Ransomware

The Houston Housing Authority was the victim of a ransomware attack on Sept. 22, the agency said in a press release, declining to comment on what info was being held or how much was being demanded.

Significant cyber events from the year, like the CrowdStrike incident, tell us which critical infrastructure sectors are most at risk. What are governments doing to prepare for the new year?

Given the surge of ransomware attacks and increasing costs of payments to unlock stolen data in 2024, some states have banned public ransomware payments. But experts are divided on whether it's the right move.

Officials at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport have said they will not pay the ransom, which is worth about $6 million. How much information was illegally accessed, and what kind, is still unclear.

This year the Los Angeles Superior Court was hit by a ransomware attack that infected its computer system with damaging software, forcing it to temporarily close.

One state lawmaker in Michigan is calling for heightened penalties for ransomware attacks that affect hospital systems after an attack last week impacted the McLaren hospital system.

Ransomware attacks against the health-care sector put lives at risk — and they’re getting worse. But federal authorities are providing free cybersecurity resources to foster systemwide change.

Some ransomware actors aren’t just stealing data and encrypting files — they’re also searching for damaging information, threatening violence and trying other techniques to amp up pressure on victims.

The state’s second most populous county has created the force after a roundtable discussion by county IT leaders last week. The move is in response to the general ramping up of cyberattacks.

A federal grand jury has indicted a North Korean national for his part in an alleged hacking and extortion conspiracy that targeted a Kansas hospital, NASA, U.S. Air Force bases and health-care entities from Colorado to Florida.

Several recently released cyber industry reports show steady or growing ransomware numbers in 2024 so far, and impacts on business and government have never been greater.

More than 200,000 people nationwide had their Social Security numbers, medical information, health insurance details and other data exposed during a Dallas County ransomware attack last fall.

The local government declared a “local disaster emergency” due to a “significant disruption in services as a result of a criminal ransomware attack.” This follows disruptions to the county courthouse and probation/community corrections.

All Clay County Courthouse offices and the Clay County Health Department are closed as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, and they will remain closed Wednesday as officials evaluate the developing situation there.

This new cyber attack has disrupted the state’s ability to issue death and birth certificates, and the breach might be putting sensitive patient data at risk.

Services affected in the incident, detected June 19, have been restored, and the incident did not “materially” affect the city’s service provision, according to a statement. It’s unclear how far the attack went before it was detected.

A data breach in June by the Akira Ransomware Group exposed files containing personal identifiable information. Officials don't know if the attackers copied those files, but they expect the district to recover by Aug. 1.

Every one of these attacks is an outrage, disrupting commerce, threatening the prospects of otherwise healthy organizations and requiring lavish investments to harden systems against hacking.