{"id":4838,"date":"2023-06-26T06:04:12","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T11:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838"},"modified":"2026-07-13T23:32:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T04:32:46","slug":"icymi-at-midyear-2023-data-breaches-and-ransomware-attacks-already-prove-worrisome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838","title":{"rendered":"ICYMI: At Midyear, 2023 Data Breaches and Ransomware Attacks Already Prove Worrisome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-85bp3-f856194ef33e7bc72ec0d3bf98278fce\">\n.flex_column.av-85bp3-f856194ef33e7bc72ec0d3bf98278fce{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-85bp3-f856194ef33e7bc72ec0d3bf98278fce av_one_full  avia-builder-el-0  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><p><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-k0pon615-92ea21455f84089b14b66129c69212c2 '  ><div class='avia_textblock' ><h1>ICYMI: At Midyear, 2023 Data Breaches and Ransomware attacks already prove worrisome<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/section><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-k0pop9td-399c35357da9cf26107da9a57de824c5 '  ><div class='avia_textblock' ><p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Although the year is but half over, data breach statistics and ransomware activity are already proving disturbing. A wealth of high-profile intrusions and infections are impacting organizations regardless of size and industry.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Malicious actors are not discriminating. Observations and analysis published within the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.verizon.com\/business\/resources\/reports\/dbir\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">2023 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> indicates &#8220;cybercriminals are coming for data, and they&#8217;re using more types of attacks against organizations like yours.&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The report confirms 83 percent of data breaches are caused by outsiders and 74 percent involve human interaction, such as social engineering efforts, user errors or deliberate systems misuse. Worse, the report warns threat rates are accelerating.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Here&#8217;s a look, first, at significant data breaches year-to-date, followed by a quick review of prominent spyware activity. To offset the news, these two cyberthreat sections are followed by a quick reminder of best practices firms can adopt to assist defending against these threats.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Significant 2023 Data Breaches, To Date<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Data breaches, or cyber-attacks that result in unauthorized access and disclosure of information, are typically driven by the desire for financial gain. &#8220;We have your data. Pay us.&#8221; is the summarized refrain quoted within Verizon&#8217;s data breach report.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Among those falling victim to well-publicized data breaches in 2023 are:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">American Bar Association (ABA) &#8211; The legal profession&#8217;s largest association proved the victim of a breach when login information (credential that could subsequently be used to gain access to other data) for some 1.4 million members was stolen by hackers in March.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ChatGPT &#8211; A 2023 news headlines darling, the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/openai.com\/blog\/march-20-chatgpt-outage\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">earned some negative publicity<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> in late March when the company confirmed customer data\u2014including payment information\u2014was leaked due to a bug in its open-source software library.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Chick-fil-A &#8211; March included some bad news for Chick-fil-A, too, which confirmed tens of thousands of customers&#8217; accounts were <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bleepingcomputer.com\/news\/security\/chick-fil-a-confirms-accounts-hacked-in-months-long-automated-attack\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">accessed by hackers<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> over an extended period.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Norton LifeLock &#8211; While the company <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lifelock.norton.com\/breach-detection\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">promotes its own data breach protection services<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, Norton LifeLock itself <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/01\/15\/norton-lifelock-password-manager-data\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">proved a victim<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> when thousands of its customers&#8217; accounts were breached in January, subsequently providing malicious users with potential access to the customers&#8217; password managers, among other problems.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Reddit &#8211; The online collection of communities and forums, while <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/06\/12\/tech\/reddit-blackout\/index.html\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">battling its own insurgency<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, found itself also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/06\/19\/tech\/reddit-hackers-demands-api\/index.html\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">having to combat hackers<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> threatening to share 80GB of confidential data unless the company paid $4.5 million in ransom and agreed not to proceed with plans to charge third parties for API access.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">T-Mobile &#8211; The telecommunications company experienced not one but two data breaches in the first half of 2023. In January <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.t-mobile.com\/news\/business\/customer-information\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">T-Mobile announced<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> an unauthorized party managed, via an application programming interface (API), to penetrate the network and access data, then just a few months later the <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">company revealed<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> its systems were hacked again resulting in hundreds of customers&#8217; personal information being exposed.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"1\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Yum Brands &#8211; The owner of popular fast-food chains KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut began the year as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yum.com\/wps\/portal\/yumbrands\/Yumbrands\/news\/company-stories\/Yum+Brands+January+18+2023+Statement\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">the victim of a ransomware attack<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> that resulted in the temporary closure of its UK stores and the loss of personally identifiable information, such as names, driver IDs and similar data.