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New Jersey Hospital Pays Massive Ransom

Officials have decided to pay roughly $670,000 in ransom following a ransomware attack on the University Hospital in New Jersey. The hospital was likely forced into this decision after being unable to restore from backups the 240GB of data stolen in the attack on their systems. It’s not entirely clear what information was stolen, but given the haste of payment it was likely highly sensitive patient data.

COVID-Related Cyberattacks Target Canadian Companies

A recent survey revealed that over 25% of all Canadian business organizations had been targeted by a COVID-19-themed cyberattack since the beginning of the year. Most of the organizations surveyed also reported seeing a significant rise in overall cyberattacks since the pandemic began. Worrisome findings also revealed that 38% of organizations surveyed were unsure if they had fallen victim to any type of cyberattack, which could mean the amount of customer information for sale on black markets could be significantly higher.

Boom! Mobile Website Compromised

Customer data has been compromised for users of the Boom! Mobile website, which was infiltrated by malicious JavaScript. It’s still unclear how the unauthorized code got onto the site or how long was active. Officials for the mobile company have confirmed they do not store payment card data and that no Boom! Mobile accounts were compromised.

Major Ransomware Attacks Increase Through Q3

Researchers have reported a massive increase in ransomware attacks in Q3 of 2020, with the Maze group being responsible for 12% of all attacks. They also reported that Ryuk ransomware variants were responsible for an average of 20 attacks per week. With the ongoing neglect of cybersecurity in major corporations, ransomware attacks will likely continue as long as their authors find them profitable.

Chicago Food Delivery Service Stricken with Data Breach

Nearly 800,000 customer records were compromised following a data breach at ChowBus, a Chicago-based food delivery service. With roughly 440,000 unique email addresses exposed, many individuals are now more susceptible to additional phishing attacks or identity theft. Fortunately, however, ChowBus does not store payment card information on its site.