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#school | #ransomware | Cyberattack on Morial Convention Center has little immediate effect on events there, but problems may grow | Business News
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, one of the cornerstones of New Orleans’ multibillion-dollar tourism economy, is the latest victim in a string of cyberattacks against city and state computer systems that have had serious consequences for government officials and the public. New Orleanians were left […] View full post on AmIHackerProof.com
#cybersecurity | #hackerspace | Clop Ransomware Not Just a CryptoMix Variant
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans When Clop was discovered by Jakub Kroustek in February 2019, all indicators showed that it was a new CryptoMix with the .CLOP, or in some circumstances .CIOP, extension tagged onto encrypted files. Since this discovery, the ransomware operators behind Clop have steadily been developing it to […] View full post on AmIHackerProof.com
New Orleans Mayor: Ransomware Attack Cost City $7 Million
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans
The City of New Orleans ransomware attack has caused at least $7 million in financial damage & this figure is expected to grow, Mayor Latoya Cantrell says.
The City of New Orleans ransomware attack has caused at least $7 million in financial damage to date, Mayor Latoya Cantrell told WVUE. In addition, Cantrell said she expects the ransomware attack’s financial impact to continue to grow — despite the fact that the city has recovered $3 million via a cyber insurance policy that was purchased before the incident.
Meanwhile, the City of New Orleans still faces an IT backlog after the ransomware attack, Chief Administrative Officer Gilbert Montano told WVUE. Montano also indicated that it could take several months before the city rebuilds its network.
A Closer Look at the New Orleans Ransomware Attack
The City of New Orleans ransomware attack took place December 13. Cybercriminals shut down City of New Orleans government systems, and more than 4,000 New Orleans government computers were affected by the cyberattack.
New Orleans officials have taken steps to improve the city’s security posture after the ransomware attack. The City of New Orleans plans to increase its cyber insurance coverage to $10 million this year, and a forensic investigation into the ransomware attack is ongoing.
How Can Organizations Address Ransomware Attacks?
Ransomware attacks affect municipalities, schools and businesses of all sizes. However, there are many things that any organization can do to combat ransomware attacks, such as:
- Perform regular IT security audits and penetration testing.
- Deploy endpoint protection solutions across IT environments.
- Develop and implement a cybersecurity training program to teach employees about ransomware and other cyber threats.
MSSP Alert Recommendations
The FBI and U.S. Department of Homeland Security have repeatedly warned MSPs and their technology platform providers about such attacks.
To get ahead of the ransomware threat, MSSP Alert and ChannelE2E have recommended that readers:
- Sign up immediately for U.S. Department of Homeland Security Alerts, which are issued by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Some of the alerts specifically mention MSPs, CSPs, telcos and other types of service providers.
- Study the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to understand how to mitigate risk within your own business before moving on to mitigate risk across your customer base.
- Explore cybersecurity awareness training for your business and your end-customers to drive down cyberattack hit rates.
- Connect the dots between your cybersecurity and data protection vendors. Understand how their offerings can be integrated and aligned to (A) prevent attacks, (B) mitigate attacks and (C) recover data if an attack circumvents your cyber defenses.
- Continue to attend channel-related conferences, but extend to attend major cybersecurity events — particularly RSA Conference, Black Hat and Amazon AWS re:Inforce. (PS: Also, keep your eyes open for PerchyCon 2020 in January.)
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The post New Orleans Mayor: Ransomware Attack Cost City $7 Million appeared first on National Cyber Security.
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Snake alert! This ransomware is not a game… – Naked Security
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans Here’s some goodish news: the Snake ransomware seems to have made the news last week on account of its name rather than its prevalence. Because, well, SNAKE! Like most ransomware, Snake doesn’t touch your operating system files and programs, so your computer will still boot up, […] View full post on AmIHackerProof.com
#infosec | UK Banks Foiled by Travelex Ransomware Attack
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans
The New Year’s Eve cyber-attack on currency exchange bureau Travelex is disrupting services for UK bank customers.
Travelex took all its systems offline as a precautionary measure after being hit by what it initially described as a “software virus” on December 31. On January 7, the company released a statement fingering the culprit as a type of ransomware known as Sodinokibi and also commonly referred to as REvil.
Although the malware has been contained, Travelex has so far been unable to resume normal operations, though the company has said that a number of internal systems are now back up and running normally.
The ransomware attack is not only causing misery for Travelex and its customers but has also spurned a brouhaha for British banks that rely on the travel money giant.
RBS, Sainsbury’s Bank, First Direct, Virgin Money, and Barclays are among more than a dozen banks that have said their online foreign currency services are down as a result of the incident.
Requests for foreign currency are being handled in-branch by many of the banks affected.
According to the BBC, threat actors behind the ransomware attack are attempting to extort $6m from Travelex by encrypting the company’s data.
