The Department of Energy and several other federal agencies were compromised in a Russian cyber-extortion gang’s global hack of a file-transfer program popular with corporations and governments, but the impact was not expected to be great, Homeland Security officials said Thursday. But for others among what could be hundreds of victims from industry to higher…

The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto says most of its priority systems are back after a ransomware attack affected its operations. Dr. Ronald Cohn, president and CEO of SickKids, says in a release Thursday that about 80 percent of the hospital’s priority systems have been restored. He says the cyberattack that began on Dec. 18 was dealt with…

Australians are on high alert after a hacking syndicate threatened to release the personal details of nearly 10 million individuals following a major data breach of the country’s largest private health insurer Medibank. The threat, which cyber security specialist groups Malware Hunter Team, CyberThint, and CyberKnow reposted on Twitter, was alleged to have been posted on the…

The Biden Administration has announced Australia will head the international fight against ransomware cyberattacks as part of the U.S.-led Counter Ransomware Initiative. The announcement, on Nov. 2, by the White House comes after the administration gathered 36 countries and the European Union (27 countries), for the Second International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) Summit October 31-November…

Increasing government bureaucracy is not necessary to mitigate the fallout of the Optus cyberattack, says an Australian business law expert. Australia’s second-largest telecommunication company, on Sept. 22, revealed a user known as “OptusData,” demanded US$1 million for the stolen personal details of 9.8 million Optus customers, including driver’s licence details, passport numbers, home and email addresses,…

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil has called on Australian telecommunication giant Optus to take responsibility for the recent massive data breach and provide free credit monitoring to millions of customers impacted. She noted that a security breach of this size shouldn’t be expected in a large telco provider and said that it will “result in…

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a memorandum detailing new cybersecurity rules for owners and operators of pipelines, a decision seen by the pipeline industry as a win. The Security Directive Pipeline-2021-02C (SD02C) is applicable to operators or owners of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines or a liquefied natural gas facility who…

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a memorandum detailing new cybersecurity rules for owners and operators of pipelines, a decision seen as a victory by the pipeline industry. The Security Directive Pipeline-2021-02C (SD02C) is applicable to operators or owners of hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines or a liquefied natural gas facility who…

RICHMOND, Va.—The information technology agency that serves Virginia’s legislature has been hit by a ransomware attack that has substantially affected its operations, state officials said Monday. Gov. Ralph Northam’s spokeswoman, Alena Yarmosky, confirmed the attack on Virginia’s Division of Legislative Automated Systems. In a brief statement provided to The Associated Press, Yarmosky said the governor…

Up to three million Australian homes were minutes away from losing power after a major energy network was hit by a ransomware attack from hackers in November. Queensland’s CS Energy was subjected to a sustained ransomware attack on Nov. 27, in what the chief executive officer has described as a worryingly accelerating trend. The attack…