City Employees Call for Answers, Ongoing Ransomware Attack on Dallas – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
City Employees Call for Answers, Ongoing Ransomware Attack on Dallas NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
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Threat of Confidential Data Release in Dallas Ransomware Attack – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
A threat was posted Friday on a website related to the Royal Ransomware Group threatening to release data the group claims to have accessed from the City of Dallas.
The ransomware attack on Dallas government was first revealed on May 3 and since then city officials have always said no data has leaked.
The new post mentions the city’s claim and responds saying tons of personal information, including court cases, medical information and thousands of government documents will be posted on blogs.
City officials have confirmed that key portions of Dallas government remain harmed by the attack which caused them to shut down many systems to avoid spreading damage.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said this week that his access to crime data has been compromised for mapping strategy. He said a backlog of reports remains to be filed.
The Dallas County District Attorney released a statement saying some police evidence for court cases has not been available for pending trials.
The City of Dallas Municipal Court, where traffic and code citations are handled, remained closed.
Public computers were not available in Dallas libraries and returned books could not be properly checked in.
Cyber Threat Expert Sam Rubin, a Vice President with Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, who is not involved with the Dallas investigation, said threat actors do access data in more than 70% of attacks.
“They’re not only locking up files but they’re taking information as well. And it’s really all about upping that level of pressure so they can extract payment. It’s a form of extortion,” Rubin said.
Former Federal Prosecutor Matt Yarbrough who handles cybersecurity and data privacy cases with the law firm Michelman and Robinson said the threat posted Friday is a new level in the Dallas case.
“It’s a major escalation from the standpoint they’re going to release these critical systems not only about employees but active and ongoing criminal investigations and prosecutions. And the fact that it hurts or is hurting cases at trial right now is a major factor,” Yarbrough said.
The city of Dallas issued a statement Friday renewing the claim that no data has leaked.
“We continue to…
Dallas Still Dealing With Ransomware Attack – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
The City of Dallas is still in the midst of a ransomware attack Monday as officials worked to bring computer service back to all city functions.
Some website access was restored but crucial public safety functions like police and fire computer-aided dispatch were still impacted.
“One of my first contacts was how much they were beat down this weekend because of all the backed-up calls,” Black Police Association of Greater Dallas President Terrance Hopkins said.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia shared body camera video Monday from officers who wounded a man early Saturday morning after the man threatened people and refused to drop a gun. The body camera video showed blank patrol car computer screens where officers would normally see information about a call for service.
“Certainly it’s impacted us. It’s impacted us and DFR quite a bit, but the men and women continue to answer the call,” Garcia said.
Computer-aided dispatch at the 911 communications center had been down since Wednesday.
“It figures out what the closest appropriate resource is and automatically dispatches that,” Dallas Firefighters Association President Jim McDade said.
Without that, McDade said he’s heard about ambulance calls delayed by 30 minutes for life-and-death situations like heart attack calls.
“Calls are not being answered in our normal timely manner,” he said.
The Dallas City Council Public Safety Committee Monday received a briefing on the situation from Dallas Chief Information Officer Bill Zielenski.
Some of it was presented in pubic, but Zielenski declined to discuss the means of attack, the mode of remediation or communication with attackers because criminal investigations are underway.
“Doing so risks impeding investigations or exposing critical information,” Zielenski said.
He said the ransomware is believed to be contained but every piece of the city network equipment must be reimaged to be certain no corruption remains.
Zielenski saved more of the discussion for a closed-door executive session with council members. There was no public mention of any ransom request or payment.
“This event underscores the need for our city to address the…
Delete Temu app because it’s not worth the risk:
Seemingly overnight, everyone’s talking about Temu, an online shopping app full of deals that seem too good to be true. You’ll find $17 wireless earbuds, $1 “gold” necklaces and $23 wedding dresses.
No wonder Temu is the most popular shopping app in the U.S., behind only Amazon. But most of us know little about the app’s origins. Like some other apps, it’s tied to China.
I did some digging into whether it’s safe to use. Here’s what I found:
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Where did Temu come from?
This app isn’t some fly-by-night operation. Temu (pronounced “tee-moo”) is based in Boston by PDD Holdings Inc. PDD is headquartered in Shanghai. PDD also owns the e-commerce platform Pinduoduo headquartered in – you guessed it – China. (More on Pinduoduo and its shady app below.)
Over 50 million Americans have downloaded Temu since it launched stateside in September 2022. You might remember its expensive Super Bowl ads promising to let you “shop like a billionaire.”
Searches for terms like “Is Temu legit” surged once Americans saw just how cheap the prices are. Not surprisingly, you get what you pay for.
What you need to know before using Temu
First, you’re buying goods directly from manufacturers in China and other parts of the world. That’s why shipping times are often much longer than on sites like Amazon. You might get your stuff in a week, but that could be more like 12 days.
For the most part, the prices are low because the goods are cheap. The pictures of what you see advertised may not be what you actually get.
Online reviewers seem to agree: Cheap is nice, but not when the quality is too shoddy to use. Temu’s BBB rating is 2.25/5. Reviews at TrustPilot are interesting, with 38% 5-star reviews and 41% 1-star reviews.
But that’s not the worst of it. As you shop, Temu collects lots of information.
Security boost: Simple mistake making your computer slower and less safe
It gets worse
Temu isn’t unique in all the info it wants to capture from your phone, of course. Most apps out there want as much as you’ll give up. But considering its ties to Communist China, the permissions seem…