Garfield County, Utah, was recently affected by ransomware. Local government is an increasingly attractive target for criminals because of its high dependence on information technology, and generally poor security. Elected officials are under constant pressure to spend available funds on something visible and appealing to the electorate rather than unseen technology. . Little is known about the Garfield attack. In brief, it appears that an employee clicked a phishing link that gave the criminals access. Having gained access, the ransomware apparently encrypted enough systems to require County officials to switch to paper administration; although it is reported that the courts, elections and sheriff's office were not affected. The link for this article located at SecurityWeek is no longer available. . A recent incident in Larimer County exposed serious flaws in the cybersecurity measures of local government systems following a ransomware breach.. Ransomware Attack, Cybersecurity Threats, Phishing Risks, Local Government Security. . Brittany Day
U.S. Defense Department pleas to computer hackers to quit mischief-making appear to be falling largely on deaf ears, making spotting potential national security threats more difficult, a top Pentagon expert says.. . .. U.S. Defense Department pleas to computer hackers to quit mischief-making appear to be falling largely on deaf ears, making spotting potential national security threats more difficult, a top Pentagon expert says. Despite recent appeals, "we're not seeing any diminishing" of the pace of attacks on Defense Department systems, on Tuesday said Richard Schaeffer, who heads the cyber-security office in the Pentagon arm responsible for command, control, communications and intelligence. The link for this article located at ZDNet is no longer available. . The initiatives taken by the U.S. Defense Department to diminish cyber intrusions appear to be falling short, adding layers of complexity to national security strategies.. Pentagon Cybersecurity, Hacker Attacks, National Security Threats, Cyber Risk Management. . Anthony Pell
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