At a glance.
- Crown Resorts falls victim to the GoAnywhere leak.
- US hospital still struggling after 2021 data breach.
- Oakland police union says city mishandled recent data breach.
Crown Resorts falls victim to the GoAnywhere leak.
Australian gaming and entertainment group Crown Resorts has disclosed it was contacted by a ransomware group that claims to have illegally obtained company files, ABC reports. The hackers say they gained access to the data as a result of the breach of file transfer service GoAnywhere, which has been linked to a number of recent cyberincidents. The casino giant stated, "We are investigating the validity of this claim as a matter of priority…We are continuing to work with law enforcement and have notified our gaming regulators as part of the ongoing investigation and will provide relevant updates, as necessary.” It appears no customer data were exposed and Crown’s operations have not been impacted. News.com.au notes that the incident is the latest in a recent surge of cyberattacks targeting high-profile Australian organizations including insurance mobile operator Optus and, more recently, fintech company Latitude Financial Services.
US hospital still struggling after 2021 data breach.
Nearly two years after Johnson Memorial Health, a healthcare provider located in the US state of Indiana, suffered a ransomware attack, the hospital is still recovering from the incident. In October 2021, the Hive ransomware group, which has targeted over fifteen hundred hospitals, school districts, and financial firms in more than eighty countries, infiltrated the health system’s networks and demanded a ransom of $3 million in Bitcoin. Health and Medical News recounts that Johnson Memorial staff were unable to access patients’ records, and the hospital had to take several critical systems offline, forcing them to divert sick patients to other providers. Staff were pushed to the limit as they were needed to work around the clock to make sure the patients already admitted received proper care. Dona Thomas, an ER nurse at Johnson Memorial, explains, “Our lives were absolute chaos and mayhem for months on end. And we are still reeling from the effects of that.” It took the hospital six months to return to normal operations, and even now it’s dealing with the costs of the breach. Cyberinsurance has been little help, as Johnson Memorial’s initial insurance claim still has not been paid, and the hospital’s premium increased 60% as a result of the incident. Dr. David Dunkle, chief executive officer of the health system, said, “We are investing so much in cybersecurity right now that I don't know how small hospitals will be able to afford [to operate] much longer.”
Oakland police union says city mishandled recent data breach.
The city of Oakland, located in the US state of California, experienced a ransomware attack last month, and now the Oakland Police Officers' Association is threatening to file a lawsuit over what they feel was lack of response and transparency from the city. As KTVU FOX 2 explains, data belonging to several dozen police officers, as well as other city employees, were exposed in the breach, and police union officials say they’ve been left in the dark about the impact of the attack and what steps the city has taken to prevent it from happening again. Oakland Police Officers' Association President Barry Donelan said in a statement, "Oakland city leaders talk about accountability, yet there has been zero accountability and a deafening silence for the safety and financial security of the city's valued employees." Meanwhile, ABC7 News reports that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is still conducting negotiations with the hackers, and the police union alleges that Mayor Sheng Thao and the interim city administrator are withholding information from the victims. Donelan says six weeks after the attack he received an email from the city informing him that he, as a victim of the attack, was eligible for free credit reporting, but it was little help. "When you call the phone number they gave us, it responds back to all of us saying all your information has been compromised, that's it," Donelan explained.