Top IT News of the Week (25/2021)
#ITnews
IT news #1: US eye clinic data breach to potentially expose 500,000 patients’ medical information
Topic: Cybersecurity
A recent data breach that took place in the US at healthcare provider Wolfe Eye Clinic most likely to have exposed personal medical information of around half a million past and present patients. The company that’s based in Iowa is currently in the process of identifying and notifying the patients whose data might be at risk. The exposed data can include name, postal address, data of birth and Social Security number and in some cases, it could also be medical and health information.
IT news #2: Anglesey cyberattack to hit five secondary schools
Topic: Cybersecurity
All five secondary schools of the island of Anglesey have suffered a cyberattack which started earlier last week. It was confirmed by officials that the affected systems were disabled in order to restrain the incident and warned that personal data could also have been exposed such as emails. Chief Executive Annwen Morgan said the schools were likely to experience disruptions as a result of the breach.
IT news #3: Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s data recovery can take years
Topic: Cybersecurity
A data breach that took place on Christmas Eve involved more than 4,000 digital files stolen from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) during a data breach. It was confirmed by Chief Executive Terry A’Hearn that as a result, six month later, the company is now building a new IT system from scratch. Sepa revealed their backup systems failed to recover all of its environmental data sets. International Conti ransomware group demanded a ransomware pay-out which was rejected by Sepa. The stolen files were then released on the web shortly after. Most of the key services were restored including flooding forecasting but is currently lacking the new IT system to run it from. The data breach resulted in a £800,000 outlay spent on hiring data recovery specialists to recover from the attack. Police Scotland is yet to identify who is behind the attack despite it has previously indicated the likely involvement of international and organised crime.
IT news #4: Belgian city, Liege to suffer a ransomware attack
Topic: Cybersecurity
A ransomware attack that took place in Belgian city Liege affected the municipality’s IT network and online services. As a result of the attack, the majority of the population and the city’s civil status services were down. It affected town halls appointments, birth registrations, weddings and burial services. As a result of the workers’ inability to access the city’s IT network, these appointments have also been cancelled. It was described by officials as a ‘computer attack’, however, Belgian radio and TV stations reported about the involvement of the Ryuk ransomware gang. Local city networks are often the target of ransomware attacks due to the lack of investments on a robust cybersecurity, outdated servers and small IT staff.
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