Ransomware

The entity claimed responsibility for a Wichita incident confirmed Sunday, that prompted the shutdown of the City Hall computer network. As a result, many departments moved to paper and cash-only operations.

The city of Wichita has shut down its computer network in response to a cyber attack, leaving some city services temporarily unavailable and requiring first responders to switch to backup procedures.

The U.S. Department of Education and the University of California at Berkeley's Center for Long-Term Cybersecurity will hold a summit in October and develop actionable insights for ed-tech vendors.

Lost data is just one lingering consequence of an April 2023 cyber attack on the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Officials will replace a compromised database, upgrade outdated hardware and harden cybersecurity.

Alaska CIO Bill Smith said that while ransomware is a huge threat and priority for him and the other state CIOs at the NASCIO Midyear conference, the most important way to turn the tide is getting back to basic cyber hygiene.

Bill Zielinski, who has led the Information and Technology Services department since 2020, will step down April 30. In recent years, he led the city’s response to a ransomware attack, and to the deletion of millions of police records.

In the wake of the incident earlier this year, Willamette Valley districts are conducting mandatory cybersecurity training for staff and using multifactor authentication.

The group behind the March 21 cyber attack has published information it obtained on the dark web, the Tarrant Appraisal District said. People whose information has been compromised have been notified by mail.

The ransomware group Medusa claimed responsibility for a cyber attack earlier this month that disrupted the network at Traverse City Area Public Schools in Michigan and forced it to cancel classes for days.

At an event held by the Institute for Security and Technology, experts discussed why simply arresting ransomware developers isn’t enough to effectively combat this cybersecurity problem.

A public university in Las Vegas canceled classes this week after a ransomware attack targeted its student and staff portal for online classes, course materials, campus email, payroll and other systems.

The county is preparing for a soft launch of reopening the assessment, collection and recorder of deeds offices to the public on April 16, according to a new press release from officials.

The Missouri county’s assessment, collections and recorder of deeds offices were closed Monday as officials worked to restore computer systems impacted in last week’s attack. Other systems and taxpayer data were not compromised.

The new ransomware attack threatened the university's cybersecurity defenses last week, resulting in canceled classes and disruptions in employee payroll systems.

The March 21 attack impacts information from about 300 people, the Tarrant Appraisal District said. The district’s legal council has said hackers have asked for $700,000. Portions of the district website remain offline; it has not paid the ransom.

Some city sources have attributed a cyber incident in early March to ransomware, although the municipality has only called it a “network disruption.” Birmingham is using paper-based processes to pay staff, but public effects may be more minor.

Some property-related offices in Jackson County, Mo., were closed Tuesday due to computer malfunctions. A ransomware attack, the county said in a statement, is “a potential cause,” but no data currently appears to have been compromised.

Attackers are seeking $700,000 from the Tarrant Appraisal District, following an incident last week that took its new website offline. It’s unclear whether sensitive information has been compromised, a cybersecurity attorney said.