscribers from using the service as advertised, while also failing to secure subscribers’ personal data. Under the proposed settlement, MoviePass, Inc., its parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics, Inc. (Helios), and their principals, Mitchell Lowe and…
Texas Passes Bill Establishing “Wall of Shame” for Data Breaches
Jonathan Ishee and Amanda Ray of McGuireWoods LLP write: On May 31, 2021, the Texas Legislature approved House Bill 3746, which seeks to amend the Texas Business and Commerce Code § 521.053 relating to certain notifications required following a breach of security of computerized data. Notably, the bill directs the Texas attorney general to post…
From QBot…with REvil Ransomware: Initial Attack Exposure of JBS
Vitali Kremez & Yelisey Boguslavskiy write: During the first week of June 2021, two major corporations were attacked by a ransomware group. JBS, the largest meat producer in the world, was hit on May 30, with the attack targeting the North American and Australian IT systems. Fujifilm, a Japanese multinational conglomerate was likely hit between…
New York City Law Department Hit by Cyberattack
Katie Honan reports: Hackers breached the New York City Law Department’s computer system over the weekend, prompting the city to limit access to the network as it investigates the cyberattack, officials said Monday. The city’s Cyber Command, which monitors more than 100 government agencies and offices, first detected the breach on Saturday, according to Laura…
FBI and Australian police ran an encrypted chat platform to catch criminal gangs
Catalin Cimpanu reports: The FBI and Australian Federal Police ran an encrypted chat platform and intercepted secret messages between criminal gang members from all over the world for more than three years. Named Operation Ironside (AFP) / Trojan Shield (FBI, Interpol) on Monday, law enforcement agencies from Australia, Europe, and the US conducted house searches and arrested thousands of…