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">This list is but a sampling of the year&#8217;s data breaches. Ransomware, too, is proving equally problematic.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Prominent Ransomware Activity, To Date<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">One component often used to assist gaining access and penetrating networks\u2014leading to damaging data breaches\u2014is ransomware. Criminals typically use such malware to corrupt a company&#8217;s data and threaten to publicly publish the information unless a ransom payment is made. Here&#8217;s a look at some of the year&#8217;s more prominent ransomware activity, to date.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Bank Scams &#8211; Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/alerts\/2023\/03\/15\/beware-bank-related-scams\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CISA issued a March alert<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> warning consumers to beware whenever receiving banking-related messages, as hackers were working to take advantage of the confusion surrounding the prominent bank&#8217;s failure.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">BianLian Ransomware &#8211; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/cybersecurity-advisories\/aa23-136a\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CISA issued a May alert<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to guard against organization&#8217;s becoming victims of BianLian\u2014so named for the malware&#8217;s developer\u2014ransomware exploiting widely used Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), command-line scripting and Windows PowerShell technologies.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">ESXi Ransomware Attacks &#8211; <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/news\/cisa-warns-organizations-to-guard-against-esxi-ransomware-attacks\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">As noted by Louisville Geek in February<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, CISA warned organizations running VMware ESXi to update to the latest releases, along with taking other steps, to protect against concerted efforts to exploit a known vulnerability resulting in the deployment of ESXiArgs ransomware.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Facebook Attacks &#8211; Phishing attempts are often the first step in a coordinated ransomware attack. By tricking a user into providing login credentials, malicious actors can use that personal information to impersonate victims and broaden their attacks, as often happens with fake Facebook messages, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/news\/phishing-alert-cybercriminals-use-real-facebook-pages-to-bypass-email-security-checks\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">as noted by Louisville Geek earlier in the year<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">LockBit Ransomware &#8211; In June, CISA and a wide collection of international partners <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/news\/us-and-international-partners-release-comprehensive-cyber-advisory-lockbit-ransomware\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">warned and educated companies of the specific cyberthreats<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> resulting from the proliferation of LockBit ransomware-as-a-service dangers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">MoveIt Vulnerability &#8211; The US Cybersecurity &amp; Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/cybersecurity-advisories\/aa23-158a\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">issued multiple advisories<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> in June related to a MOVEit Transfer application vulnerability that permitted malicious actors to further ransomware efforts by exploiting a security flaw in the software used by large organizations, such as airlines, banks, federal agencies, insurance companies and universities, among others.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">IconicStealer &#8211; In April <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/analysis-reports\/ar23-110a\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CISA warned companies<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> of a 3CX telephony application vulnerability hackers exploit to obtain sensitive information from users&#8217; web browsers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">RMM Link Attacks &#8211; Recognizing clients necessarily entrust important maintenance and support services to IT partners, cybercriminals seeking to exploit that trust are using some of the industry&#8217;s same tools to steal money from victims, a threat <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/news\/cisa-warns-businesses-to-exercise-caution-when-using-rmm-links\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Louisville Geek noted early in the year<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> when reminding companies CISA recommends exercising caution when using remote management and monitoring system links.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"2\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Royal Ransomware &#8211; In April <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/cybersecurity-advisories\/aa23-061a\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CISA warned<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> organizations of a Royal ransomware variant\u2014known particularly to target such important infrastructure segments as communications, health care and manufacturing, among others\u2014and provided recommendations for preventing, identifying and resolving Royal ransomware infections.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What you can do<\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A wealth of information and resources are available to assist battling ransomware and data breaches, including from the following organizations:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/news\/cybersecurity-incident-response-it-support\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">ArcticWolf via its Incident Response JumpStart program<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"2\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cisa.gov\/news-events\/news\/cisa-fbi-nsa-ms-isac-publish-updated-stopransomware-guide\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">CISA and partners via a comprehensive #StopRansomware Guide<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"3\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fcc.gov\/communications-business-opportunities\/cybersecurity-small-businesses\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"4\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/business-guidance\/resources\/data-breach-response-guide-business\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Federal Trade Commission<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/learn.microsoft.com\/en-us\/security\/ransomware\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Microsoft<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.techtarget.com\/searchsecurity\/tip\/How-to-prevent-a-data-breach-10-best-practices-and-tactics\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">TechTarget<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"\uf0b7\" data-font=\"Symbol\" data-listid=\"3\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"5\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sba.gov\/blog\/14-tips-protect-your-business-ransomware-attacks\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">US Small Business Administration<\/span><\/a><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Most every source recommends, as part of regular best practices necessary to protect systems and data from unauthorized access, corruption and subsequent outages and downtime, performing the following steps:<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Installing and configuring capable antimalware programs to automatically conduct regular scans and generate automated alerts.