Samuel Haig reports: A statement issued by a Chinese provincial government website has announced that the National Network and Information Security Information Center has identified overseas hackers targeting the websites of government departments with emails containing ransomware. The ransomware was delivered via an email containing the subject line: “You must report to the police at…
Cyberattacker demands ransom from Northern Colorado utility
Pat Ferrier reports: When employees of the Fort Collins Loveland Water District and South Fort Collins Sanitation District got to work the morning of Feb. 11, they were locked out of technical and engineering data and drawings stored on their computers. The districts had fallen victim to a ransomware cyber attack, the second in two years, General Manager…
Hack attack at major B.C. booze distributor leaves customers struggling with backlog
Simon Little and John Hua report: Bars, restaurants and private liquor stores around B.C. are dealing with a frustrating backlog in supplies, after hackers targeted one of the biggest links in B.C.’s booze supply chain. Ransom-seeking cybercriminals successfully breached systems at Container World, a warehousing and logistics company that supplies much of province’s specialty liquor…
Are Bug Bounty Programs Worth It?
Julia R. Livingston and Craig A. Newman of Patterson Belknap write: Almost weekly, it seems there is another news article about a bug bounty program sponsored by a major corporation where an amateur hacker – often a teenager – is paid a sizeable sum of money for finding a bug in a company’s operating system…
‘Privacy Is Becoming a Luxury’: What Data Leaks Are Like for the Poor
Elizabeth Brico reports: When Jayne checked her email on the morning of February 13, she didn’t expect to find anything particularly exciting. The 34-year-old, who asked her real name be withheld out of fear that speaking out could affect her housing benefits, was enjoying a rare moment of relative peace on a snow day in…
MI: High school students hack system to change grades, attendance
Justine Lofton reports: Students of Orchard View Schools hacked the district’s student information system and made changes to grades and attendance, according to a statement. The breach in PowerSchool appears to be isolated to Orchard View High School, Superintendent Jim Nielsen said on Wednesday, March 13. […] Parents of the “very small” group of students…