Cybersecurity

A cyber attack reported by Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin in January affected 533,809 people, the HMO told federal regulators this week, and stolen data may include Social Security numbers.

A former employee of a private liberal-arts college in Oregon has filed a lawsuit alleging negligence regarding a cyber attack in February 2023. The college individually notified those affected more than a year later.

Compelled to use manual processes and paper timesheets after a cyber incident discovered in March, the Alabama city has paid most employees on time, Mayor Randall Woodfin told staff. The issue of late paychecks is being addressed, he added.

Stewart Gloster departs the Office of the National Cyber Director after two years serving as the deputy national cyber director for technology and ecosystem security.

Red River High School awarded letterman jackets this week to a handful of students who won North Dakota's Cyber Madness High School competition in tasks like encryption, decryption and fending off a cyber attack.

A public university in Las Vegas canceled classes this week after a ransomware attack targeted its student and staff portal for online classes, course materials, campus email, payroll and other systems.

At an Education Week webinar, panelists from the cloud software provider Softdocs said schools can enhance data security by moving away from on-premise data management and using third-party cybersecurity expertise.

Change Healthcare has reportedly already paid off one set of cyber attackers, but now a second group is claiming that it has stolen data, too.

The state’s Turnpike Commission cautioned E-ZPass account holders they are being targeted by bad actors seeking financial information to pay outstanding tolls. Toll agencies nationwide have reported similar scams in recent days.

John Toney, the new chief information security officer for the state of Vermont, replaces Scott Carbee, who stepped down in August to join the University of Vermont as ISO. Toney spent more than a decade at the U.S. Secret Service.

The Missouri county’s assessment, collections and recorder of deeds offices were closed Monday as officials worked to restore computer systems impacted in last week’s attack. Other systems and taxpayer data were not compromised.

The new ransomware attack threatened the university's cybersecurity defenses last week, resulting in canceled classes and disruptions in employee payroll systems.

Almost everyone has heard of ChatGPT. But Jeff Brown, CISO for the state of Connecticut, shares his concerns on some of the other “dark side” apps that have emerged with generative AI.  

There are six university-led, federally funded projects, and they focus on training specialists and developing defense tools to protect against attacks aimed at hobbling the country’s energy sector.

The March 21 attack impacts information from about 300 people, the Tarrant Appraisal District said. The district’s legal council has said hackers have asked for $700,000. Portions of the district website remain offline; it has not paid the ransom.

A recent cyber attack on the state court system underscored the need to boost government defenses. The bill would also bring more consolidation to executive branch IT operations.

Traverse City Area Public Schools in Michigan canceled classes Monday and Tuesday to test critical infrastructure after seeing a disruption to its network last week, with no indication that information was compromised.

A spear phishing cyber attack against Grand Traverse County was stopped by security software before it damaged county computers or disrupted operations, officials report.