Hasta La Gadget!

The Georgia Senate candidate denied the allegations and said he was planning to sue The Daily Beast over the report.

The “Don’t Worry Darling” actor ignored sexist criticism and stepped out in a second see-through ensemble.

The ransomware attack against the Los Angeles Unified School District just got worse. TechCrunchreports the group that took credit for the heist, Vice Society, has published a 500GB data cache from the early September breach. The collection includes extremely sensitive details like Social Security numbers, bank account info and health data that extends to students’ psychological profiles.

Vice Society had given LAUSD until October 4th to pay the ransom. It’s not clear what prompted the hackers to release the data a day early, but they alleged that the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) “wasted our time” and was “wrong” to tell the district to reject the extortion attempt. CISA, the FBI and other agencies have historically told ransomware victims to refuse payment as it simply encourages hackers to look for more targets, and doesn’t guarantee the data will be restored.

LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho has announced the creation of a hotline at 855-926-1129 to provide support to parents and staff affected by the hack. It’s available between 6AM and 3:30PM Pacific Monday through Friday, except for holidays.

The school district is still recovering, and hopes to achieve “full operational stability” for key technology services. The data leak could still pose a serious risk to students and their families through potential frauds and other privacy violations. To some degree, though, LAUSD is escaping the worst possible damage. Lincoln College shut down completely as the combination of ransomware and a pandemic-related enrollment shortfall made it financially impossible to continue.

Telecoms slow to adopt anti-robocall measures could soon face stiff punishment in the US. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) now plans to remove seven voice service providers from its Robocall Mitigation Database for failing to comply with required anti-spam efforts, such as implementing STIR/SHAKEN call authentication to prevent spoofing. The companies have 14 days to “show cause” why they shouldn’t be removed. If they don’t, all their customers will be blocked from making calls. Effectively, their voice businesses are finished.

The companies include Akabis, Cloud4, Global UC, Horizon Technology, Morse Communications, Sharon Telephone and SW Arkansas. In all cases, the companies failed to share their anti-robocall plans even after the FCC warned them about violations. The FCC noted that STIR/SHAKEN is necessary for any provider with an IP-based network, and those without IP still have to show that they’re mitigating illegal robocalls.

The FCC required that all carriers use STIR/SHAKEN by the end of June 2021. Major carriers like AT&T and Verizon (Engadget’s former owner) were quick to adopt the technology. Small providers received extensions, but only so long as they detailed how they’d limit robocalls.

Removals aren’t likely to significantly stem the tide of spam calls. However, the FCC’s move (along with a campaign from state attorneys general) could discourage telecoms that either skimp on anti-robocall defenses or knowingly profit from scammers and telemarketers.