Communications of the ACM
National Guard Called in to Thwart Cyberattack in Louisiana Weeks Before Election
The Louisiana National Guard is investigating cyberattacks aimed at small government offices across the state.
Credit: Dado Ruvic/Reuters
The Louisiana National Guard has been called in to investigate a series of cyberattacks aimed at small government offices across the state, highlighting risks facing local governments as they approach the U.S. presidential election.
The attacks follow the pattern of a similar case in Washington State, in which hackers infected government offices with a type of malware known for deploying ransomware.
Experts investigating the Louisiana incidents found a remote access trojan previously linked to a group associated with the North Korean government; however, that tool had been publicized in a computer virus repository, making attribution difficult.
While staff at several government offices in Louisiana were compromised by the latest cyberattack, it was stopped in its early stages before significant harm was done, according to insiders.
From Reuters
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2020 SmithBucklin, Washington, DC, USA
No entries found