Author Archives: AJ Vicens

Sinclair Broadcast Group suffers ransomware attack, the latest affecting media

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Sinclair Broadcast Group, a major television news and media provider, confirmed Monday that it was the victim of a ransomware attack that “disrupted” some office and operational networks. The attack apparently caused widespread technical difficulties and made it difficult for some stations to go on the air. Attackers also data from the company’s network, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The Maryland-based company began to investigate the attack on Saturday, Oct. 16, and by Sunday “identified that certain servers and workstations in its environment were encrypted with ransomware,” the company said in the filing. The incident comes after separate extortion events affected television stations owned by Cox Media Group, while attackers also have struck small newspapers in the U.S. Sinclair is the second-largest TV station operator in the U.S., and owns or operates 21 regional sports network brands, 185 television stations in 86 markets, along with multiple […]

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FBI, CISA warn water facility operators of ongoing malicious cyber activity

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Ransomware attackers are continuing to target water and wastewater facilities, U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials warned in a new bulletin based on incidents in five states. A cybersecurity advisory published Thursday from the FBI, the Cybersecurity Infrastructure and Security Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Security Agency highlighted incidents in five states between March of 2019 and August 2021, where systems were targeted by either ransomware attacks or other hacks. In one case, a former employee of a Kansas-based facility tried to “threaten drinking water safety by using his user credentials…to remotely access a facility computer,” according to the alert. Other incidents occurred in California, Maine, Nevada, and New Jersey. The notice pointed to “ongoing malicious cyber activity — both by known and unknown actors,” targeting information technology and operational technology networks, systems, and devices. “Recent ransomware incidents and ongoing threats demonstrate why all critical infrastructure owners and […]

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Olympus probes apparent cyberattack, its second in less than a month

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Japanese technology manufacturer Olympus announced Tuesday that it was investigating “a potential cybersecurity incident” affecting IT systems in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. The Oct. 12 statement was light on detail but said the “incident” was detected Sunday, Oct. 10. The Tokyo-based company has offices and subsidiaries around the world, which produce and sell equipment such as medical devices and various microscopes. The issue comes nearly a month after the company was the victim of a ransomware attack affecting its business units in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. That incident was reportedly the work of an attacker affiliated the BlackMatter ransomware group, one of the successor groups of DarkSide, the Russia-based gang behind the Colonial Pipeline attack in May, which became a major discussion point between President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral summit in June. BlackMatter is also linked to REvil, another prolific […]

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