Ransomware

As ransomware attacks have continued to hit state and local organizations — and tech advancements like generative AI have continued apace — cyber experts predict evolving malicious tactics for 2024.

Long Beach Utilities Department CIO Paula Crowell was set to take over as Santa Monica’s CIO Dec. 18, but the far-reaching impacts of a November cyber attack prompted her to reconsider the transition.

Credit union solutions provider Ongoing Operations experienced a cyber incident in late November. About 60 credit unions are believed to be suffering a level of disruption as a result.

Recent cyber attacks against water infrastructure in western parts of the state have officials assessing risk exposure. In Delaware County, water companies say they’ve taken proactive steps to defend their systems.

The North Texas Municipal Water District, which supplies water to sprawling Collin County suburbs, is the latest target of a ransomware attack. The breach has not disrupted service to the more than 2 million customers in the area.

Two weeks after a ransomware attack, Huber Heights officials say the Income Tax Division is back online and the city's payroll was processed successfully last week. It is unclear if the attack exposed resident data.

A sophisticated foreign cyber attack disrupted courts across the state last month, jeopardizing sensitive information, the Kansas Supreme Court said this week. Officials are still evaluating the data the criminals stole.

Long Beach, Calif., continues to grapple with a Nov. 14 network security incident. It declared a local emergency on Nov. 17 and on Nov. 22 announced the restoration of a few services.  

County officials say that there is no evidence that resident data was stolen in the October cyber attack. The nature and scope of the attack, and any possible impacts to county data, are still being investigated.

Schools faced off against ransomware, banking Trojans, cryptominers and other threats, while citing limited cyber funding. This year, more schools struggled with threat detection and incident response management.  

The City Council will meet at noon today to decide whether to ratify the city manager’s push for emergency powers to help the city respond to a cyber incident that struck its systems Tuesday.

A Nevada district that suffered a cyber attack in October is implementing stricter Google Workspace measures, a forced password change for students and two-factor authentication for staff accounts on Infinite Campus.

The FBI and CISA, along with the MS-ISAC, issued a joint advisory explaining Rhysida ransomware actors’ known tactics, techniques and procedures and indicators of compromise — and ways to better defend.

The breach that exposed the data of an estimated 1.3 million residents was discovered six months before notifications were sent out. Experts say the delay was necessary to investigate the incident.

Harris County officials are investigating the extent of a recent ransomware attack on the county's provider for mental health services. They noted that some employee files have become inaccessible because of encryption.

Parts of the Washington Department of Transportation's website have been down since Tuesday following what officials described as a cybersecurity incident aimed at disrupting the flow of travel information.

The City Council has approved two agreements totaling nearly $2.7 million to shore up the city’s IT security. The investment comes after two successful cyber attacks against the city and county governments.

County officials are trying to determine whether the data that was stolen and leaked in October includes personal information about employees or residents. The ransomware group Play took credit for the Oct. 19 incident.