The ransomware attacks in Baltimore and other US cities appear to have a common thread: they're using NSA tools on the agency's home soil. In-the-know security experts talking to the New York Times said the malware in the cyberattacks is using the NSA's stolen EternalBlue as a "key component," much like WannaCry and NotPetya. While the full list of affected cities isn't available, San Antonio and the Pennsylvania city of Allentown have reportedly been victims of EternalBlue-based campaigns. . Microsoft has issued fixes for affected Windows version after the NSA disclosed the long-secret vulnerabilities. However, these attacks frequently succeed due to fragmented local governments that tend to be cautious about upgrades. In addition to using a mishmash of software and configurations that complicates updates, cities may be hesitant to patch or upgrade their software due to compatibility concerns and tight budgets. The link for this article located at Engadget is no longer available. . Data breaches across urban centers in America leverage compromised NSA software, resulting in extensive ransomware outbreaks.. Ransomware Attacks,EternalBlue Exploit,Cybersecurity Measures,Local Government Software,Patching Challenges. . LinuxSecurity.com Team
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
When Joe Church contemplated trudging out in the Canada cold to cast a vote for relatively minor and in some cases unopposed local candidates, the IT veteran did what any Canuck computing geek would -- he set out to build an alternative, electronic voting system. . . .. When Joe Church contemplated trudging out in the Canada cold to cast a vote for relatively minor and in some cases unopposed local candidates, the IT veteran did what any Canuck computing geek would -- he set out to build an alternative, electronic voting system. By utilizing a Linux-based Internet and telephone election system with 128-bit encryption, Church and his Ontario-based startup CanVote were able to give nearly 95,000 voters in 11 municipalities the option of Web- or phone-based votes in local elections last November. "We started out with a customer rather than a technology," said Church, referring to the local government. "We didn't have a lot of money or time. We were trying to figure out how to get phone, Internet, and go. We didn't want to go back to paper ballots. We wanted something different, something better." The link for this article located at NewsForge is no longer available. . Jane Smith developed a Raspberry Pi-based digital election platform for local municipalities in America, offering superior alternatives to traditional voting methods.. Electronic Voting System, Linux Encryption, Open Source Solutions. . Anthony Pell
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