From pandemic preparation to testing, consistent public health messaging, and vaccine rollout, this country has failed at dealing with COVID-19. It’s the unfortunate consequence of a once-in-a-hundred-years pandemic happening under the watch of an incompetant and narcissistic president. However, with a response that’s been left to the leadership of governors and local authorities, Champaign County has been consistently on top of things. Much of the credit for that belongs to Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD), under the leadership of Administrator Julie Pryde. The messaging from CUPHD has been clear and consistent from the beginning. As we’ve learned more about how this virus is transmitted and what we can do to help slow the spread, Pryde has given weekly updates through Urbana Public Television since March. The cities of Champaign and Urbana cooperated, rather than worked against, what the health department was recommending. This consistency reinforced a cultu
Cybercops derail malware botnet, FBI makes ransomware arrest lmtonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lmtonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Police agencies around the world including the RCMP and the FBI say they have crippled one of the worst malware distribution networks by seizing the infrastructure behind the Emotet botnet.
In addition, U.S. authorities say the distribution of the Netwalker ransomware has also been disrupted. That includes charges against a Canadian and the seizing of approximately US$454,530 in cryptocurrency from ransom payments.
According to an indictment unsealed today in Florida, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins of Gatineau, Que., is alleged to have obtained at least over US$27.6 million as a result of the offenses listed in the indictment.
Emotet control servers in Canada
UPDATE
Hot on the heels of the Emotet takedown announced Wednesday, the NetWalker ransomware has also been partially disrupted by an international police action.
The Department of Justice said Wednesday that it has brought charges “against a Canadian national in relation to NetWalker ransomware attacks,” while also seizing around $454,500 in cryptocurrency from ransom payments made by three separate victims.
The Canadian in question, Sebastien Vachon-Desjardins of Gatineau, is alleged to have raked in more than $27.6 million overall from NetWalker activities, as an affiliate to the operation. Affiliates partner with ransomware gangs in order to gain access to the malware, but they carry the actual attacks out themselves and pocket as much as 80 percent of the ransom in return.