Tag: hacker group

  • Frontier Communications suffered a cyber security breach last week that shut down their systems

    Frontier Communications suffered a cyber security breach last week that shut down their systems

    Frontier, a leading internet provider that’s coverage area includes millions of customers across the United States, suffered a cyber security breach last week that forced them to shut down some systems to prevent further damage.

    “On April 14, 2024, Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. [..] detected that a third party had gained unauthorized access to portions of its information technology environment,” the company revealed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday.

    They also stated based on their findings that a third party entity from a cybercrime group was likely responsible for the event and may have gained access to some PII (Personal Identifying Information). They have not yet stated whether the PII data likely belonged to customers, employees or both.

    As of writing Frontier has stated that systems are back online, but from the responses to their company Twitter page that doesn’t appear to be the case across the board.

    Customers are also stating that when calling for support they’re being directed to an automatic message and cannot reach a live person at this time. In general, Frontier appears to be doing damage control as they struggle to regain control of the systems that were impacted by the cyber attack.

    Internet provides are a popular target for cyber crime group, as a disruption that makes national news is highly profitable when it comes to bargaining with the affected entities. To add insult to injury the data they’re able to collect during a successful attack is also often profitable on the dark web after the fact.

    Even if your business is not a nationwide internet provider, that doesn’t mean you are safe from attacks such as these. Data leaks following these attacks can occur from successful attacks, including credentials or payment information for business accounts.

    Attackers also cast a wide net when conducting attackers such as these, your business may be inadvertently included on an attack intended for another business. You may even be the primary target if they’re looking for businesses of a specific niche or location. It’s foolhardy to ignore the warning signs attacks like this pose. If multi-billion dollar companies are struggling to prevent attacks such as these, what hope does your business have in preventing them?

    That’s where Valley Techlogic comes in, we offer cyber security coverage for the following elements all under one monthly plan:

    In addition to these cyber security preventions, we also offer ongoing backups, help desk services, preventative maintenance, project management and support and more. Reach out today to learn more.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Western Digital suffers a ransomware attack, with hackers requesting an 8 figure sum and leaking image from internal meeting

    Western Digital suffers a ransomware attack, with hackers requesting an 8 figure sum and leaking image from internal meeting

    Western Digital is a well-known name in the data production and storage industry. Established in 1970, they were one of the original players in the process of making semiconductors and they have a storied history that began with calculator chips, included a bankruptcy as well as being at the forefront of floppy disc creation in the 1980’s to eventually the hard drives they became known for in the 1990’s. Chances are good you have had a Western Digital drive in one of your devices (you may even have one now).

    Despite being leaders in the digital storage industry, they’ve unfortunately proven no one is immune when it comes to ransomware attacks. While this story emerged mid-April (and the attack occurred March 26) we have an update as the hacker group “BlackCat” taunts Western Digital by leaking an internal video conference on the topic just this week. They leaked an image from the meeting on social media coyly dubbing the people included “the finest threat hunters Western Digital has to offer”. A clear mockery of their attempts to remediate the threat thus far.

    The hacker group is clearly trying to up the ante to get the company to fork over the ransom they’ve requested, a sum reportedly coming in at an eye watering 8 figures. For context a typical ransomware payment paid out by a business in Quarter 1 of 2022 was $228, 125. For individuals payouts hover around $6000. In a nutshell, ransomware is a lucrative business for those with unscrupulous motives.

    To make matters worse, it’s been reported that the group BlackCat has access to multiple Western Digital systems. Meaning this attack was well orchestrated and highly effective at not only making their data vulnerable but creating a disruption to all parts of their business. Western Digital has reported requested the services of outside security and forensic experts to try and recover what they can but needless to say this is an expensive lesson for their business both in money and time lost as well as their reputation in the technical industry.

    You would think being a leader in data storage that their backup recovery process would be flawless, unfortunately when hackers gain domain level access even the best laid plans for your data can go out the window. That’s why Valley Techlogic offers a multi-pronged approach to backups.

    Many clients like the idea that all their data is at their fingertips within their on-premises server. The server itself serves as a physical reminder that their data is ready and available when they need it.

    Unfortunately, having your data all in one place is not a good idea. Other than ransomware attacks such as this, it also leaves your business vulnerable if your server fails for whatever reason. We’ve seen it before; many clients aren’t expecting their servers to just give out or for something like a fire or other disaster to affect them and when it happens, they’re left scrambling. The process to recover from scratch is not always guaranteed and even if a recovery is possible, it can take as long as 3 months to get back mostly to where you were. Generally, a 100% recovery is not possible in these instances.

    That’s why at Valley Techlogic our backup solution TechVault is available and used by each of our clients. We have this chart on the benefits of our TechVault solution.

    You can also learn more about it by visiting here. If the Western Digital breach has left you concerned for the safety of your data, or you would just like more information on our backup solution you can request a consultation with our expert sales staff here.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.