Stay up-to-date on what is happening with privacy laws, as well as stories about leaks of private information from security breaches in the public and private sector. 360Civic has provided emergency services to individuals, businesses, police organizations and courts in the wake of hacking incidents and ransomware attacks.
Last updated: July 18, 2024
To Our Friends in the Media
If you are a member of the media and would like more information about any of these stories, or input from our CEO on privacy laws, the danger of privacy hacks, or how online privacy protection works, please contact us at [email protected].
Phishing and Ransomware Attacks
Costs From UnitedHealth's Ransomware Attack Soar to at Least $2.3 Billion
The health insurance provider mentioned the estimate in a second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday. The $2 billion cost estimate is based on the millions UnitedHealth has already forked over to restore its systems from the attack, which caused a major outage in February.
Dual Ransomware Attacks Present a Big Threat to State and Local Governments
Ransomware attacks just got even nastier. Picture this: An organization is hit by ransomware and it’s scrambling to recover. Then, it happens again, often with a different malware strain. Welcome to the world of dual ransomware attacks. Here are five questions about them to help you prepare.
Evolve Bank suffers ransomware attack
The breach happened on February 9 but was not discovered until May 29. Initially Evolve Bank thought it was a hardware issue but soon discovered it was malicious activity caused by an employee accidentally clicking on a malicious link.
Critical infrastructure ransomware payments, recovery costs spike
Organizations in the critical national infrastructure sectors had mean and median ransomware payments reach $3.225 million and $2.54 million this year, respectively, representing a sixfold and 41-fold increase over the past year, with the highest payments recorded among lower education and federal government entities, The Register reports.
Dallas County: Data of 200,000 exposed in 2023 ransomware attack
Dallas County is notifying over 200,000 people that the Play ransomware attack, which occurred in October 2023, exposed their personal data to cybercriminals.
Indiana County Files Disaster Declaration Following Ransomware Attack
A County in Indiana, US, has filed a disaster declaration following a ransomware attack on local government networks, which has prevented the administration of critical services.
Ransomware attack paralyzes thousands of car dealerships nationwide into July
Cybercriminals paralyzed car dealership software provider CDK Global with back-to-back ransomware attacks. The result has car dealerships reverting to paper and pens to work out many of their computerized functions.
Red Tape Is Making Hospital Ransomware Attacks Worse
Crippling ransomware attacks against hospitals and health care providers are on the rise. These ruthless cyberattacks can take medical systems offline for weeks—canceling appointments and surgeries and causing harm to patients. Doctors and nurses are plunged into crisis situations where they resort to using pen and paper, while IT staff work to make systems safe and bring them back online. The recovery can be long-lasting and brutal. Health care professionals, lawyers, and cybersecurity experts tell WIRED that amid the chaos caused by criminal hackers, a little-known bureaucratic process can slow down hospitals and medical providers getting their systems working again.
FedEx and UPS phishing scams are becoming more widespread - here's what to know
Cybersecurity researchers from Abnormal security have warned of a new phishing campaign in which the threat actors impersonated UPS and FedEx, and sought to steal people’s sensitive and payment data.
Chicago Children’s Hospital Says 791,000 Impacted by Ransomware Attack
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago is informing hundreds of thousands of individuals that their personal and health information has been compromised as a result of a ransomware attack.
Lancaster County officials warn of phishing email sent from Office of Aging employee account
A Lancaster County employee’s email account was compromised Thursday morning, and officials are warning county residents not to open an email sent from an employee from the county Office of Aging.
The subject line of the email is “County Tax,” county officials said. If users click links in the email, their email addresses can be temporarily hacked and cause emails to go out from their addresses, creating a chain reaction, a county spokesperson said.
Why Things Can’t Go Back To Normal After The Change Healthcare Attack
The ransomware attack on Change Healthcare earlier this year emphasizes what we have seen time and time again: There’s a repetitive cycle of outrage followed by a return to "business as usual," which is detrimental and unsustainable to the healthcare industry. Yet, this habitual fading of attention undermines the severity of these breaches and the pressing need for a sustained, proactive cybersecurity response.
Threats Against Judges
Man Accused of Attempted Assassination of Brett Kavanaugh Could Be Tried Soon, Amid Rising Threats to Judges
Two years after the incident, if a plea agreement isn’t reached by July 19, prosecutors will move to set a trial date.
FBI probes threats to Colorado judges in Trump case
Police in Colorado are investigating threats made against judges who ruled Donald Trump cannot be listed on the state's presidential primary ballot.
Denver Police said they were providing extra patrols around the homes of justices in the city.
Half of Brazil's judges have suffered life threats
According to a study undertaken by the Judicial Research Center of the Association of Judges of Brazil in partnership with the Latin American Federation of Judges and the Institute of Social, Political and Economic Research (Ipespe), South America's largest country ranks second only to Bolivia in the number of magistrates whose lives have been threatened, Agencia Brasil reported this week.
Privacy Laws
After some lost battles, privacy laws continue their steady march across the states
Data privacy advocates took a couple of losses recently in the United States. A proposed data privacy law in Vermont, which would have been one of the strongest in the country, was vetoed in June by Republican Gov. Phil Scott. And after a very convincing head-fake, hopes for a federal privacy bill were dashed, again. But the steady march towards data dignity for all continues with data privacy laws in Oregon, Texas, and Florida all taking effect earlier this month.
Cantwell says she’ll cut path for privacy bill despite opposition
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell said the panel plans to mark up much-delayed federal data privacy legislation before the August congressional recess — and gave the bill a puncher’s chance even though its House companion has faced setbacks.
A big privacy law is moving through Congress. So why do privacy hawks hate it?
Privacy legislation is the white whale of American politics, at once obsessively sought after, and frustratingly out of reach. A bipartisan, bicameral bill called the American Privacy Rights Act, which is being considered by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Thursday, promised to change that. And yet, despite its potential to overhaul some aspects of internet privacy, a new version of the bill has provoked an outpouring of opposition from all corners of the privacy and civil rights community.
New privacy laws allow consumers to reduce website tracking
Colorado laws are making it more difficult for businesses to buy and sell their customers’ personal information. The Colorado Public Interest Research Group — CoPIRG for short — told FOX31 that as part of the Colorado Privacy Act, a new tool available for download on July 1 will enable people to opt out of companies collecting their information online.
What you need to know about the Texas data privacy law taking effect on July 1
Starting on July 1, 2024, consumers in Texas will have more control over their personal online data. The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act takes effect on that day after being passed in 2023.