All over the U.S. and now, multiple facilities in Cleveland (University Hospitals, etc.) have had to shut down due to a massive cyberattack affecting 70,000+ credentials. Banks, healthcare facilities, HR sites, government agencies, even airports had to suspend their online activity for several hours. Records were breached or at risk of being exposed due to security vulnerabilities in their website’s coding. User Meganymkal44 on Instagram explained the following:
When it comes to building a website, the PHP (Hypertext Preprocesser) is responsible for how a website runs: from processing data, to receiving and sending requests, etc. In recent years, companies discovered a flaw in the PHP code that could render their entire network exposed to unwanted activity, but the issue was ultimately let go of due to lack of agreement in fixing it. A couple years later, these vulnerabilities were once again discovered by cybersecurity firm, Whiz, who used AI to uncover the gaps, releasing a patch to the companies who had similar gaps in their website's code that could manage these weakpoints and secure their website again. Those who could secure the patch in their PHP in time were fine, those who couldn't were recommended to take their services offline until they could. Unfortunately, many hackers slipped past these cracks and were able to steal thousands of records.
Here’s how you can prevent your own accounts from being affected:
1) Monitor each of your accounts - breached bank accounts will have unauthorized transactions that weren't yours, so anything that looks unfamiliar to you, contact your bank immediately to report the fraud.
2) Phishing emails - we know we always tell you to keep an eye out for any suspicious content that pops up in your inbox, but be extra aware of emails that try and send you fake alerts. For example, having you log into your account from that email or telling you to reset your password. Websites will never send you an unwarranted email unless it was your initiative. Always go to the website itself and log in from there. Additionally, be on the lookout for tiny typographical errors. Hackers may feign a coworker’s email address and send you a link expecting you to open it, so next time be sure to either double-check the grammar in the email address or content, or just don’t open it.
Sources:
Cleveland Cyberattack Forces the City to Shut Down IT Systems - Security Spotlight
Hackers Breach Enterprise Firewalls and VPNs, Exposing Over 70,000 Credentials
Quest Diagnostics confirms patient data accessed in cyberattack | Fox Business
