In-brief: A Michigan utility was knocked offline for much of last week following a ransomware infection that compromised the utility’s corporate network, but did not affect the delivery of water and electricity.
ransomware
FBI Warns of Smart Farm Risk
In-brief:Farmers who are looking to make better use of technology need to start paying attention to security, or suffer the same fate as industries such as healthcare, the FBI warned in an industry note.
Updated: Vulnerability on 3m Systems Could Spread Ransomware To Schools
In-brief: Researchers at Cisco Systems said that they had identified more than 3 million “at risk” application servers running a vulnerable component that has been linked to ransomware infections. More than 1,600 of those systems have already been compromised, including many school libraries. Updated to add comment from Follett Corp. PFR 4/18/2016
Identity Thieves Misfile, Hit With Whopping Tax Bill
In-brief: Hackers believed to be responsible for a wave of tax identity theft scams got a rude awakening last month: a whopping bill from the IRS. A common mistake in their fraudulent filings appears to be the cause.
Updated: More Hospitals Felled by Ransomware
In-brief: Hospitals in Kentucky and California were the victims of ransomware early this week – more evidence of a sustained campaign of extortion malware attacks. (Editor’s note: This story was updated to include comment from affected hospitals. – PFR March 24, 2016)
