Almost 90% of health care providers hacked in last two years

Cyber attackers have increasingly turned their attention to health care providers, of which nearly 90-percent were hacked over the course of the last two years. The growing number of cyber attacks against the health care industry is said to cost $6 billion annually, marking a trend where hackers shift focus from financial institutions and retailers to those with medical records. All in all, these attacks are said to have doubled in the United States over the last half decade.

The information comes from Bloomberg, which says that of the nearly 90-percent of US health care providers that were breached over the last two years, half of those hacks (or some variety of data breaches) were of a criminal nature. The average cost of a cyber attack against a hospital over the past half decade is $2.1 million.

Philippines Anonymous hackers deface Chinese websites

Philippine hacktivists on Thursday defaced several Chinese government, educational and commercial websites to protest against China's reclamation work in disputed areas in the South China Sea, parts of which Manila calls West Philippine Sea.

Anonymous Philippines posted on its Facebook account a list of the Chinese websites it claimed to have attacked and defaced.

Hackers left message on deface page

"Many of you are aware of the oppressive acts of the Chinese government over the South China Sea or West Philippine Sea. Their claims over the said area is nothing but mere assumption and without solid proof... Once again, we must gather our brothers and sisters to stand against this tyranny," read the group's message on the defaced sites.

It added that while others may think this action does nothing, "so does sitting around while waiting for something to happen."

"To the Government of China, stop the reclamation, do not put or establish any structure on that location thinking or claiming that you are the owner. Considering that there is no final agreement between both and other parties," it said.

Hackers used malicious software to launch destructive attacks in the USA says FBI

The FBI warned United States of America  that hackers have used Malicious software to launch destructive attacks in the United States, following a devastating cyberattack last week at Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The five-page, confidential "flash" warning issued to businesses late on Monday provided some technical details about the malicious software that was used in the attack, though it did not name the victim.

An FBI spokesman declined comment when asked if the software had been used against the California-based unit of Sony Corp.


Officials are still analyzing the Sony attack, which caused serious damage to that company's databases, according to NBC News.

USPS 800,000 Workers Hacked by Chinese Hackers

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) revealed Monday that data on its employees may have been hacked

USPS said it recently learned of a data breach affecting the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, employment dates and emergency contact information of up to 800,000 employees.

The Washington Post reports that China may have been involved in the cyberattack, citing anonymous sources. USA TODAY has been unable to confirm the report.

If indeed China is behind the attack, it's likely part of an attempt to gain more information about U.S. government, said Edward Ferrara, an analyst with Forrester, a technology research company.

Home Depot hacked: 56 million credit cards stolen

Hackers stealing 56 million credit cards from Home Depot, hackers also got their hands on more than 53 million email addresses
but the company said  that the file containing the email addresses did not contain passwords or other sensitive personal information.

Customers were warned to be alert for so-called phishing scams that try to dupe people into revealing personal information or clicking on links that may install malware on their computers. It reiterated common tips to guard against identity theft.

The theft of e-mail addresses in both hacks is likely responsible for an increase in spam over the past few months.

Russian Hackers hacked White House computer Network

Russian government Hackers breached the White House's unclassified computer networks in recent weeks, according to a published report.

 In a written statement, the White House said that, while evaluating a recent cyber threat, "we identified activity of concern on the unclassified EOP (Executive Office of the President) network ... In this case, we took immediate measures to evaluate and mitigate the activity."

Cybersecurity firms in recent weeks have identified NATO, the Ukrainian government and U.S. defense contractors as targets of Russian hackers thought to be working for the government.

Credit Cards detail hacked at City of Cleveland garage

Photo by WKYC

 Custmers have reported unauthorized transactions on their bank cards after paying to park in the Willard Park Garage below Cleveland City Hall. 
City spokesman Dan Williams says 13 people have reported having their bank credit card accounts hacked and that security agencies were trying to determine if the information of others was compromised. 

Everyone who has reported being hacked works in the nearby Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building in downtown Cleveland on East 9th Street. Williams says it hasn't been determined how the breach occurred. He says the city will be working to ensure that it doesn't happen again.