Cybersecurity in 60 Seconds - May 22 2024 - EPA Warns of Exposed Utilities / Google Deletes Data / Researchers Get DARPA Money To Secure AI

EPA Warns of Rising Cyberattacks on Water Utilities

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an enforcement alert warning that cyberattacks on water utilities are becoming more frequent and severe, with about 70% of inspected utilities violating standards meant to prevent breaches. Recent attacks have been linked to groups affiliated with Russia, Iran, and China, which could lead to the disruption of safe water supply to homes and businesses. The EPA urges utilities to improve protections, as cyberattacks could lead to interruptions in water treatment and storage, damage to equipment, and alteration of chemical levels to hazardous amounts. The agency offers free training to water utilities that need help and emphasizes the need for utilities to develop a risk assessment plan that addresses cybersecurity, backup systems, the usage of default passwords.

 

Google Cloud Accidently Deletes Customer Account and Backups

Google Cloud has suffered one of its biggest blunders ever, accidentally deleting a giant customer account, including all backups, for no reason. UniSuper, an Australian pension fund managing $135 billion, had its entire account wiped out, but thankfully had some backups with a different provider and was able to recover its data. The incident occurred on May 2, and a full restoration of services didn't happen until May 15. Google Cloud CEO, Thomas Kurian, called it an "unprecedented sequence of events" and assured customers that measures have been taken so that it doesn't happen again. The incident highlights the importance of having multiple cloud providers and backups to prevent data loss.

 

Researchers Tackle Cyber Threats to Artificial Intelligence Systems

A team of researchers from West Virginia University, Marshall University, and Florida International University has been awarded a $1.75 million grant from DARPA to explore the cybersecurity needs of artificial intelligence technologies. The AI-CRAFT project aims to develop ways to secure AI systems, which are rapidly evolving and being used in critical applications such as autonomous cars, robots, and public utilities. The researchers will build AI systems while engineering security and safety into their development, considering new attack vectors such as reverse engineering and poisoning AI to make it behave maliciously. The project will also focus on developing secure data practices, access controls, and continuous monitoring to assess the security and usefulness of AI systems.

 

Aussie Cops Probe MediSecure's 'Large-Scale Ransomware Data Breach'

Australian prescriptions provider MediSecure has fallen victim to a ransomware attack, with cybercriminals stealing patients' personal and health data. The incident is being investigated by Australian federal police and the National Cyber Security Coordinator, who described it as a "large-scale ransomware data breach incident." MediSecure has notified regulatory agencies and is working to determine the extent of the breach, which is believed to have originated from a third-party vendor. The Australian government has assured that no current ePrescriptions have been impacted and is working to build a picture of the affected data. This incident follows a string of ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations, highlighting the vulnerability of the sector to cyber threats.