Tag Archives: ransomware

As Students Go Back to School Threat Actors Go Back to Work

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School systems are at high risk for cyber attacks because threat actors know they are traditionally underfunded and understaffed, meaning many vulnerabilities may remain open.

Once in, hackers have access to incredibly valuable and personal information on children and their families, leading to ransom requests. In fact, the education sector is now the number one sector for ransomware attacks, with a 44% increase in the past year.

The eye-opening statistics don't stop there.

  • The education sector sees an average of 2,297 attacks weekly.
  • By the end of 2021, nearly one in three U.S. districts had experienced a breach.
  • The monetary losses to school districts following a cyber incident range from $50,000 to $1 million.
  • Six months into 2023, at least 120 schools faced a ransomware attack, compared to 188 in all of 2022.

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Defining the Value of Digital Assets

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Digital assets are more than just bitcoin and they are having an incredible impact on how legitimate and illegitimate transactions are conducted. Breaking it down to a simple level there are three basic forms of digital assets:

  • Digital currency is the electronic form of traditional currency. It is what is stored in a digital wallet, transmitted electronically and then turned into actual cash when withdrawn from a bank or ATM.
  • Cryptocurrency is the encrypted form of digital currency that uses blockchain technology to move it around. Cryptocurrency does not require a financial institution to verify the transaction.
  • Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a one-of-a-kind digital asset that represents a real-world item such as photos, music, videos and trading cards.

Unfortunately, as with any new technology, bad actors are finding ways to exploit these assets while the rest of the world is still trying to fully understand them. Continue reading →

The Insecurity Around Election Security

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The delays and confusion over the Iowa Caucus results has once again brought election security into the national spotlight. Voting has increasingly moved to electronic means following the 2000 elections that put the fate of the election in the "hanging chads" of Florida. Electronic voting machines seek to remove human-error in the actual voting process as well as vote tallying. However, many voting precincts are using technology that is 10-20 years old, introducing problems around maintaining and securing the systems for today's use.

One surprising conclusion around election security is the critical role of a paper trail. Having a paper back-up to electronic voting proved to be important in Iowa and is making counties nationwide re-examine the role of paper in modern elections with the end goal of accuracy being more important than speed.

To modernize voting procedures, systems, and products, Congress has earmarked over $700 million to replace paperless voting machines with more secure digital options that offer a paper trail. While voting is handled at the state and local level, more support from the federal level comes with a new policy that ensures the FBI brief state election officials when local election infrastructure has been compromised. However, many argue this does not go far enough and that the FBI should loop in election officials if they discover breaches of private sector companies involved in providing election technology and support. Continue reading →