Natural Disasters Can Set the Stage for Cyberattacks

Route Fifty - An earthquake strikes a city in Indiana, causing chaos and destruction, sending emergency managers and first responders scrambling. Then the water system goes down, and everyone figures it’s because of the natural disaster. But it isn’t. It’s a ransomware attack by cybercriminals, who are taking advantage of the disruption to infiltrate the water system’s network. The incident isn’t real, but it is a scenario played out as part of a three-day, full-scale cybersecurity drill in Indiana in August attended by more than 500 people, including Indiana National Guard members, first responders, health care providers and state, local and federal officials. 

The incident isn’t real, but it is a scenario played out as part of a three-day, full-scale cybersecurity drill in Indiana in August attended by more than 500 people, including Indiana National Guard members, first responders, health care providers and state, local and federal officials.An earthquake strikes a city in Indiana, causing chaos and destruction, sending emergency managers and first responders scrambling. Then the water system goes down, and everyone figures it’s because of the natural disaster.
But it isn’t. It’s a ransomware attack by cybercriminals, who are taking advantage of the disruption to infiltrate the water system’s network.
The incident isn’t real, but it is a scenario played out as part of a three-day, full-scale cybersecurity drill in Indiana in August attended by more than 500 people, including Indiana National Guard members, first responders, health care providers and state, local and federal officials.

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