Cybersecurity attacks

Project description

For this project, I found two  articles about recent cybersecurity attacks and evaluated its contents. I evaluated each scenario and found some opportunities to work towards when it comes to protecting myself. 

Lessons learned

I learned many different methods that hackers use to get your personal information. They can try to impersonate your friends, coworkers, and even the companies that you frequently shop. It's important to know how to identify these nuances, such as spelling and grammar,  and their email. 

Cybersecurity events

Hospital scammed over $200,000 

An organization managing a hospital was scammed over $200,000 because one of their vendor’s emails was compromised. Because it was compromised, the scammer was able to impersonate the vendor and convince the organization that the payment method changed. The organization did not check the validity of the email and wired the money to the scammer. It was not covered under insurance but they were able to recover about $80,000 of the money. It is important to ensure that individuals check with the sender, i.e. in person or through phone, to check the validity of the email.

Source evaluation

• Who published the content? Scott Yoshonis 

• Where was it published? KLFY News

• When was it published? August 26, 2024

• The truthfulness and integrity of the facts: Considered accurate, contains facts, quotes from source.

• How is it written and presented? Lots of ads, article is meant to inform

• Links and Citations:embedded document, all links work

Ransomware attack on Halliburton 

Halliburton, a company known in the energy sector, was targeted in a ransomware attack by RansomHub ransomware. The group was able to breach Halliburton, however, in response, the company shut down some of its IT infrastructure to contain the breach. The company says the shut down had limited impact however, they evaluated about a $35 million loss. It is unknown what data the ransomware group gathered or how valuable it was, but it may contain client information which puts the company at risk for legal action. In this situation, the company did a great job at containing the breach and minimizing the damage, however to protect ourselves, it’s important to stop clicking on random links and to keep passwords strong by using a combination of numbers, symbols, and letters.

Source evaluation

• Who published the content? Bill Toulas

• Where was it published? Bleeping Computer

• When was it published? November 11, 2024

• The truthfulness and integrity of the facts: Considered accurate, contains quotes from company

• How is it written and presented? Minimal ads while reading, article is meant to inform

• Links and Citations: embedded image, all links work

Cybersecurity training certificate

As part of cybersecurity awareness, I took part in CCBC's cyber training  and earned my certificate.