damage

28Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

In The US How Much Damage Could Be Done By A Russian Cyberattack

U.S. intelligence analysts have determined that Moscow would consider a cyberattack against the U.S. as the Ukraine crisis grows. As a scholar of Russian cyber operations, I know the Kremlin has the capacity to damage critical U.S. infrastructure systems. Federal officials have been bracing for this. In January 2022 the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an alert that outlined the Russian cyberattack threat, with technical details of sophisticated Russian-led hacking from recent years. That included a complicated digital break-in that targeted the U.S. energy industry and gained access to the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities. According to Homeland Security officials, the hackers “could have thrown switches” and knocked out power to the public – but did n...

Basic Cybersecurity Precautions Are Key To Minimizing Ransomware Damage, Interference With Elections And Disinformation

30Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

LIFESTYLE

Basic Cybersecurity Precautions Are Key To Minimizing Ransomware Damage, Interference With Elections And Disinformation

Government computer systems in Hall County, Georgia, including a voter signature database, were hit by a ransomware attack earlier this fall in the first known ransomware attack on election infrastructure during the 2020 presidential election. Thankfully, county officials reported that the voting process for its citizens was not disrupted. The attack follows on the heels of a ransomware attack last month on eResearchTechnology, a company that provides software used in clinical trials, including trials for COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines. Less than a week after the attack in Georgia was revealed, the FBI warned that cyber criminals have unleashed a wave of ransomware attacks targeting hospital information systems. Attacks like these underscore the challenges that cybersecurity exp...

A burning chemical plant may be just the tip of Hurricane Laura’s damage in this area of oil fields and industry

28Aug

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT

A burning chemical plant may be just the tip of Hurricane Laura’s damage in this area of oil fields and industry

Hurricane Laura plowed through the heart of Louisiana’s oil and chemical industries as a powerful Category 4 storm, leaving a chlorine plant on fire and the potential for more hazardous damage in its wake. The burning BioLab facility sent dark smoke and chlorine gas into the air over the small community of Westlake, near Lake Charles, and shut down Interstate 10, officials said. The governor warned residents, already reeling from the hurricane’s damage, to stay in their homes, close their windows and doors, and turn off any air conditioning that might still be operating. While the full health impacts of the fire weren’t immediately known, a storm-driven chlorine gas release in a vulnerable community is the type of worst-case scenario that scientists and engineers like myself have warned ...

E-cig flavors may be more than alluring; they could cause damage themselves

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

E-cig flavors may be more than alluring; they could cause damage themselves

Millions of Americans are vaping, and some are getting sick. Since June 2019, 2,711 have been hospitalized and 60 have died due to EVALI (e-cigarette-associated lung injury), the devastating lung disease linked to e-cigarettes. Five million users are middle and high school students. Some are as young as 11, although it’s illegal to sell vaping products to anyone under 21. A vape shop in New York City shows a line of flavorings on Jan. 2, 2020. Mary Altaffer/AP Photo, CC BY-SA Especially for kids, much of the lure is flavor. E-cigarettes offer attractive smells and tastes. Fruit, mint, candy and dessert flavors are the favorites, and studies suggest they ignite the desire to vape. That’s why the Trump administration just banned the sale of those sweet flavors from cartridge-based e-cigs, t...