Sarah Mansur
Capitol News Illinois
SPRINGFIELD Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul on Wednesday addressed the recent cyber breach of his office’s online network, as well as an audit of his office released earlier this year that warned of weaknesses in its cybersecurity programs.
Raoul told a House committee his office has implemented new safeguards since the April 10 ransomware attack that compromised the office’s network and affected office employee’s email accounts.
Ransomware is a malicious software that collects the victim’s personal data and threatens to publish it unless a ransom is paid to the hacker.
Raoul said his office is working with federal law enforcement to evaluate the extent to which the network was compromised, what information may have been exposed, how it happened, and what can be done to prevent future breaches.
(Raymond Boyd / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
Share May 3, 2021 | STATESCOOP
The office of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul admitted last week that it was the victim of a ransomware attack that included the theft and publication of agency files. The announcement arrived about three weeks after a data breach was first detected and just a few months after the office was warned of its vulnerabilities.
In a news release Thursday, Raoul’s office said that the stolen data may include people’s names, addresses, Social Security numbers, tax information and other sensitive information, and that the full scope of the attack is still being assessed. Files belonging to the attorney general’s office first appeared April 10 on a website affiliated with the DoppelPaymer malware, which has also victimized local government organizations, such as Torrance, California.
Illinois AG Office Hit by Ransomware After Security Warning
In February, a state audit indicated that the Illinois Attorney General s Office lacked proper cybersecurity protections. Three weeks ago, the office suffered a ransomware attack.
May 03, 2021 •
Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune (TNS) A state audit released earlier this year warned that Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office had a “weaknesses in cybersecurity” that potentially left sensitive information on the agency’s computer network “susceptible to cyber attacks and unauthorized disclosure.”
Three weeks ago, a hack resulted in data being stolen from the attorney’s office in a ransomware attack, Raoul acknowledged in a statement Thursday.
Capitol Fax com - Your Illinois News Radar » Before Attorney General was hit with ransomware attack, Auditor General s office warned the office was sorely lacking in cybersecurity capitolfax.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from capitolfax.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.