Baltimore becomes the third U.S. city in a week to be hacked

An article by Julius White at WEAA.org:

Ransomware. Privacy. User Data. Facebook. Hacked. Those words and phrases have been all over the news in the past couple of weeks. Just last week, the City of Atlanta’s computer network was hacked and those responsible demanded $58,000 in ransomware to allow the city to regain its systems. Computer repair expert William Allen, talks with WEAA’s Julius White about how not only to protect your computers, but your privacy on social media as well.

The City of Leeds, Alabama, a small community just outside of Birmingham, was hacked and the hackers demanded and were paid $12,000. In Baltimore, city officials say the 911 dispatch system was hacked over the weekend, prompting a temporary shutdown of automated dispatching.

In a statement released Wednesday, Frank Johnson, Baltimore Chief Information Officer, issued a statement about the weekend hack that prompted a temporary shutdown of the automated 911 dispatch system. “ [We] identified a limited breach of the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Network over the weekend that supports the 911 and 311 Public Safety Emergency Communications Services due to “ransomware” perpetrators,” said Johnson. “We were able to successfully isolate the threat and ensure that no harm was done to other servers or systems across the City’s network. Once all systems were properly vetted, CAD was brought back online. No personal data of any citizen was compromised in this attack. The City continues to work with its federal partners to determine the source of the intrusion.” Johnson went on to assure all Baltimore city residents that [the City is] fully committed to safeguarding the integrity of the City’s IT infrastructure and assets.

So, how can you protect your home computers—your laptops, etc., from being hacked? What about safeguarding your privacy while social media, i.e., Facebook, Instagram, etc.? Computer repair expert William Allen has information for your social media peace of mind.

Read and Listen to more here.

0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.