Tag Archive for: credit

Ransomware attack in US: Dozens of credit unions experience outrages due to cyberattack on Trellance, federal agency says

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About 60 credit unions in the United States are experiencing outages because of a ransomware attack on an IT provider the institutions use, according to a federal agency.

The video above is ABC13’s 24/7 livestream.

On Friday, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), the agency that insures deposits at federally insured credit unions, said in a statement to ABC News that it was “coordinating with affected credit unions” in the wake of the hack.

The full extent of the outage and its impact on credit unions was unclear Friday evening. One of the affected credit unions, New York-based Mountain Valley Federal Credit Union, told CNN that technicians from the hacked IT provider were “working around the clock to get our systems” back online.

According to NCUA spokesperson Joseph Adamoli, credit unions reported that the ransomware attack, in which cybercriminals typically lock computer systems as an extortion tactic, affected a unit of Trellance, a cloud computing firm provider used by credit unions.

NCUA told ABC News that the hack occurred through a third-party vendor, FedComp, using Trellance software, which was the source of the cyberattack.

Trellance did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

“Member deposits at affected federally insured credit unions are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund up to $250,000,” NCUA said.

The Record, a cybersecurity news publication, reported earlier on the ransomware attack.

The incident is just the latest example of how ransomware attacks have caused havoc for U.S. critical infrastructure in recent years. Hospitals, fuel pipelines, and schools have also been disrupted by the file-locking cyberattacks, prompting the Biden administration to treat ransomware as a national security crisis.

CNN writer Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report.

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Feds: Ransomware attack causing outages at 60 U.S. credit unions

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The National Credit Union Administration says some 60 locations across the country are experiencing system outages due to a ransomware hack.

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What is ‘credit card churning’?

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Here are three of the week’s top pieces of financial insight, gathered from around the web:

Problems to watch for in your will

Estate planning can be more complicated than just having a will, said Ashlea Ebeling in The Wall Street Journal. “Many people assume their will is the final word on who gets what when they die,” but there are some documents that can override wills. They include “beneficiary forms for retirement accounts, life insurance, and some bank and brokerage accounts.” Under federal law, married spouses are entitled to the 401(k) “no matter what the beneficiary form or will says,” unless they formally waive it, which must be notarized. “With individual retirement accounts, by contrast, in most states (other than California or Texas) you can name someone other than your spouse as beneficiary without a waiver.” If your insurance policy was purchased on your own, “the insurance company’s rules govern.”

A grim decline for bonds

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I’m a hacking expert – never tap or click four common bank-draining words or risk strangers stealing your credit card

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GADGET users are being warned over a dangerous type of pop-up message that could leave your bank empty.

Cybercriminals can use pop-ups to hijack your computer or smartphone, experts have warned.

Be careful what you click

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Be careful what you clickCredit: Unsplash

Crooks will often use a type of software called spyware to watch what you’re doing online.

Once they’ve tricked you into downloading spyware, there’s almost no limit to what a hacker can do.

“The impact of spyware on identity theft cannot be understated,” said a cybersecurity expert from McAfee.

“By stealthily recording sensitive personal and financial information, like usernames, passwords, and credit card numbers, it presents a significant risk to a user’s identity.”

A crook could install spyware on your device if they had physical access to it.

But it’s more more likely that you’ll end up being a victim of spyware due to a mistake online.

Criminals often attempt to trick you into installing spyware by making you think you’re downloading something else.

“Preventing spyware from infecting your system starts with practicing good online habits,” the McAfee expert explained in an official security memo.

“Avoid downloading files from untrusted sources, especially torrents and software cracks notorious for being riddled with spyware.”

But you might also find yourself downloading spyware after interacting with a pop-up message.

If you end up on a suspicious website, you might find a notification appearing on the screen.

These may seem harmless, but if you see the following four words, you might be in trouble.

“Never click ‘Agree,’ ‘OK,’ ‘No,’ or ‘Yes’ in a pop-up, as these actions can trigger an automatic spyware download,” McAfee warned.

“Instead, close the pop-up by hitting the red X or shutting down your browser altogether.”

Don’t forget!

Of course avoiding rogue pop-ups isn’t the only way to stave off spyware.

You should also regularly update the operating system on your device – whether that’s iOS, Android, Windows or macOS.

Read more on the Irish Sun

“These patches often contain fixes to known vulnerabilities that spyware and other malicious programs exploit,” the McAfee cyber-expert explained.

“Also, ensure to download and use your web…

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