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Emboldening Cyber Attackers for Dummies

Scroll down to see this week’s “What Now” on how our attitudes can eventually discourage attackers.

Meanwhile … White House report dishes deets on all 11 major government breaches from 2023, a 9.9% increase in cybersecurity incidents in 2023, totaling 32,211 cases. The most common incident was “improper usage,” while phishing and malicious emails saw the largest year-on-year increase. Significant breaches included ransomware attacks on the Department of Health and Human Services, repeated data exposures at the Treasury Department, and successful phishing of an employee at the Office for the Inspector General. According to the official White House release, the report is to be used as an outline for the administration’s cyber investment priorities. - excerpt from CISO Series.

📰 Headline Highlights 📰

• New York Times source code stolen using exposed GitHub token

• Microsoft, Google pledge 'low cost' cybersecurity services to rural hospitals

• ‘Cyber incident’ shuts down Cleveland City Hall

• Hacker Accesses Internal ‘Tile’ Tool That Provides Location Data to Cops

• Cyber Insurance Claims Hit Record High in North America

• NATO to tackle Russian spying and sabotage operations, says Stoltenberg

• City governments in Michigan, New York face shutdowns after ransomware attacks

• Panera warns of employee data breach after March ransomware attack

• Massachusetts town loses $445,000 in email scam

In other news, Russia attempting to sway election and EU referendum in Moldova, warn US, UK and Canada

MUST READ: Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Opens Inves­ti­ga­tion into Car Man­u­fac­tur­ers’ Col­lec­tion and Sale of Dri­vers’ Data

🤷‍♀️ What now?

How to do the opposite of emboldening hackers and ransomware attacks?

For starters, medical institutions should simply refuse to pay ransom. Maybe they need the help of the patients.

The main threat of ransomware attacks in hospital and other medical institutions is the release of patient’s medical data. What if our medical information is out there for everyone to see? Do you know if your information is even already out there?

LOOK OUT: Ascension: Hackers stole some patient data but didn't breach electronic health record system

This week, we talk about how cyber attacks are trending. It’s no small secret that they are increasing. We have to think about it in a manner that will discourage attackers. Hexagon Center and the team at HX Weekly will work together with us to tackle this problem together.

Inside Hexagon

As part of our anniversary celebration, we have launched a new program. Let us introduce you to the newest addition: MyCredit Specialist or Credit Specialist. Let him or her help you freeze or unfreeze your accounts and offer suggestions on protecting your credit. Find your specialist on hexagoncenter.org

HOUSEKEEPING

Glossary/Legend:

• Cyber Attackers and Cyber Predators - these terms refer to people who use any kind of technology, including cell phones, to prey on us.

• Phishing - an attempt to steal sensitive information, typically in the form of usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, bank account information or other important data in order to utilize or sell the stolen information.

• Ransomware - a type of malware that prevents a victim from accessing their files, devices, systems, or data by encrypting or locking them. The attacker will only make the data accessible again after receiving a ransom payment.

• Source Code - text listing of commands to be compiled or assembled into an executable computer program.

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