In-brief: More than 100,000 homes in the UK had their Internet access interrupted by an attack on broadband routers. The incident is believed to be part of a larger attack that affected some 900,000 Deutsche Telekom customers last week.
Software
Ransomware Used Against Muni Known As Harsh, Virulent
San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) was hit with a ransomware attack over the weekend, disrupting a number of agency computer systems including email, the MTA said in a statement on Sunday. And security experts say that the ransomware used has a reputation for virulence. Computer terminals observed at MTA (or “Muni”) stations displayed a message that read, in part, “You Hacked. All Data Encrypted” over the weekend, paralyzing toll collection operations and forcing the MTA to open its turnstiles and let the public ride for free. According to a report by The San Francisco Examiner claims that the ransomware thieves have infected more than 2,000 of the agency’s 8,000 computers, affecting not only fare collection, but also systems that assign routes to bus drivers. The thieves are demanding $73,000 in ransom, paid in bitcoin. In a statement on Sunday, San Francisco MTA said that the attack “disrupted some of our […]
Another Week, Another Dangerous Mobile Firmware Vulnerability
In-brief: The security firm Anubis Networks said in a blog post that it has discovered a mystery code by the firm Ragentek that is used in a number of low-cost Android smart phones, used across 55 different device models.
Software Used in Mobile Phones Sends Texts, Location Data and Contacts Back To China
In-brief: software used in at least one brand of smart phones sold in the U.S. was found to secretly send private information about the phone’s owner back to servers in China, according to a report by the security firm Kryptowire.
Update: Let’s Get Cyberphysical: Internet Attack shuts off the Heat in Finland
In-brief: a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack resulted in the loss of heating to two buildings in the city of Lappeenranta in eastern Finland according to a report by local media, the latest example of downstream effects of cyber attacks on connected infrastructure. Editor’s note: updated with comment from Mr. Rounela, the CEO of Valtia. 11/8/2016