Travelex said on Tuesday that it was not yet clear what data had been affected by the incident.
“To date, the company can confirm that whilst there has been some data encryption, there is no evidence that structured personal customer data has been encrypted. Whist Travelex does not yet have a complete picture of all the data that has been encrypted, there is still no evidence to date that any data has been exfiltrated,” Travelex stated on January 7.
Until normal service is resumed, Travelex is doing business the old-fashioned way. The company’s chief executive, Tony D’Souza, said: “Travelex continues to offer services to its customers on a manual basis and is continuing to provide alternative customer solutions in the interim.”
With all the hullaballoo it seems that reporting the incident to the authorities may have slipped Travelex’s mind. Organizations are legally obliged to inform the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours of becoming aware of a data breach; however, the ICO said on Tuesday that it had not received a data breach report from Travelex.
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The post #infosec | UK Banks Foiled by Travelex Ransomware Attack appeared first on National Cyber Security.
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#comptia | #ransomware | High-Impact Windows 10 Security Threat Revealed As App-Killing Malware Evolves
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans New research reveals alarming Windows 10 ‘Clop’ app-killing threat Getty The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a high-impact threat warning to U.S. businesses and organizations on October 2, 2019. That threat was ransomware, and the FBI warned that cybercriminals “upgrade and change their techniques to […] View full post on AmIHackerProof.com
#school | #ransomware | Michigan District school faces a ransomware attack; hackers demand $10,000 in BTC.
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans
According to a local news report, the Richard Community school in Michigan was hacked over the winter holidays, and the hacker encrypted the school’s sever using ransomware attack. The hackers have demanded $10,000 in bitcoin to restore the server. The School’s IT department revealed that the hack had occurred on December 27.
School refuses to pay ransom to hackers.
The Michigan district school’s IT department immediately shut down the server after discovering the hack and made sure the back serves had not been compromised. The school informed the Michigan police and are trying to track down the hacker. The hack had affected the school district’s telephones, copiers, classroom technology, and even the heating system, but no student’s or staff’s personal information was compromised, according to the school. The server is expected to be back up and running before school resumes next week.
Increase in ransomware attacks around the world.
The ransomware attack on the Michigan district school was not an isolated incident. There have been several ransomware attack reports from around the world. The most common targets for these hackers are schools, hospitals, and local businesses. Last year three schools alone in New York faced the similar attacks. In November 2019, the Mexican state-owned petroleum company Pemex also suffered a ransomware attack where hackers had demanded $5 million in BTC to decrypt the server.
The post #school | #ransomware | Michigan District school faces a ransomware attack; hackers demand $10,000 in BTC. appeared first on National Cyber Security.
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#nationalcybersecuritymonth | Ransomware may have cost the US more than $7.5 billion in 2019
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans
It was another big year for ransomware, the extremely profitable style of cyberattack in which computer systems and data are taken over by hackers and held hostage until the victim hands over a payoff.
In 2019, these attacks wreaked havoc around the globe, earned criminals vast sums, and even occasionally provided a weapon for government hackers. This marked the fifth straight year of growth, with national and local governments and public institutions increasingly becoming targets.
The money: The potential cost of ransomware in the United States last year was over $7.5 billion, according to a recent report from the cybersecurity firm Emisoft that attempted to estimate the impact of a very opaque set of incidents.
The victims: Emisoft tallied up 113 governments and agencies, 764 health-care providers, and up to 1,233 individual schools affected by ransomware in America. Big cities including Baltimore and New Orleans were both struck by ransomware attacks last year.
The why: One root cause, according to an October 2019 report from the State Auditor of Mississippi, is a “disregard for cybersecurity in state government.” Others agree: Research from the University of Maryland published earlier in the year concluded with admirable directness “that most American local governments do a poor job practicing cybersecurity.”
This isn’t a problem just for small towns and their ill-equipped agencies. Last month, a US Coast Guard facility was forced offline for over 30 hours when ransomware hit the base’s cameras, access systems, and critical monitoring systems, the BBC reported.
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#comptia | #ransomware | Ransomware attacks several major cities worldwide in 2019 | Science/technology
Source: National Cyber Security – Produced By Gregory Evans
This figure means an increase of at least 60 percent compared to last year. In 2019, ransomware aims at giant and influential organizations.
Although the demanded payment of each ransomware normally comes up to US$5 million, the real damage is much more than that. Therefore, these kinds of attacks are a thorny issue of businesses in all the world.
According to researchers, the infected organizations are usually not capable of paying a large sum of ransom, yet they tend to agree with other just as dangerous requests as temporarily blocking a certain service in a city.
This obviously create an adverse impact of social welfare of citizens there, further leading to even more negative effects on finance as well as other sensitive social matters.
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