Lindsey O’Donnell reports: The U.S. Senate has approved new legislation aimed at helping government agencies and private-sector companies combat ransomware attacks. The legislation comes as local governments and schools continue to be hit by sophisticated – and in some cases coordinated – ransomware attacks. The proposed law, the “DHS Cyber Hunt and Incident Response Teams Act,” authorizes…
Over 500 US schools were hit by ransomware in 2019
Catalin Cimpanu reports: In the first nine months of the year, ransomware infections have hit over 500 US schools, according to a report published last week by cyber-security firm Armor. In total, the company said it found and tracked ransomware infections at 54 educational organizations like school districts and colleges, accounting for disruptions at over…
Sioux Falls VA notifies patients after HIPAA breach
KSFY reports: Officials with the Sioux Falls Veteran Affairs Health Care System are warning patients about a potential breach of privacy. The incident stems from letters sent to a Sioux Falls VA mail room printer on August 21, according to Public Affairs Officer Erin Bultje. VA staff were not aware the mail room printer was…
Saint Mary’s email addresses appear in credential dump following Chegg data breach
Maeve Filbin reports: In April 2018, the widely-used tutoring service and textbook provider Chegg experienced a data breach, after an unauthorized source accessed one of the company’s databases. The breach was discovered in Sept. 2018. On Sept. 26, chief information officer Todd Norris announced in a campus-wide email that the Saint Mary’s College Information Technology…
Presidential Proclamation on National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, 2019
September 30, 2019 — During National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we recognize that protecting cyberspace is essential to our national security and economic stability. We also underscore the responsibility individuals have to secure and safeguard their personal devices, technology, and networks from cyber threats. Ok, stop right there. I couldn’t even get myself to read the…
UK Police Auction Off $294,000 in Stolen Crypto From EtherDelta Hack
Daniel Kuhn reports: UK police auctioned off more than $294,000 of cryptocurrency confiscated from the teenage hacker of EtherDelta and TalkTalk. The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) worked with Wilsons Auctions to sell the digital assets, including bitcoin, ripple and ethereum, in what is said to be the unit’s first such auction. Read more on CoinDesk.