Kathleen Dion of Robinson & Cole writes: On January 30, 2018, EDUCAUSE, a higher education technology association, submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Education describing concerns that it had with the Federal Student Aid (“FSA”) ability to protect federal student financial aid data. EDUCAUSE’s members include IT professionals from over 1,800 colleges and…
University of Alaska data breach affects employees, students
KTVA reports: A data breach at the University of Alaska has affected dozens of current and former employees and students according to university officials, who say action is being taken on the matter. According to a UA statement, word first reached security officials when users started reporting “an inability to access their password-protected Alaska.edu accounts.”…
Ransomware attacks hit two Ontario children’s aid societies
Sandro Contenta reports: Ransomware attacks at two children’s aid societies have spurred the Ontario government to tighten cybersecurity around a new, $123-million provincial database for children in care. One of the agencies — the Children’s Aid Society of Oxford County — paid a $5,000 ransom to regain access to their sensitive data after the malware…
NZ: Cryptolocker malware hits Inland Revenue, locks 3500 files
Rob O’Neill reports: Thousands of Inland Revenue files were locked up after New Zealand’s tax department became the target of a cryptolocking attack in November. IRD said that in addition to the phishing emails targeting customers, the department also regularly receives phishing emails attempting to obtain money or information or to compromise the Inland Revenue…
Parking Officer, City Employee Involved In Privacy Breach: Molloy
The province’s Privacy Commissioner has made a number of recommendations in light of a recent case involving a parking enforcement officer who was assaulted while on duty in December of 2017. Commissioner Donovan Molloy’s report says while the matter was reported to the RNC and the man’s superiors, he took matters a step further and…
Cyber criminals target Wallace employees
Blake Deshazo reports: Personal and financial information of current and former employees of Wallace Community College Selma has been accidentally leaked through a phishing scam, according to an attorney representing the school. Alex Walker, an attorney with Mullen Coughlin, a law firm that specializes in cybersecurity and data privacy, said on Feb. 5 an employee…