2021: The summer of the cyber attack

 Gas.
Meat.

Hospitals.

What is next!

This is the "year of the cyber attack," whether it is ransomware or just plain old hacking.

The internet is sure an unsafe place as of late.. Nation states or just unorganized groups may be doing it.. Call it the fog of cyber war. We just can't see between the bytes as to who is control..

x x x 

x x x 

This new piece of information is developing:

Senate Sergeant at Arms Karen Gibson said Saturday that she finds the threat of a cyberattack on the U.S. Capitol more worrisome than another repeat of the Jan. 6 assault.

"I worry a lot more about cybersecurity than I do about another mob attacking the Capitol," the Senate's chief law enforcement officer for the Senate told CNN.

Gibson said attempted intrusions on the Capitol networks occur on a daily basis, and with the recent rise in ransomware attacks, cybersecurity has become a greater risk.

"Cybersecurity for me is a much greater concern than the prospect of thousands of people storming the West Terrace," she said.

"Members have sensitive information that they would not necessarily want to have disclosed that may be in documents. Much of what we do is public. And meant to be so," she explained, adding there is a growing concern foreign adversaries are using nefarious means to cripple the U.S. government.

x x x 

Heather Kelly writes this in the Washington POST:

As recently as Wednesday, ransomware attacks were causing problems across the country. In Martha’s Vineyard, the ferry service transporting people to and from the Massachusetts island said it had been hit by a ransomware attack that disrupted its ticketing and reservation process. Ferries continued operating all week, but the ticketing system was still affected, causing delays, on Friday.


The recent spate of high-profile ransomware incidents is exactly what cybersecurity professionals have been warning about for years. But it’s partially the impact on everyday people — far from the executive suites, cybersecurity companies, or government agencies that regularly fret about the criminal enterprise — that has made the risk more visible. The ripple effects of ransomware can result in everything from mild inconvenience to people losing their lives, and it’s only increased in frequency during the pandemic.

Be careful what you click in the long hot months of summer 2021. You don't want a winter of discontent..