<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Implementing strong anti-spam filters to help prevent phishing messages from reaching users.<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Filtering network traffic using business-grade firewalls to help prevent malicious traffic from entering networks.<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Continually updating operating systems, software applications and hardware firmware to block known vulnerabilities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li data-leveltext=\"%1.\" data-font=\"Calibri\" data-listid=\"4\" data-list-defn-props=\"{\" aria-setsize=\"-1\" data-aria-posinset=\"1\" data-aria-level=\"1\"><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Requiring multifactor authentication on all systems offering MFA or two-factor authentication.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Conducting formal <a href=\"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/news\/why-cybersecurity-training-is-a-smart-investment-for-organizations-in-2022\/\">security awareness training<\/a>, performing deliberate testing (including for phishing, network penetration and social engineering vulnerabilities) and implementing and enforcing formal IT policies and procedures are additional elements that can go a long way in helping organizations protect themselves from ever-evolving cyber threats.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Need Help Improving your Cybersecurity?<\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"TextRun SCXW164844815 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-US\" xml:lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW164844815 BCX0\">Should your business need help safeguarding its users, <\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW164844815 BCX0\">data<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW164844815 BCX0\"> and systems, drop us a line. You can reach Louisville Geek at 502-897-7577 or by emailing sales@lougeek.com.<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW164844815 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4841,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>2023 Data Breaches &amp; Ransomware Attacks: Midyear Recap<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Data breaches and ransomware activity are already on the rise midyear. Here are some of the most notable incidents so far.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2023 Data Breaches &amp; Ransomware Attacks: Midyear Recap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Data breaches and ransomware activity are already on the rise midyear. Here are some of the most notable incidents so far.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Louisville Geek\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-06-26T11:04:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-14T04:32:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Shutterstock_2198141997-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"LouGeek Marketing\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"LouGeek Marketing\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"2023 Data Breaches & Ransomware Attacks: Midyear Recap","description":"Data breaches and ransomware activity are already on the rise midyear. Here are some of the most notable incidents so far.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"2023 Data Breaches & Ransomware Attacks: Midyear Recap","og_description":"Data breaches and ransomware activity are already on the rise midyear. Here are some of the most notable incidents so far.","og_url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838","og_site_name":"Louisville Geek","article_published_time":"2023-06-26T11:04:12+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-14T04:32:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Shutterstock_2198141997-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"LouGeek Marketing","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"LouGeek Marketing","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838"},"author":{"name":"LouGeek Marketing","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a381cd0bd66b806f0da449297a82ce8a"},"headline":"ICYMI: At Midyear, 2023 Data Breaches and Ransomware Attacks Already Prove Worrisome","datePublished":"2023-06-26T11:04:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-14T04:32:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838"},"wordCount":1531,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Shutterstock_2198141997-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Cybersecurity"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838","url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838","name":"2023 Data Breaches & Ransomware Attacks: Midyear Recap","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Shutterstock_2198141997-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2023-06-26T11:04:12+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-14T04:32:46+00:00","description":"Data breaches and ransomware activity are already on the rise midyear. Here are some of the most notable incidents so far.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Shutterstock_2198141997-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/Shutterstock_2198141997-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?p=4838#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ICYMI: At Midyear, 2023 Data Breaches and Ransomware Attacks Already Prove Worrisome"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/","name":"Louisville Geek","description":"Empowering Local Businesses and National Enterprises with Comprehensive IT Services","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#organization","name":"Louisville Geek","url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/lougeek_full_logo-black-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/lougeek_full_logo-black-1.png","width":1671,"height":506,"caption":"Louisville Geek"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a381cd0bd66b806f0da449297a82ce8a","name":"LouGeek Marketing","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/865f8a8b853c689f8443338c8f8d08b8e9a9f0bcab6dcd97b1cb63a5efeda3fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/865f8a8b853c689f8443338c8f8d08b8e9a9f0bcab6dcd97b1cb63a5efeda3fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/865f8a8b853c689f8443338c8f8d08b8e9a9f0bcab6dcd97b1cb63a5efeda3fa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"LouGeek Marketing"},"url":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4838"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10447,"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4838\/revisions\/10447"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lg-staging.lougcloud.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}