EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Cyber criminals have launched a malware attack on Greece’s national postal service, the Hellenic Post (ELTA). Shortly after recognizing the attack, the postal service announced the temporary suspension of its commercial information systems.

Hellenic Post (ELTA) malware attack

Officials report that internal teams aimed to limit the attack damage and prevent the spread of the attack. The postal service is also collaborating with relevant government authorities and cyber security researchers.

“For reasons of prevention and safety until all the relevant processes are completed, it was decided to isolate the company’s entire data center. Therefore, we announced the temporary suspension of the commercial information system of all post offices and there will be, later in the day, new information to the public and our customers.”

ELTA response

The postal service apologized for the temporary inconvenience. The organization is making every possible effort to return to normalcy. Further updates will be made available as soon as possible.

Cyber security breach information

In other cyber security breach news, the data of more than a million Texans may have been exposed in a massive data breach. The breach involved a large dental care provider, Jefferson Dental Orthodontics, which maintains 72 offices across the state.

The group first became aware of the breach in August of 2021. Late last week, the breach appeared on a state-owned Texas website. According to media outlets, this breach represents the largest reported to the Texas Attorney General since new breach notification laws took effect in September.

The new law forces private sector groups to report data breaches impacting 500 or more individuals.

Information misuse

The information stolen in the aforementioned Texas breach includes social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, health insurance information and financial information, among other types of data. Experts report that, at present, there is no evidence of data misuse.

However, if your data may have been compromised in this breach, or in any other data breach, take a proactive approach to identity information management. Depending on the nature of the breach, consider closely monitoring your accounts and freezing credit cards.

Management’s response

Jefferson Dental Orthodontics (JDC) reports that the group moved to quickly investigate and respond to the incident last summer. Teams analyzed the security of systems, restored functionality to environments and, once the investigation was complete, notified affected individuals.

The company also says that as part of its ongoing commitment to the security of information, experts will review and enhance existing policies and procedures to limit the potential for a similar future event.

In further cyber security events…

A print-on-demand firm that experienced a cyber breach became the subject of a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigation. Find out about the outcome, and get business takeaways that can help you avoid cyber security-related litigation. Get the full story right here.

For more information about the latest cyber security threats, click here.

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