Security News
The Metropolitan Police Department has confirmed that they suffered a cyberattack after the Babuk ransomware gang leaked screenshots of stolen data. The Metropolitan Police Department, also known as the DC Police or MPD, is the primary law enforcement agency for Washington, DC, the US capital.
An Albany-area school district is investigating a malware attack that forced students in grades 7 through 12 into all-remote learning on Monday, district officials announced. Officials at the Guilderland Central School District said on the district's website that specialists investigating "Technical interruptions" that happened last Thursday "Have determined that the district was the victim of a cyber attack by a threat actor group which used malware to encrypt certain systems throughout the district."
Australian software developer Click Studios on Saturday urged Passwordstate customers to reset all of their passwords if they downloaded a poisoned update using the software's In-Place Upgrade functionality. "Only customers that performed In-Place Upgrades between the times stated above are believed to be affected. Manual Upgrades of Passwordstate are not compromised. Affected customers password records may have been harvested," Click Studios says.
"It's always good to have more attention on embedded systems security, especially when it involves critical infrastructure. However, focusing entirely on Chinese-manufactured or supplied equipment used in U.S. infrastructure does not take into account that equipment manufactured in the U.S. and Europe also contains significant vulnerabilities. In this year alone, we've seen vulnerability disclosures from CISA from companies like Siemens, GE, and Schneider Electric. There's clear evidence that vulnerabilities from manufacturers around the world - not just China - and they need to be mitigated before threat actors take advantage with devastating consequences." Governments need to take an active role in assisting utilities and other parts of critical infrastructure in their push for manufacturers to make meaningful improvements in the grid equipment security, before the equipment is deployed.
When the pandemic struck, schools had to adapt quickly with a wholesale shift to remote learning. Attackers took immediate advantage of this change, targeting newly implemented technologies to access resources and steal data.
A VPN is a digital tool that improves your security and privacy online. An IP can reveal your location and your ISP. However, a VPN changes that.
Excellent New Yorker article on North Korea’s offensive cyber capabilities.
"Early in the pandemic, restaurants were using QR codes as menus or payment options, but as the pandemic continued throughout 2020, consumers used QR codes more frequently for practical things like visiting a doctor's office or picking up a prescription," according to Ivanti's report, issued on Wednesday. "Meanwhile, social activities like dining out or enjoying a drink at a bar saw QR code usage decrease in that six-month period. Even offices and places of work saw an increase in usage going from 11 percent to 14 percent, emphasizing the shift in how QR codes have been used during the pandemic."
Tokyo police are investigating cyberattacks on about 200 Japanese companies and research organizations, including the country's space agency, by a hacking group believed to be linked to the Chinese military, the government said Tuesday. A suspect in the JAXA case, a Chinese systems engineer based in Japan, allegedly gained access to a rental server by registering himself under a false identity to launch the cyberattacks, Kato said, citing the police investigation.
The Biden administration is taking steps to protect the country's electric system from cyberattacks through a new 100-day initiative combining federal government agencies and the private industry. The initiative, announced Tuesday by the Energy Department, encourages owners and operators of power plants and electric utilities to improve their capabilities for identifying cyber threats to their networks.