- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
National Guard Called To Stop Cyber Attacks In Louisiana
Posted on 10/24/20 at 10:16 am
Posted on 10/24/20 at 10:16 am
quote:
(Reuters) - The Louisiana National Guard was called in to stop a series of cyberattacks aimed at small government offices across the state in recent weeks, according to two people with knowledge of the events, highlighting the cyber threat facing local governments in the run up to the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
quote:
The situation in Louisiana follows a similar case in Washington state, according to a cybersecurity consultant familiar with the matter, where hackers infected some government offices with a type of malware known for deploying ransomware, which locks up systems and demands payment to regain access.
Senior U.S. security officials have warned here since at least 2019 that ransomware poses a risk to the U.S. election, namely that an attack against certain state government offices around the election could disrupt systems needed to administer aspects of the vote.
It is unclear if the hackers sought to target systems tied to the election in Louisiana or were simply hoping for a payday. Yet the attacks raised alarms because of the potential harm it could have led to and due to evidence suggesting a sophisticated hacking group was involved.
Experts investigating the Louisiana incidents found a tool used by the hackers that was previously linked to a group associated with the North Korean government, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
That tool was described to Reuters as a remote access trojan, or RAT, used to infiltrate computer networks. But cybersecurity analysts who have examined this RAT - known as “KimJongRat” - say some of its code had been publicized in a computer virus repository, where hackers could copy it; making attribution to North Korea less certain.
While staff at several government offices in northern Louisiana were successfully compromised as part of the campaign, according to the two people familiar with the incident response, the cyberattack was stopped in its early stages before significant harm was done.
The Louisiana National Guard declined to comment on the incidents. A spokesman for the Louisiana State Police said they were called in to investigate the cyberattacks, but declined further comment. The Governor’s office said they could not comment on an ongoing investigation.
LINK
Posted on 10/24/20 at 10:17 am to OweO
Not the first time cyber attacks on LA has happened. Was that a couple years ago when DMV, etc were shut down statewide because of ransomware?
Posted on 10/24/20 at 10:49 am to The Mick
IDK, but over the summer there were some businesses that were hacked (medical facilities) and I want to say it also included some state departments.
Posted on 10/24/20 at 11:07 am to The Mick
quote:
Not the first time cyber attacks on LA has happened. Was that a couple years ago when DMV, etc were shut down statewide because of ransomware?
That was in November. Last year.
You know what else was last year? The end of Game of Thrones.
This post was edited on 10/24/20 at 11:09 am
Posted on 10/24/20 at 11:26 am to OweO
computers are not secure. Anyone who thinks so is naive.
This post was edited on 10/24/20 at 11:27 am
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News