Tag Archive for: residents

No Fulton residents’ info leaked by hackers

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Many phones are working again, he said. The water-bill payment system is back online, and work continues on the “big three” systems: tax offices, the courts, and the internal employee system, Anderson said.

Election systems, though temporarily taken offline out of caution, were not affected; and early voting is underway for the March 12 presidential primary, he said.

Anderson hopes all computer systems will be restored within the next month. For those functions still down, county offices — especially the judicial system — have gone back to paper or are using other work-arounds.

The county is working on a case study of “lessons learned” from the attack and response, which it plans to share with other governments and the public, Anderson said.

The LockBit ransomware group claimed responsibility for the Fulton cyberattack, setting a countdown timer on the dark web that displayed some stolen county documents and threatened to release far more if an unspecified ransom wasn’t paid.

LockBit has targeted thousands of governments and companies with ransomware attacks, and an international law enforcement crackdown Feb. 19 took down the group’s website. Police agencies also seized computer servers and cryptocurrency accounts.

Although the takedown was not a direct response to the Fulton County hack, it apparently cut off the hackers’ access to stolen Fulton data. LockBit put up a new web page and set another countdown threat, but that Thursday deadline passed with no document release.

After the deadline expired, Commission Chair Robb Pitts said neither the county nor anyone on its behalf paid any ransom.

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City of Palm Coast Urges Residents to Use Caution Online During International Fraud Awareness Week

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The City of Palm Coast is encouraging residents to safeguard their personal information and remain vigilant against potential fraud while shopping online this holiday season, particularly during International Fraud Awareness Week. 

The City of Palm Coast Information Technology Department takes internet security seriously, as demonstrated in October when the department proudly collaborated with Cyber Florida to host an essential cybersecurity training event. This event brought together counties and municipalities, fostering a community of resilience against cyberattacks.

“The internet plays a crucial role in our daily lives, and it’s vital that we understand the associated risks,” said Doug Akins, Director of Information Technology. “As systems and processes continue to evolve, so do the tactics of online scammers. We at the City of Palm Coast are committed to empowering our community with the knowledge and tools to stay safe online during International Fraud Awareness Week and year-round.”

Throughout International Fraud Awareness Week, residents of Palm Coast can expect to see informative videos from members of the Information and Technology City staff, offering valuable tips on how to protect themselves online. These expert insights are especially relevant as we approach the busy holiday shopping season when cyberattacks and fraud attempts tend to rise.

Stay tuned for these helpful videos and join us in taking a stand against fraud and practicing internet security. Together, we can build a safer and more resilient community.

Stay informed with the latest news and information from the City of Palm Coast by following us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. You can sign up for weekly updates by visiting www.palmcoastgov.com/government/city-manager/week-in-review.

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‘The Phantom Hacker’ Torments Residents of El Paso, Texas

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(TNS) — El Paso is warning the public of a new scam dubbed “The Phantom Hacker.” Scammers are impersonating technology, banking, and government officials in a complex ruse to convince a typically older victim that foreign hackers have infiltrated their financial account. The scammers then instruct the victim to immediately move their money to an alleged U.S. Government account to “protect” their assets. In reality, there was never any foreign hacker, and the money is now fully controlled by the scammers. Some victims are losing their entire life savings, a press release said.

“These scammers are cold and calculated. They are targeting older members of our community who are particularly mindful of potential risks to their nest eggs. The criminals are using the victims’ own attentiveness against them,” said Special Agent in Charge John S. Morales, in the release. “By educating the public about this alarming new scam, we hope to get ahead of these scammers and prevent any further victimization.”

“The Phantom Hacker” Scam: How It Works


The FBI has observed repeated behavior by criminals involved in “The Phantom Hacker” scam. The ruse is often perpetrated in three major steps:

Step 1 — Tech Support Imposter

In the first step, a scammer posing as customer support representative from a legitimate technology company initiates contact with the victim through a phone call, text, email, or a pop-up window on their computer and instructs the victim to call a number for “assistance.”

Once the victim calls the phone number, a scammer directs the victim to download a software program allowing the scammer remote access to the victim’s computer. The scammer pretends to run a virus scan on the victim’s computer and falsely claims the victim’s computer either has been or is at risk of being hacked.

Next, the scammer requests the victim open their financial accounts to determine whether there have been any unauthorized charges — a tactic to allow the scammer to determine which financial account is most lucrative for targeting. The scammer informs the victim they will receive a call from that financial institution’s fraud department…

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Here’s why Louisiana wants residents to change passwords after OMV hack — and how to do it | News

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After a massive data breach exposed at least 6 million Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles records, state officials are recommending anyone who holds a Louisiana drivers license change all of their passwords. 

That’s a huge undertaking for most people, but digital security experts say it’s a recommendation worth following for the millions of Louisianans whose personal information, including social security number and drivers license data, is exposed on the internet. 

Why should you change your passwords?

The personal information exposed in the OMV hack has the potential to arm someone with everything they need to access an online account except for the password, said Abe Baggili, an LSU professor and cybersecurity expert. 

Many online services ask users to fill out security questions about personal details as a way to confirm someone’s identity during a password reset. The OMV hack exposed enough information that a hacker could now answer those questions or figure out the answers, Baggili said. 

A hacker with access to the leaked personal information could also now craft an extremely sophisticated phishing email in an attempt to steal usernames, passwords, credit card numbers and other data, Baggili said. 

“You fall victim to this because it looks super legitimate, it looks like it’s coming from the right place and it looks like they have enough information about you to make it believable that they know who you are,” Baggili said.

How should you change your passwords?

The solution is fairly simple and is something people should probably already be doing, Baggili said. 

“We live in an age where at this point and time a password manager is essential,” Baggili said. 

Password managers secure all your passwords in one place, can alert you if a password has been leaked anywhere online and can allow you to quickly and easily change passwords to be more secure. Many internet browsers offer password managers built in to the browser, but a dedicated, seperate password manager are considered more secure.

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