Louisana's state government has responded to a suspected ransomware attack by shutting down many of its websites and email systems.
Every agency in the state (population 4.6 million) has been affected by the shutdown following the attack which follows a spate of other ransomware onslaughts targeting small US towns and cities in recent months.
Governor John Bel Edwards confirmed the attack via Twitter, saying the Office of Technology Services (OTS) identified a "cyber security threat" and immediately initiated its security protocols, taking servers down - an action which affected many online services.
Edwards also confirmed that the OTS said the attack was "similar" to the ransomware which plagued the other affected US towns and cities of over the summer.
40% of cybersecurity professionals think paying ransomware demands should be illegal Ex White House CIO attacks insurance firms for 'fuelling ransomware industry' The most popular ransomware strains targeting UK businesses
"There is no anticipated data loss and the state did not pay a ransom," he added. "LA State Police and several federal agencies are investigating this attempted ransomware attack."
Not much is known about the type of ransomware attack that has crippled computer systems across the US this year other than the small information that has been leaked from each report.
Following the simultaneous attack on 22 Texas municipalities, we know that the ransomware attack exploited the island hopping method of infiltration, thanks to confirmation from the mayor Keene Gary Heinrich.
We also know that the attacks have been successful in some cases. When two Florida towns were hit in as many weeks, IT Pro reported that both towns paid the collective $1.1 million ransom (£850,000) to get their systems back online - a practice widely condemned in the industry.
The ransomware attack on the city of Baltimore was reportedly caused by the Robin Hood strain but it's not clear if the same strain has been the culprit of the other attacks.
The wave of attacks over the summer prompted the FBI to seek private sector support, according to reports of a closed-door meeting held back in September 2019.
The number of US public sector ransomware attacks doubled in 2019 and the invitation for private-public sector collaboration was described as an unprecedented admission from the FBI that it needs private sector assistance to augment investigatory powers.
Although the official number of attacks doubled, it's believed the number is much higher and often attacks simply go unreported.
-
Prolific ransomware operator added to Europe’s Most Wanted list as US dangles $10 million rewardNews The US Department of Justice is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Volodymyr Viktorovych Tymoshchuk, an alleged ransomware criminal.
-
Jaguar Land Rover “did the right thing” shutting down systems to thwart cyber attackNews The attack on Jaguar Land Rover highlights the growing attractiveness of the automotive sector
-
Ransomware attack on IT supplier disrupts hundreds of Swedish municipalitiesNews The attack on IT systems supplier Miljödata has impacted public sector services across the country
-
A notorious hacker group is ramping up cloud-based ransomware attacksNews The Storm-0501 threat group is refining its tactics, according to Microsoft, shifting away from traditional endpoint-based attacks and toward cloud-based ransomware.
-
Security researchers have just identified what could be the first ‘AI-powered’ ransomware strain – and it uses OpenAI’s gpt-oss-20b modelNews Using OpenAI's gpt-oss:20b model, ‘PromptLock’ generates malicious Lua scripts via the Ollama API.
-
Data I/O shuts down systems in wake of ransomware attack
News Regulatory filings by Data I/O suggest the costs of dealing with the attack could be significant
-
Average ransom payment doubles in a single quarterNews Targeted social engineering and data exfiltration have become the biggest tactics as three major ransomware groups dominate
-
BlackSuit ransomware gang taken down in latest law enforcement sting – but members have already formed a new groupNews The notorious gang has seen its servers taken down and bitcoin seized, but may have morphed into a new group called Chaos
