Welcome reader to your CybersecurityHQ report for July 4, 2024. 🇺🇸🎆🗽🧨🎇🇺🇸

Happy 4th of July! Today, so much of the fight for our freedom and independence takes place in the digital world. That’s why cybersecurity professionals like you are such a vital part of the US in the 21st century. Thank you!

Headlines

Hacker Teodor Vanev Iliev, 21, was arrested in Sofia, Bulgaria, for attacks on state institutions. He is alleged to be a former member of RansomVC, which famously attacked Sony and other major corporations in a spate of hacks in 2023. Iliev faces charges for crimes committed from 2020 to 2024, meaning he would have been 17 during the earliest crimes.

Known as MAGADANS, Iliev was allegedly involved in the controversial hack of the LEV INS insurance company that made headlines in Bulgaria. The company's owner was assassinated a month after the leak appeared on BreachForums.

Major fintech companies Wise and Affirm are connected to the data breach at Arkansas-based Evolve Bank & Trust after it was hit by a ransomware attack. The breach was carried out by LockBit, a famous ransomware group. Wise said they shared data with Evolve and that data could be involved in the breach. It includes account details like “name, address, date of birth, contact details, SSN or EIN for US customers, or another identity document number for non-US customers.”

Popular buy-now-pay-later provider Affirm says some of its customers might also be impacted, as they shared customer profiles with Evolve so that the bank could issue cards with the company.

CDK says their systems will finally be completely online today. The company, which shut down its car dealership software systems in June to deal with a cyber incident, has been taking a phased approach in bringing everything back online. This impacted the more than 15,000 dealerships in North America that rely on CDK software to operate.

US auto sales are predicted to take a hit this quarter due to the software outage, which led many dealers to resort to pen-and-paper operations.

Interesting Read

Schools and libraries are witnessing a massive surge in cybersecurity attacks. Here is a strange, even disturbing, factoid: 29% of US K-12 schools in the Center for Internet Security’s network have suffered a cyberattack.

Jonathan Kim—director of technology at Woodland Hills School District in North Braddock, Pennsylvania—sat down with DarkReading to discuss what cybersecurity looks like in schools and libraries today.

Employment Tip: Use Social Media (Not Just LinkedIn)

Many professionals only use LinkedIn for their career, keeping any other accounts purely for connecting with friends and family. But, there are a lot of chances to meet other cybersecurity professionals and discover new career opportunities on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

For the latest openings in cybersecurity careers, check CybersecurityHQ.

Stay Safe, Stay Secure.

The CybersecurityHQ Team