Tag Archive for: Return

Swansea Public Schools issues update regarding ransomware attack, return to school – Fall River Reporter

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Superintendent John Robidoux has issued an update regarding a ransomware attack on #Swansea Public Schools’ network.

On Tuesday, January 3rd, Swansea Public Schools’ network experienced a ransomware attack. Within minutes of this attack, Swansea Public Schools’ cybersecurity company, Hub Technology, was able to isolate the attack and shut down the network system.

While the district worked to resolve the attack, all schools were closed on Wednesday, January 4th.

The cybersecurity company, in collaboration with the district’s IT Department, was able to remove any viruses, worms and ransomware on the network and add additional security measures.

Through a preliminary investigation, it was determined that no personal student or staff information was compromised and no cloud-based files or information was affected by the attack.

It is believed that this attack occurred due to an encrypted download that was run by someone within the district, but is not believed to be malicious. Swansea Public Schools will continue to participate in ongoing KnowBe4 training to assist school community members in learning more about security awareness and how to identify phishing attacks.

“I am thankful that our district has security measures attached to our network that prevented a much larger issue from occurring,” Superintendent Robidoux said. “I would like to thank Randi Arruda, Gilly Pereira and Gio Pimental for their hard work in ensuring that we are able to resolve this matter efficiently and proceed with teaching and learning in a safe manner.”

School will resume tomorrow, Thursday, January 5, for all students at their regular times.

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Back 2 School: Wednesday will be the busiest day of the week when 15 districts return – WSB-TV Channel 2

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Students will have to use clear bags when returning to school in Clayton County this year The district said the change comes after more than 100 guns were found on county campuses last year.

ATLANTA — Wednesday will be the busiest day of the back to school rush in north Georgia.

There are a total of 15 school districts in the Channel 2 viewing area that will return to class: Banks, Bartow, Bremen, Buford, Butts, Clarke, Clayton, Douglas, Griffin-Spalding, Gwinnett, Heard, Henry, Marietta City, Putnam and Oconee schools.

Join Fred Blankenship, Lori Wilson, Brian Monahan and Mike Shields for all your Back 2 School needs! Watch Channel 2 Action News This Morning from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Banks County

Banks County announced some changes for the school year. A new portal system for students and parents called Infinite Campus will be used. The system will provide families with grades, assignments, attendance and announcements.

Banks County Schools also announced more SRO officers will be stationed at every school with the focus on safety. A final change includes a new bell schedule for Banks High School.

Bartow County

In Bartow County, students in all grades are eligible for free school supplies. The district approved using federal relief funds to cover items like Lysol wipes, loose-leaf paper, crayons, pencils, notebooks and binders.

Bartow County Schools are also launching a 10-month mental health campaign “Everybody has a Story and Somebody Cares”. The district also created a 25-member Student Mental Health subcommittee made up of principals, parents, counselors and community leaders.

Clayton County

The biggest change in Clayton County will be the district’s new backpack policy. School officials approved a clear backpack policy for the 2022-23 school year.

“We will provide clear bookbags to all of our students to help them carry their books. Hopefully this will provide schools an easier way to access whether or not students have inappropriate items in their bookbags,” Clayton County Schools Superintendent Dr. Morcease Beasley said.

Beasley said clear backpacks are to keep students and staff safe, but they also have safety plans at every school.

Douglas County

Superintendent Trent North…

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How Mobile Technology Helps Staff Return to the Office?

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Slowly but surely, companies are now inviting their employees back into the office. Many businesses are also choosing to use the latest technology trends to plan a safe return, increase workplace security, and manage a new concept of precisely what the ‘new workplace’ should look like. 

New workplace challenges 

The organization is the key to any successful business, which means confronting an entirely new reality in the face of an ongoing pandemic. The organization of a work environment where employees feel safe becomes crucial to that success. Technology can contribute to the bigger picture of security, helping offices and businesses remain safe.

Mobile technology and the workplace

Smartphones are vital to daily tasks, whether at work or at home. Consider that your smartphone can manage your home security system, oven, refrigerator, washing machine, and car door.

So, if a mobile device can do all this at home, a smartphone becomes a vital instrument in the quest for business success in the new normal. 

Smart door locks are a growing trend in home security systems, and now businesses are following suit. There are no more keys, key cards, or other means to get into your office. A smartphone is all you require, and mobile security will prove much safer with the easy management of credentials.

Mobile credentials with a tap on the app

A mobile credential is an electronic key that is in your smartphone. An employee will install an app on their phone and scan a QR code or open a Cloud Key link in front of an electronic reader positioned at entrances and exits. 

This type of technology can integrate Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, RFID, or even cellular data meaning it offers all kinds of options for cell phone users. A tap on the app or a phone wave will allow entrance or exit. 

Contactless entry

QR codes and contactless entry mean that employees entering an office no longer need to interact with reception or front desk personnel necessarily.

Employees can enter a building without interacting with other staff by simply scanning a code kept on smartphones. This kind of tech will also eliminate health risks like people touching walls, doors, or intercoms that are potentially contaminated…

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Joker malware makes another quiet return to the Google Play Store

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The makers of the Joker malware are a resilient lot, for they have managed to sneak the malware into the Google Play Store again after being spotted and kicked out on more than one occasion.

Earlier this week, the Belgian Police said the Joker malware was spotted in eight Google Play Store apps before the apps were removed by Google. The malware’s presence on the app store doesn’t bode well for Android users as it quietly subscribes users to paid services without their authorisation, thereby draining their bank accounts dry.

Joker malware is used by cyber criminals on a large scale, so much so that in January last year, Google kicked out as many as 1,700 applications from the Play Store that were found hiding the malware. By then, these applications were downloaded by millions worldwide, giving operators of the malware the opportunity to carry out billing fraud campaigns on a large scale.

According to Google, while earlier versions of Joker, that appeared sometime in 2017, were engaged in carrying out SMS fraud, later versions of the malware (also known as Bread malware) were designed for billing fraud that involved the malware authors using injected clicks, custom HTML parsers, and SMS receivers to automate billing processes without requiring any interaction from the user.

In a blog post published last year, Google noted that developers of Joker malware used just about every cloaking and obfuscation technique under the sun in an attempt to go undetected. Many of the malware’s samples appeared to be designed specifically to attempt to slip into the Play Store undetected and at peak times of activity, Google observed up to 23 different apps from this family submitted to the Play Store in one day.

According to the Belgian Police, the eight apps found hiding the Joker malware this time are Auxiliary Message, Element Scanner, Fast Magic SMS, Free CamScanner, Go Messages, Super Message, Great SMS, and Travel Wallpapers. The choice of apps indicates that hackers are quite intent on exploiting the general demand for document scanning and instant messaging services to victimise millions.

What makes the use of the Joker malware even more threatening is that…

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