Cybersecurity

A cyber attack on Texas Tech University's health sciences centers in September resulted in access to, or removal of, files containing private data such as names, birthdates, financial accounts and medical information.

GEICO and Travelers, the national insurance companies, will pay the penalties for poor data security. A 2020 cyber attack that leaked data from more than 120,000 New York customers enabled hackers to use that information to file fraudulent unemployment claims.

Denver appointed a new chief information security officer, Merlin Namuth, in October. He is building relationships as the foundation for a people-centered approach to cybersecurity in the city and county.

Has your smartphone become a listening device? Are your apps gleaning information from your conversations? How can you check and what can you do to regain more privacy? Let’s explore.  

The health payment processing company, one of the largest in the world, was hit in February by a ransomware attack that is considered to be the largest health-care data breach in history. Medical billing services have now been restored.

Representatives from 10 nations that are part of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes discussed international cooperation and teamwork on AI, and the risk new U.S. leadership could move the nation to act alone.

The work of state-level CISOs is expanding to help serve the cyber needs of small municipalities and vulnerable groups, a NASCIO report affirms. Whole-of-state cybersecurity and grants are helping drive the endeavor.

Information collected by wearable technology, from smartwatches to fitness trackers and smart rings, is safeguarded by laws in some states. But much of it falls outside the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and can be sold or provided to third parties.

Scammers stole millions from a North Dakota school district by convincing an employee to click on a fraudulent link. The FBI's Internet Crime Report found phishing was by far the most common type of cyber crime last year.

Great Bend Unified School District 428 in Kansas plans to use E-rate funds to upgrade the district's Internet bandwidth and put Wi-Fi on school buses. It also intends to apply for the FCC's new cybersecurity program.

A Northern District judge threw out a lawsuit Nov. 13 alleging a trucking company violated the state Biometric Information Privacy Act. She ruled a clarification to Illinois' biometric data privacy law from state lawmakers earlier this year limits the size of damages that can be claimed.

California’s education budget is on track to offer one-time funding that schools could use to bolster cybersecurity. At the same time, new state laws are granting schools more autonomy in regulation of technology.

The incident, which affected state courts for two weeks, is ending as the Administrative Office of the Courts restores systems on the network. A forensic analysis is ongoing but unauthorized activity has been eliminated.

A new study of San Francisco considers nonprofits’ unique cybersecurity challenges in that community as well as ways the local government could help. The research team hopes to study other cities soon.

A private research university in Georgia agreed to pay damages to students and an instructor, as well as implement new data security measures, in order to resolve a lawsuit over a hack in February 2023.

A company helping the Traverse City local government offices deal with a recent cyber attack will help the city split off its computer network from one it shares with Grand Traverse County.

Easterly was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to lead the agency. The precise timing of her departure is unclear, but is expected to take place in advance of the incoming President-elect Donald J. Trump administration.

Being designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, the University at Albany offers a scholarship for cybersecurity students willing to work for the Department of Defense after graduation.