Tag Archive for: Wrestles

Montenegro wrestles with massive cyberattack, Russia blamed

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PODGORICA, Montenegro — At the government headquarters in NATO-member Montenegro, the computers are unplugged, the internet is switched off and the state’s main websites are down. The blackout comes amid a massive cyberattack against the small Balkan state which officials say bears the hallmark of pro-Russian hackers and its security services.

The coordinated attack that started around Aug. 20 crippled online government information platforms and put Montenegro’s essential infrastructure, including banking, water and electricity power systems, at high risk.

The attack, described by experts as unprecedented in its intensity and the longest in the tiny nation’s recent history, capped a string of cyberattacks since Russia invaded Ukraine in which hackers targeted Montenegro and other European nations, most of them NATO members.

Sitting at his desk in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica, in front of a blackened PC screen, Defense Minister Rasko Konjevic said government officials were advised by cyber experts, including a team of FBI investigators that was dispatched to the Balkan state, to go offline for security reasons.

“We have been faced with serious challenges related to the cyberattack for about 20 days, and the entire state system, the system of state administration, and the system of services to citizens are functioning at a rather restrictive level,” Konjevic told The Associated Press.

He said experts from several countries are trying to help restore the Montenegro government’s computer system and find proof of who is behind the attack.

Montenegro officials said the attack that crippled the government’s digital infrastructure was likely carried out by a Russian-speaking ransomware gang that generally operates without Kremlin interference as long as it doesn’t target Russian allies. The gang, called Cuba ransomware, claimed responsibility for at least part of the Montenegro cyberattack, in which it created a special virus for the attack called Zerodate.

Montenegro’s Agency for National Security blamed the attack squarely on Russia.

Russia has a strong motive for such an attack because Montenegro, which it once considered a strong ally, joined NATO in 2017 despite the…

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Missouri state government wrestles with massive computer shortcomings

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By Kurt Erickson

Click here for updates on this story

    JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) — Key computer systems used by the state of Missouri are so outdated officials are worried some of the only programmers who know how to work with the antiquated technology will retire.

Without their knowledge of a programming language that is rarely used anymore, they say, no one will know how to keep critical functions, such as tax reporting, payroll processing and budgeting, from failing.

The problems span across the sprawling operation of state government, touching people when they purchase a car, apply for Medicaid or cash their state tax refund.

But for years, Gov. Mike Parson and legislators have taken few steps to address what is an increasingly expensive problem.

The latest flaw was exposed this month when the Post-Dispatch reported that the Social Security numbers of school teachers, administrators and counselors across Missouri were vulnerable to public exposure due to programming shortcomings on a website maintained by the state’s Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The vulnerability was discovered in a web application that allowed the public to search teacher certifications and credentials. The department removed the affected pages from its website Tuesday after being notified of the problem by the Post-Dispatch.

Parson called the newspaper’s work “hacking” and called for a criminal investigation and a possible civil lawsuit.

His tirade put a spotlight on what members of his own administration have been saying for years: The state’s aging fleet of computers is due for an upgrade.

According to budget officials, a true overhaul of the state’s systems will cost an estimated $83.5 million. That cost would also finance a new portal for residents to access various state services.

Rep. Doug Richey, R-Excelsior Springs, is championing the use of $2.8 billion in federal relief funds to pay for the information technology upgrades, which could take as long as six years.

“We don’t have time to waste,” Richey told members of a House committee in July.

Personnel moves The focus on the state’s…

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