The Massachusetts town of Arlington reports it has lost $445,945 in funds intended for a contractor working on a high school building project that were instead diverted to hackers orchestrating a wire fraud scam. Town Manager Jim Feeney alerted the …
New York State is beginning a $30 million shared services program designed to assist counties with cybersecurity for government systems across the state, including tools to protect against ransomware attacks. In the initial part of the program, New York’s counties …
The Massachusetts tow nof Tewksbury has been cheated out of more than $100,000 in a phishing scam, but hopes to recover most of the money through insurance claims, the town manager said. An employee of Tewskbury received a seemingly legitimate …
A district council in eastern Germany has declared a disaster after its computer systems were paralyzed by a hacker attack in what the federal cyber-security watchdog confirmed was the country’s first-ever “cyber-catastrophe.” Hackers knocked out the IT operations of the …
While the pandemic has highlighted the resilience of public sector cyber officials, it has also called attention to chronic challenges facing state information technology organizations including securing adequate budgets and talent, and coordinating security steps across agencies, a new report …
Hackers have finally done what bond issuers may have feared most from cyber criminals. A ransomware attack on Pleasant Valley Hospital in West Virginia was partly responsible for the hospital’s breach of its covenant agreement, according to a notice to …
Officials announced Saturday that no data was held for ransom and that a recovery operation is getting underway after a cyberattack a day earlier triggered a shutdown of city government computers in New Orleans. Chief Information Officer Kim LaGrue, speaking …
The ransomware attacks on public entities in Texas, Florida, Maryland, Georgia and elsewhere this year have raised questions not only about paying ransoms but also about the role of insurance in helping these targets get back to serving the public. …
As the threat from hackers and cybercriminals intensifies, a growing number of states are buying cyber insurance to protect themselves — and taxpayers. “It’s expensive. It’s a big budget item for us. But it’s absolutely worth it,” said Michael Hussey, …
