

Yet on Dec 8, 2020, FireEye announced it had been breached, and not just data but also some of its most valuable tools had been stolen.

Previously, the cybersecurity firm FireEye had been the first call for help at government agencies and international companies who had been hacked by sophisticated attackers. Recent Breach of a Top Security FirmĪccenture, one of the largest security firms around, confirmed in August 2021 that it was hit by a ransomware attack, with a hacker group using the LockBit ransomware reportedly threatening to release the company’s data and sell insider information. These malicious actors may also make extortion demands, by threating to release stolen data if a ransom is not paid, or may come back after the fact and demand an additional payment in order to prevent the release of stolen data. Malicious actors then demand a ransom payment, usually in the form of cryptocurrency, in exchange for decryption.
#Ransomwhere cdot software#
The network has been disconnected from the internet for now, and many employees are working on a pen and paper system.” continues the website.Īt the time of writing, it is still impossible to evaluate the impact of the attack.Ransomware is a form of malicious software (malware) that is designed to encrypt files on a device, making the files and the systems that rely on them unusable. “Employees have been ordered to shut off their computers until the source of the problem has been found.

The Colorado National Guard and the FBI are working to restore normal operations. The attack forced CDOT employees to stop using computers and input data using pen and paper.Īccording to CDOT spokeswoman Amy Ford, the ransomware attack did not affect construction projects, signs, variable message boards and “critical traffic operations,”. It’s ahead of our tools.” Brandi Simmons, a spokeswoman for the state’s Office of Information Technology, told the Denver Post. “The variant of SamSam ransomware just keeps changing. All the infected systems were taken down once again. “A spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office of Information Technology says this is a variation of the same ransomware that hit computers last week, when criminals demanded a Bitcoin payment in exchange for freeing up the software.”Īpproximately 20% of the machines infected by the first wave of attacks had been restored when a variation of the original Samsam ransomware hit the Colorado Department of Transportation for the second time. “Eight days into a ransomware attack, state information technology officials detected more malicious activity on the Colorado Department of Transportation computer systems Thursday.” reads the post published on the website.

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The investigation on the first wave of infections revealed that the infected systems were running Windows OS and McAfee anti-virus software. The second incident occurred while the agency was still in the process of recovering its systems from the first attack.Įxactly two weeks ago, the SamSam ransomware made the headlines because it infected over 2,000 computers at the Colorado Department of Transportation (DOT). For the second time in a few days, a variant of the dreaded SamSam ransomware paralyzed the CDOT.
