Ransomware DataBreachToday.com

NY AG Action and $1M Fine Follow Back-to-Back Hacks That Affected 224,500 in 2023
An upstate New York-based medical practice must spend $2.25 million to improve its data security practices over the next five years, plus pay state regulators up to a $1 million fine following an investigation into two ransomware attacks days apart in 2023 that affected nearly 224,500 people.

United States’ Top Cyber Defense Agency Mobilizes Nationwide Election Support Hub
The director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said Wednesday the agency is establishing an election operations room to help counter foreign interference and support state officials amid escalating cyber and physical threats to the 2024 vote.

Insight Partners-Led Round Boosts US Growth, Fuels Threat Intelligence for Filigran
Filigran’s $35 million Series B funding, led by Insight Partners, positions the company to scale its threat intelligence and proactive security capabilities while expanding its U.S. footprint. Plans include doubling the engineering team and strengthening breach and attack simulation capabilities.

Vendor Blames Delta's Outage Severity on Its 'Own Response and IT Infrastructure'
CrowdStrike has countersued customer Delta Air Lines, accusing the airline of employing a lawsuit and seeking damages in "a desperate attempt to shift blame" for Delta's own IT inadequacies having exacerbated its outage, unlike "other major airlines" that quickly resumed operations.

Normalyze’s AI-Powered DSPM Technology Boosts Proofpoint’s Data Visibility, Control
Proofpoint will acquire DSPM startup Normalyze to strengthen its data security offerings across cloud, SaaS and hybrid environments. The company aims to give security teams enhanced visibility, control and human-centric risk reduction for sensitive data across complex infrastructures.

Foreign Minister Tajani Condemns Conspiracy as 'Threat to Democracy'
The foreign minister of Italy condemned Monday as a threat to democracy the private investigation firm that prosecutors in Milan say illegally accessed government databases for years to assemble illicit dossiers. Four individuals are under house arrest.

Foreign Influence Campaigns Intensify as Experts Tout Election Security Upgrades
More than 50 million votes have already been cast in the 2024 United States presidential elections, but new reports indicate the cyber and physical threats continue to escalate - with potential implications that could extend well beyond Election Day.

Scaling Business Often a Challenge in the Country, Experts Told Lawmakers
Dependence on foreign capital in the United Kingdom for investments into artificial intelligence will stymie British technological progress, a parliamentary committee heard Tuesday. An absence of capital makes it hard for British firms to scale operations, said Michael Holmes, CEO at Scale Space

When a large hospital in an urban area is shut down by ransomware, the disruption can be significant, but when a rural hospital faces a similar cyber outage, the impact on patient safety and the community can be extreme, said Nitin Natarajan of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Academics Build AI Agent With OpenAI to Execute Phone Scams at Scale
Hackers can use OpenAI's real-time voice API to carry out for less than a dollar deepfake scams involving voice impersonations of government officials or bank employees to swindle victims, said researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Forrester's Cody Scott on Why 2025 Will Be Pivotal for Security Leaders
Forrester's 2025 Predictions for Cybersecurity, Risk and Privacy report forecasts that security leaders will scale back generative AI investments by 10%. AI productivity gains have fallen short of expectations, forcing CISOs to reprioritize budgets and reassess gen AI’s role in security operations.

Series D Funding on $4.2B Valuation to Support OT, Medical Device Security Growth
Armis has closed a $200 million Series D funding round on a $4.2 billion valuation to drive growth in cyber exposure management with a focus on acquisitions and federal expansion. CEO Yevgeny Dibrov says the funds will accelerate Armis' work in operational technology and medical device security.

US Treasury Issues Regulations Restricting Investments in Foreign Semiconductors, AI
The U.S. Department of Treasury published final regulations Monday for investors planting dollars abroad that aims to restrict investments from the United States into sensitive technologies developed by foreign adversaries while continuing to ensure open investments practices remain intact.

Top Tier Capital, HarbourVest Support Concentric's Path to Autonomous Data Security
Supported by Top Tier Capital Partners and HarbourVest Partners, Concentric AI’s $45 million Series B funding round will drive product innovation in identity governance, risk monitoring and data breach investigation - critical areas for enterprises seeking resilient data security solutions.

How Might Election Outcome Affect HHS' Healthcare Cyber Work?
Regardless of who wins the upcoming Presidential election, one thing is apparent: As the final months of the Biden administration wrap up, regulators at the agency charged with enforcing HIPAA are racing to complete unfinished work they deem as critically important to healthcare sector cyber.

Rust-Based Ransomware Employs Aggressive Anti-Detection Tactics
Operators of a Russian-speaking ransomware group launched a new encryptor with enhanced measures for defeating cyber defenders including wiping logs, disrupting backup systems and stopping decryption without insiders knowledge. The same group disrupted London hospitals in a July attack.

FBI Probing 'Specific Malicious Activity Targeting' Telecommunications Providers
The FBI said Friday afternoon it is investigating Chinese nation-state hacking of commercial telecommunications infrastructure following a news report that Beijing actors targeted data from phones used by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.

While ransomware attacks against medical devices don't happen often, disruptive cyber incidents that affect the availability of the IT systems that medical devices rely on are a big concern that needs the industry's critical attention, said Jessica Wilkerson of the FDA.

Also: Payment Card Theft Trends, Internet Archive Update
This week, bulk data transfers to China, credit card theft, the Internet Archive still recovering and the Change Healthcare tally is now 100M. Ukraine fought phishers, civil society against the UN cybercrime treaty, TA866 and virtual hard drives spread malware. Google verified Sir Isaac Newton.

Mandiant Says High-Severity Flaw Could Give Attackers Remote Unauthenticated Access
Researchers at Mandiant say a new threat cluster, first observed June 27, has been exploiting a Fortinet zero-day that the network edge device manufacturer publicly disclosed Wednesday. Researchers said they can't assess the threat actor's motivation or location.