Ransomware

As part of a certificate program by the nonprofit Public Infrastructure Security Cyber Education System (PISCES), university students have been monitoring Liberty Lake's networks for suspicious activity.

The majority of states are abandoning third-party cyber insurance for self-insurance, says Colorado CISO Ray Yepes. Plus, Virginia and Alaska cyber leads talk federal cyber grants and the importance of understanding local needs.

After discovering last month that ransomware had infiltrated its information systems, a private Christian university in Washington is still investigating the incident and adding new layers of security.

Hosting national conventions puts local governments in the crosshairs of cyber attackers. As the 2024 RNC approaches, Milwaukee County will be working to keep government systems and communication channels resilient.

A survey from the Texas-based tech company SecureLink shows that educational institutions are struggling to manage or monitor third-party technology vendors that have access to student data.

An expert from the computer security service ProCircular said he rarely recommends paying a ransom, but it can be necessary depending on the value of compromised data and how long the victim can afford to be locked out.

Having consulted with cybersecurity experts and legal counsel, an Iowa school district has paid an undisclosed ransom after a cyber attack last month compromised the personal data of employees.

Election officials and others in state and local government need to be on guard against a variety of attempts that could impede voters’ access to information and smooth elections. A toolkit of free resources aims to help.

Higher ed’s complex array of systems creates a large attack surface, and institutions are likely to pay ransom. Meanwhile, K-12 schools struggle with cyber staffing but more often resist extortion, a global report finds.  

Across the United States, many local governments and states — as well as private companies — are discovering their cyber insurance premiums have skyrocketed and that they must meet stricter guidelines

The threat is fast, frequent and international. Keeping up may take stronger cross-border public-private partnerships, improved reporting rules, a higher national cybersecurity baseline and cryptocurrency payment disruptions.

The program, announced last week by Gov. Kathy Hochul, would provide county governments and select cities with endpoint detection and response tools to continuously monitor systems and protect against cyber attacks.

Attackers who penetrate an organization can evade detection by using the victims’ own cloud-based services to conduct their data exfiltration and malware downloads. This is the latest evolution of living off the land attacks.

The town of Frederick, Colo., is currently investigating claims about a breach in their network. Officials are working with digital forensics experts to determine exactly if and how the community might be impacted.

The new partnership with the cybersecurity ratings provider comes as more counties face ransomware, data breach and election risks. The idea is to provide enough data in quick enough fashion to head off those risks.

The grand jury last month released its 2021-22 final report on the California county and its seven cities' cybersecurity defenses. The report identified nine defined expectations for cybersecurity that each agency should have in place.

As affordable cyber insurance becomes more elusive, experts are reminding governments that insurance is only one piece of the puzzle and urging them to focus first on investing in cyber defenses.

Even as cryptocurrency investors deal with recent losses in value, public-sector interest in crypto continues to grow. That means more opportunities for fraud and more need for protections, the companies say.