cybersecurity News

US Unveils Plan to Improve Cyber Defenses For Water Utilities

WASHINGTON–The White House on Thursday unveiled a plan to beef up cybersecurity in the nation’s water sector, an extension of its efforts to thwart attacks against critical infrastructure including electricity and natural gas pipeline operators. Senior administration officials said water …

Delay in Creating New Cybersecurity Board Prompts Concern

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)–It’s a key part of President Joe Biden’s plans to fight major ransomware attacks and digital espionage campaigns: creating a board of experts that would investigate major incidents to see what went wrong and try to prevent the …

Russian Businessman, Others Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Hacking Scheme

BOSTON–Five Russians including a Kremlin-linked businessman now in U.S. custody carried out a vast, $82 million insider trading scheme that allowed them to profit from corporate information stolen through hacking, U.S. authorities said on Monday. Vladislav Klyushin, the owner of …

Ransomware Persists Even as High-Profile Attacks Have Slowed

WASHINGTON (AP)–In the months since President Joe Biden warned Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he needed to crack down on ransomware gangs in his country, there hasn’t been a massive attack like the one last May that resulted in gasoline shortages. …

Explainer: the Security Flaw That’s Freaked Out the Internet

BOSTON (AP) — Security pros say it’s one of the worst computer vulnerabilities they’ve ever seen. They say state-backed Chinese and Iranian hackers and rogue cryptocurrency miners have already seized on it. The Department of Homeland Security is sounding a …

‘The Internet’s on Fire’ as Techs Race to Fix Software Flaw

BOSTON (AP)–A critical vulnerability in a widely used software tool –one quickly exploited in the online game Minecraft–is rapidly emerging as a major threat to organizations around the world. “The internet’s on fire right now,” said Adam Meyers, senior vice …

Major Outage at Amazon Disrupts Businesses Across the US

A major outage in Amazon’s cloud computing network Tuesday severely disrupted services at a wide range of U.S. companies for more than five hours, the latest sign of just how concentrated the business of keeping the internet running has become. …

Congressional Committee Seeks Lessons Learned From Ransomware Attack

In March 2021, CNA Financial Corp., one of the country’s largest insurance companies, suffered a ransomware attack from a cybercriminal group called Phoenix. The attackers pressured the insurer to pay up quickly by raising the ransom demand, claiming the data …

Iran-Backed Hackers Accused of Targeting Critical US Sectors

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hackers linked to the Iranian government have been targeting a “broad range of victims” inside the United States, including by deploying ransomware, according to an advisory issued Wednesday by American, British and Australian officials. The advisory says …

Iran’s President Says Cyberattack Meant to Create ‘Disorder’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s president said Wednesday that a cyberattack which paralyzed every gas station in the Islamic Republic was designed to get “people angry by creating disorder and disruption,” as long lines still snaked around the …