
Ransomware hackers are targeting managed service providers for local governments - danso
https://www.propublica.org/article/the-new-target-that-enables-ransomware-hackers-to-paralyze-dozens-of-towns-and-businesses-at-once
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rl3
Many ransomware attacks originate from a different nation than their target.
One could arguably classify these attacks as a threat to national security,
albeit primarily in an economic sense. When they hit medical targets though,
it inches closer to basically profit-driven terrorism.

With that said, I'd love to see the full power of western signals intelligence
loosed on these attackers. If they're going to spend our tax dollars on
domestic surveillance, may as well get some use out of those programs.

I've often thought using these capabilities for early detection of active
shooters might not be the worst idea either, granted it's far more of a legal
and ethical gray area there, at least in the US.

Foreign ransomware attackers who target medical systems however, should pretty
much receive the same classification and treatment as normal terrorists. If
they're beyond any reasonable legal jurisdiction, then extrajudicial means
should be used to eliminate them as a threat. I'm not saying torture and
assassination, but messaging. Most for-profit criminals, after they realize
they've been targeted and identified by an intelligence agency, will probably
change their ways pretty quickly, or even end up being turned into assets.

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lainga
I'd be all for it, as long as the decision loop involved Tom Cruise and three
people in a tank full of water

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rl3
Last I checked NSA had spent 10 mil on an ops center modeled after a Star Trek
bridge, so frankly I'd be disappointed if they didn't also have a precog-
themed room. I just hope it's complete with a cool spatial future UI.

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edoceo
I've seen attacker breach a gov-app. I had a unique email on that system that
was then mailed an offer to buy the database and application code (for like
18USD in BTC at the time) The sample attached to the message had a CSV with
like 2200 emails, users and gov addresses. Amazing, the vendor is still there
and the agency kinda brushed it under the rug.

E: found an article here

[https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article199383069.h...](https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article199383069.html)

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chaostheory
I wonder if most of the targets are still running Windows 7 and older? I know
Win 10 isn’t totally immune, but if you enable all the security options it’s
harder to penetrate. Am I wrong?

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danso
Anecdata, but I remember going to the dentist in Palo Alto and operations
coming to a standstill (e.g. getting my digital xrays to my dentist's computer
took 15 min despite the xray room being a few rooms down the hall) because
that was the day the office had finally been forced to transition to Windows 7
from Windows XP.

That was back in the summer of 2014 – googling it now, I see that XP's
official death date was April 8, 2014, and that Windows 7's death date was
extended from Jan. 2015 to Jan. 14, 2020. [0]

My mom still keeps a Windows XP laptop around (and I've done my best to make
sure she never actually uses it, including getting her a Macbook) because she
never figured out Win10. And she was a com sci major and worked on mainframes,
so I'm biased to think most tech-focused businesses who moved to Win7 have not
jumped to Win10 sooner than they absolutely need to.

[0] [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-
lifec...](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13853/windows-lifecycle-
fact-sheet)

~~~
Animats
Windows 10 has ads. Windows 7 does not have ads. Any questions?

~~~
0x4a42
Windows 10 LTSC/LTSB versions doesn't have adverstising, Windows Store,
Cortana, Edge, XBox stuffs, pre-installed games, etc. Also, Telemtry can be
disabled easily.

