Waikato District Health Board (DHB) had most of its IT services go offline Tuesday morning as the result of a suspect Conti ransomware attack, severely impacting services at six of its affiliate hospitals. Only email service has escaped the shutdown. With patient notes inaccessible, clinical services were disrupted and surgeries postponed. Phone lines went down and hospitals were forced to accept urgent patients only, using pencil and paper records. Service disruptions are expected to continue for several days.
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A cyber attack has shut down operations at the world’s largest meat processor in Australia, Canada and the United States, sending thousands of Australian abattoir workers home. Multinational company JBS, which is also the largest meat processor in Australia, had its global information systems brought down on the weekend. JBS has a network of 47 facilities with abattoirs and feedlots in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.
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Cybersecurity Tips

One of the most common and successful tricks cyber criminals use to trigger you into falling for their scams is fake “stressor events”. In this context, “stressor events”, are shocking or compromising situations that inflict fear or provoke other emotions, for the purpose of causing an impulsive reaction.

How it works:

When the bad guys present a shocking claim to an unknowing victim, they often add a sense of urgency to drive home the “importance” of the scenario. In reality, this sense of urgency is another factor increasing the chances that you’ll react impulsively and click on their malicious links or download their dangerous attachments. Attackers explain their fake scenarios in the body of their phishing emails, but they’re also known for using shocking subject lines such as, “Act Now: Fraudulent activity on your checking account”. Though these tactics certainly aren’t limited to phishing emails, scammers also use these techniques in Smishing (SMS, or text phishing) and Vishing (voice phishing) attempts.

How to avoid falling victim to pressure:

The reason these attackers are often successful is because they‘re convincing the target to either avoid a negative consequence or gain something of value. Stop and think about the likelihood of the scenario before making the wrong move.