House File 2461, which passed the Iowa House unanimously March 2, would make the development and deployment of ransomware illegal in Iowa except in cases of testing or research. The bill defines ransomware as “a computer or data contaminant, encryption or lock that is placed or introduced into a computer,…
Millions of devices are vulnerable to cyberthreats due to a bug in the software tool known as Log4j. The flaw was made public two weeks ago on Dec. 9, and allows hackers to remotely execute code on an organization’s systems, giving them an open door to steal data, mine cryptocurrency…
The information technology agency serving the Virginia Legislature was hit by a ransomware attack Friday that has caused significant damage, the Associated Press reports. The malware damaged “all of the agency’s internal servers, including those for bill drafting, the budget system and the General Assembly voicemail system,” according to an email…
Sinclair Broadcast Group said Monday that a ransomware attack disabled multiple servers and workstations and resulted in stolen data. The parent company for 185 U.S. television stations, including KDSM-TV in Des Moines, said in a release that what data was taken and the full extent of the attack is unknown,…
Ahead of the Secure Iowa Conference in West Des Moines on Oct. 6, the Business Record spoke with the event’s keynote speaker Dustin Carmack, a technology fellow at the Heritage Foundation, about the changing cybersecurity landscape, the need for better information sharing between the public and private sectors, and how the state…
Ransomware group BlackMatter is demanding $5.9 million from New Cooperative Inc., a Fort Dodge-based grain cooperative, following a ransomware attack around Sept. 17, Bloomberg reports. It is unclear how extensive the damage to New Cooperative’s systems is, but a post on BlackMatter’s website said the group stole financial information, human resources data,…
When the network alarms tipped off staff in the late hours between June 1 and 2 at Des Moines Area Community College, the information technology department’s quick actions might have prevented an overseas ransomware attack from diving any deeper into the network servers. “When we talked to the FBI, they…
More than 27,000 people have been contacted after UnityPoint Health was affected by a ransomware attack against third-party vendor Blackbaud, a cloud-based provider of fundraising and finance services for education and nonprofit entities, reports KCCI. The attack, which took place between Feb. 7-May 20, impacted patients and donors within the…
The Governor’s STEM Advisory Council has confirmed it was a customer of a financial services contractor targeted in a massive international ransomware attack earlier this year, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reported. The council is one of three confirmed Iowa customers of Blackbaud, a cloud-based provider of fundraising and finance services…
A third-party service provider for at least two Iowa nonprofits experienced a massive ransomware attack, affecting more than 20 universities and nonprofits in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada. Blackbaud, an international provider of cloud-based fundraising and finance services, notified the Iowa State University Foundation on July 16 that a…