Tag Archive for: chicago

Crown Point schools still investigating possible cyber hack – Chicago Tribune

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Crown Point Community School Corp. officials say it’s still unclear if personal information was accessed in a possible network breach that forced the cancellation of classes on Nov. 28.

Superintendent Todd Terrill advised staff and student families to monitor financial statements and credit card reports for suspicious and unauthorized activity.

“As previously noted, these investigations can take weeks,” Terrill said in a message to staff and families.

“I know many of you have concerns and have waited patiently for more news. Our team shares those concerns. Although we have not yet determined if any sensitive or personal information is at risk as a result of this event, we are providing you with information about proactive measures you can take to protect your or your child’s information should you feel it is appropriate to do so.”

Terrill said those concerned could place a fraud alert on credit files at no cost for one-year or place a security freeze on credit files which prohibits a consumer reporting agency from releasing information in a credit card report without express authorization.

He said once the investigation is complete, the district will directly notify anyone whose information is affected.

Assistant Crown Point Police Chief Jim Janda said the network outage incident hasn’t been reported to police.

After missing one day, students returned to class Nov. 29 and most everyday activities have resumed.

Last month, officials suspected the network was compromised and brought in a cybersecurity firm to investigate and work with the district’s technology team to restore service.

A year ago, the Duneland School Corp. in Chesterton experienced a computer system hack that exposed personal employee data including Social Security numbers, birth dates and insurance plan information.

The Duneland cyber breach is being investigated by the FBI, a school official said.

The district has updated its system to include two-factor authentication for access to its private network and a phishing email program was added for all users.

Geofencing was added on firewall policies, preventing traffic from outside the U.S. It switched to encrypted backups and added other tools to protect the…

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Stefanie Drysdale’s Weekly Cyber/Security Recap #149 – Friday, November 11, 2022

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Chicago scientists are testing an unhackable quantum internet in their basement closet

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A picture of Thomas the Tank Engine is displayed on a piece of equipment in the quantum computing lab at the University of Chicago's Eckhardt Research Center on Oct. 4, 2022.

A picture of Thomas the Tank Engine is displayed on a piece of equipment in the quantum computing lab at the University of Chicago’s Eckhardt Research Center on Oct. 4, 2022. (Taylor Glascock/for The Washington Post)

CHICAGO — The secret to a more secure and powerful internet — one potentially impossible to hack — might be residing in a basement closet seemingly suited for brooms and mops.

The 3-foot-wide cubby, in the bowels of a University of Chicago laboratory, contains a slim rack of hardware discreetly firing quantum particles into a fiber-optic network. The goal: to use nature’s smallest objects to share information under encryption that cannot be broken — and eventually to connect a network of quantum computers capable of herculean calculations.

The modest trappings of Equipment Closet LL211A belie the importance of a project at the forefront of one of the world’s hottest technology competitions. The United States, China and others are vying to harness the bizarre properties of quantum particles to process information in powerful new ways — technology that could confer major economic and national-security benefits to the countries that dominate it.

Quantum research is so important to the future of the internet that it is drawing new federal funding, including from the recently adopted Chips and Science Act. That’s because, if it pans out, the quantum internet could safeguard financial transactions and health care data, prevent identity theft and stop hostile state hackers in their tracks.

Just this past week, three physicists shared the Nobel Prize for quantum research that helped pave the way for this future internet.

Quantum research still has plenty of obstacles to overcome before it reaches widespread use. But banks, health-care companies and others are starting to run experiments on the quantum internet. Some industries are also tinkering with early stage quantum computers to see whether they might eventually crack problems that current computers can’t, such…

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Man With Ax Shot and Killed By Security Guard Outside Chicago Weed Dispensary – NBC Chicago

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A man wielding an ax was shot and killed by a security guard outside of a weed dispensary in Chicago on Labor Day, authorities said.

Police said the incident happened just after 10 a.m. in the 200 block of South Halsted, when a man got into a verbal altercation outside of a business with a 37-year-old man working security.

The man ultimately began swinging an ax at the security guard before striking him in the leg.

“A struggle ensued and the victim fired shots, striking the offender,” police said in a statement.

The man with the ax was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The man working security was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in good condition, authorities said.

An investigation remained ongoing.

“This morning outside Zen Leaf on Halsted Street, an individual attacked a contracted third party security guard with a weapon outside the dispensary. Both individuals were taken to hospitals with serious injuries,” the dispensary told NBC 5 in a statement.

The dispensary added that it will be closed for the remainder of the holiday as police continued their investigation.

Sources close to the investigation told NBC 5 the ax-wielding man may have been a disgruntled customer.

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