Tag Archive for: Attack

Some Victor CSD Students Will Return After Ransomware Attack

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VICTOR, N.Y. — Some Victor Central School District students will be back in the classroom Friday as the district continues to deal with a ransomware attack.

Superintendent Tim Terranova said phone systems are up and running along with emergency alarms.

Internet is still down, so teachers will be working directly with students.

In-person learning can resume for students at early childhood school as well as primary school gold cohort pre-k through third grade.

Grades 4 through 12 will remain remote Friday.

Terranova said between Friday and Sunday, laptops across the district will be re-imaged to provide protection.

He is hopeful all students can return to school Monday.

“Our parents have been incredible, you know? They’ve already been dealing with having to have kids here some of the time. Some of our parents have chosen to have their kids 100% virtual as you know. They’re balancing their own family, they’re balancing being pseudo-teachers to their kids. As they work collaboratively with us and then we have to tell them, ‘by the way, now nobody’s coming to school for a while,”’ said Terranova.

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Victor CSD Remaining Remote Wed. After Ransomware Attack

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VICTOR, N.Y. — The Victor Central School District gave an update on the ransomware attack that took place over the weekend, saying the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are now investigating.

That attack compromised district servers, knocking out internet, phones, and other systems like Schooltool and Transfinder.

Luckily school officials say no personal student or staff data was affected.

Students will remain learning remotely Wednesday.

Pre-K to third grade may have an opportunity to return to the classroom Thursday, but fifth through 12th grades will be remote for the remainder of the week.

The district says it will update families daily on Facebook and Blackboard Connect.

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Russian Hackers Suspected In Cyber Attack At Federal Agencies : NPR

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News Highlights: Russian Hackers Suspected In Cyber Attack At Federal Agencies : NPR.

According to reports, the US Treasury Department, which is featured here in 2019, was hacked along with the US Department of Commerce. Russia is suspected, but denies involvement. The US government has acknowledged a violation and says it is investigating to make a full assessment.

Patrick Semansky / AP

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Patrick Semansky / AP

According to reports, the US Treasury Department, which is featured here in 2019, was hacked along with the US Department of Commerce. Russia is suspected, but denies involvement. The US government has acknowledged a violation and says it is investigating to make a full assessment.

Patrick Semansky / AP

Updated at 5:00 p.m. ET

According to US officials and media reports, Russian hackers working for the Kremlin are said to be responsible for breaches of US government computer systems in the Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security departments, which may have taken months to be discovered.

The hackers had allegedly broken into the email systems of the government departments, but the full extent of the breach was not immediately apparent as US officials rushed to make an assessment. There are concerns that hackers may have invaded other government departments and perhaps many private companies as well.

The Department of Commerce, the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security all acknowledged the breach in brief statements but did not provide details.

“We can confirm that there has been a breach in one of our offices,” said the Department of Commerce.

“We have worked closely with our agencies regarding recently discovered activity on government networks,” said NSC spokesman John Ullyot.

The US government did not identify Russia or any other actor as responsible.

Reuters first reported the story on Sunday, and subsequent reports identified Russia’s foreign intelligence agency, the SVR, as the most likely culprit.

Russia’s SVR, the rough equivalent of the CIA in the US, was blamed in 2014-15 for major hacks involving unclassified email systems at the White House, the State Department and joint chiefs of staff.

Russia on…

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Book review: “The Cyber Attack Survival Manual”

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 From PCI to HIPAA and more, security awareness is part and parcel of computer security. But for far too many organizations, they simply go through the motions of security awareness, but the end users are not necessarily better for it. Such awareness programs meet the regulatory requirements for awareness, and companies are then able to check the audit box, but that is about it. 

Ransomware creators and social engineers are fond of firms who take an approach like that, as it makes their jobs much more straightforward. But an ounce of information security awareness cure can save an organization from Bitcoins of ransom later.

In The Cyber Attack Survival Manual, authors Nick Selby and Heather Vescent have written an awareness guide that is both informative and interesting. The book provides a high-level introduction to the core areas of information security.

The book makes excellent use of infographics, key terms, stories and more. As an awareness tool, this is a book that you can give to every user and have them read at their leisure. It is engaging and immensely readable, so there is no doubt they will read it rather than have it gather dust. 

I have this book on my list of The Best Information Security Books of 2020; this is an excellent read and should also be on your reading list. 

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