Governor Roy Cooper issued a release on Tuesday, urging North Carolina residents to be aware and cautious of potential cyberthreats following reports of increased likelihood.

The release followed a bulletin from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warning about the potential of a response from Iranians over the American airstrike that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on January 2. An unsecure federal webpage also saw pro-Iranian messages posted onto it by hackers following the airstrike, raising concern over cybersecurity.

“The best way we can keep our state’s cyber systems safe,” Cooper said in the release, “and help prevent crippling attacks is to pay attention. When in doubt, do not click. Cyber criminals have many reasons for trying to beat our systems, and I encourage everyone to do their part and be sure they understand online security practices.”

Cooper’s office encouraged North Carolinians to be suspicious of unsolicited emails from unknown addresses and to pay attention when clicking on web addresses. Other tips include keeping software up to date and avoiding sending sensitive, personal identifiable information or passwords in messages.

The release said large groups like businesses and government agencies are generally at greater risk for ransomware attacks. The new year poses an opportunity to remind employers and employees of cybersecurity best practices, as well as refreshing what controls and protocols are in place in the event of a cyberattack.

For more online resources on how to protect data, visit the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s website.

Related Stories
‹
US Intelligence Officials Say Iran Is To Blame for Hacks Targeting Trump, Biden-Harris Campaigns
U.S. intelligence officials said Monday they were confident that Iran was responsible for the hack of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Iran Releases Footage From Prison Fire, Adding to Mystery
Written by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Iran on Sunday released security footage that it said came from its notorious Evin Prison the night a fire broke out that killed at least eight inmates, an effort to clarify the government’s narrative amid growing international pressure. The purported CCTV footage of the mayhem last weekend only added to […]
Ransomware Criminals Are Dumping Kids’ Private Files Online After School Hacks
Written by FRANK BAJAK, HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH AND LARRY FENN The confidential documents stolen from schools and dumped online by ransomware gangs are raw, intimate and graphic. They describe student sexual assaults, psychiatric hospitalizations, abusive parents, truancy — even suicide attempts. “Please do something,” begged a student in one leaked file, recalling the trauma of continually bumping into an […]
Largest Meat Producer Getting Back Online After Cyberattack
Written by ROD McGUIRK and DEE-ANN DURBIN The world’s largest meat processing company is getting back online after production around the world was disrupted by a cyberattack just weeks after a similar incident shut down a U.S. oil pipeline. Brazil’s JBS SA said late Tuesday that it had made “significant progress” in dealing with the […]
Microsoft: SolarWinds Hackers Target 150 Orgs With Phishing
Written by FRANK BAJAK The state-backed Russian cyber spies behind the SolarWinds hacking campaign launched a targeted spear-phishing assault on U.S. and foreign government agencies and think tanks this week using an email marketing account of the U.S. Agency for International Development, Microsoft said. The effort targeted about 3,000 email accounts at more than 150 different […]
Chatham County Nearing Full Recovery from 'Cyber Incident', Cause Still Unclear
While the U.S. government is beginning to uncover and react to an expansive cybersecurity breach into branches and departments, one local government is close to recovery from a similar attack. Chatham County is nearing the point where it was before October 28, when a cyber incident disrupted the government’s phone lines, email networks and other […]
U.S. Cybersecurity Agency Warns of ‘Grave’ Threat From Hack
U.S. authorities are expressing increased alarm about an intrusion into computer systems around the globe that officials suspect was carried by Russia. The cybersecurity unit of the Department of Homeland Security said Thursday that the hack “poses a grave risk to the Federal Government and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as well as critical […]
U.S. Agencies Hacked in Monthslong Global Cyberspying Campaign
U.S. government agencies were ordered to scour their networks for malware and disconnect potentially compromised servers after authorities learned that the Treasury and Commerce departments were hacked in a monthslong global cyber-espionage campaign discovered when a prominent cybersecurity firm learned it had been breached. In a rare emergency directive issued late Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security’s […]
Phishing Ploy Targets COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Effort
IBM security researchers say they have detected a cyberespionage effort using targeted phishing emails to try to collect vital information on the World Health Organization’s initiative for distributing COVID-19 vaccine to developing countries. The researchers said they could not be sure who was behind the campaign, which began in September, or if it was successful. […]
Report: UNC Targeted by Hackers Aiming to Access COVID-19 Research
A recent report detailed how foreign surveillance teams and hackers are attempting to steal COVID-19 vaccine research, including from UNC. The New York Times published an article Saturday saying the Federal Bureau of Investigation has warned the Chapel Hill university in recent weeks about hacking attempts. According to the piece, Chinese hacking teams made moves […]
›