The division of well being for Hawaiʻi has fastened a web site defacement brought on by a cybercrime group and denied that the hackers had entry to another authorities methods.
The incident affected healthybydefault.hawaii.gov — a web site created by the Hawaiʻi State Division of Well being (DOH) in compliance with a 2020 state regulation that mandates wholesome drinks be the default choice in kids’s meals.
The web site’s typical look was changed August 31 with a word from the Ransomed group claiming knowledge had been stolen and urging the federal government of Hawaiʻi to contact them at a supplied electronic mail deal with.
A spokesperson for the Hawaiʻi DOH confirmed the defacement in a press release to Recorded Future Information.
“The externally hosted web site was in pre-launch standing and been populated with solely take a look at knowledge. At the moment, all proof signifies that the incident was contained to the healthybydefault.hawaii.gov web site and that there was no recognized affect or vulnerability of DOH web sites presently in manufacturing,” the spokesperson stated.
“No protected well being info can be collected by way of the healthybydefault.hawaii.gov web site.”
All eating places within the state that serve a kids’s meal with a beverage for a single worth have to finish a certification kind on the web site.
The spokesperson stated {that a} static model of the web site had been restored with restricted performance whereas the incident was being investigated and “further corrective actions are recognized.” As of Tuesday morning, a few of the hyperlinks have been returning 404 errors.
Screenshot of the online web page earlier than it was restored.
Ransomed just lately made waves after threatening victims with the prospect of European knowledge breach fines if ransoms for stolen knowledge aren’t paid. However the group’s legitimacy has been questioned, contemplating not one of the victims added to the group’s leak website because it emerged on August 15 have reported incidents. It’s nonetheless unclear if the group really makes use of ransomware.
State-backed hackers and cybercriminals have centered their consideration on Hawaiʻi in latest months. Recorded Future — the mum or dad firm of The Report — revealed a report highlighting prolific Russian and Chinese language disinformation teams utilizing the devastating wildfires in Maui as a method to unfold misinformation.
Ransomware gangs and different prison teams have attacked the state’s group faculty — prompting it to pay a ransom this summer season — in addition to a U.S. nationwide heart for astronomy in Maunakea.
In March, the State Division of Well being started sending out breach notification letters after a cyberattack in January gave hackers restricted entry to the state’s loss of life registry.
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Jonathan Greig
Jonathan Greig is a Breaking Information Reporter at Recorded Future Information. Jonathan has labored throughout the globe as a journalist since 2014. Earlier than transferring again to New York Metropolis, he labored for information shops in South Africa, Jordan and Cambodia. He beforehand coated cybersecurity at ZDNet and TechRepublic.
