Cybersecurity

A series of cyber attacks across Texas are part of a growing statewide and national trend of increasingly sophisticated groups working through computers to steal money and information, according to officials in the FBI.

A hacker accessed personally identifying information by exploiting a vulnerability in third-party file-transfer software used by the National Student Clearinghouse and Teachers Insurance Annuity Association of America.

The White House just released the new National Cybersecurity Strategy Implementation Plan. Here are the details, selected media coverage and what you need to know moving forward.

The attack highlights risks around holiday weekend attacks, targeted software supply chains and the growing popularity of data-theft-based extortion. Still, zero-day exploits comprise only a small slice of extortion attacks.

What could have been a digital quagmire for California’s largest school district served as a chance to hone cyber response and gird its more than 250 applications used by some 1.6 million users.

The proposal would create a new pilot program, allotting up to $200 million over three years, for schools and libraries to assess effective cybersecurity methods and implement advanced firewalls, among other needs.

Hackers breached Microsoft Outlook email accounts linked to government agencies in the U.S., and others in Western Europe, according to officials, which described the attackers as being based in China.

As with any powerful new technology, the potential for artificial intelligence to analyze large volumes of data and automate processes comes with a risk that it will be used for nefarious purposes.

Despite efforts to combat ransomware attacks on higher ed institutions, the education sector remains one of the most targeted industries as more vulnerabilities and data incentivize hackers.

Officials for the northern California city said they have no evidence of personal information being leaked during the incident, but its website was offline for at least a day as it investigated systems.

A public research university in Ohio will work with several U.S. universities and colleges to offer workshops, seminars, competitions, new credential-bearing certificates and pathway courses in cybersecurity.

Widely used platforms like MOVEit are a prime target for cyber extortionists, who will likely continue these kinds of attacks, but there are also strategies that can help organizations prepare.

Before a global cyber attack compromised data from New York schools in May, an audit by the state comptroller and a special commissioner of investigation had criticized the district for insufficient oversight.

An outreach effort called AZ LEGIT aims to connect rural schools and agencies with cybersecurity tools and training, a threat-sharing communication system and incident response services from the National Guard.

Hacking group SiegedSec took credit for cyber attacks defacing or breaching several state and local government websites, allegedly motivated by efforts to restrict or ban access to gender-affirming care for minors.

The state auditor’s office’s new program offers local governments quick assessments of their cyber postures, plus advice for improving. This can help governments get ready while on the waitlist for the state’s more in-depth cyber audits.

A new global report finds that cyber extortionists are increasingly using double extortion or skipping encryption entirely, going directly to just threatening to publish stolen data.

From open letters to congressional testimony, some AI leaders have stoked fears that the technology is a direct threat to humanity. The reality is less dramatic but perhaps more insidious.