Hasta La Gadget!

A recently disclosed ransomware attack has compromised some particularly sensitive medical data. Dental insurer Managed Care of North America (MCNA) reports that an intruder accessed and took copies of informationpatients between February 26th and March 7th of this year, including addresses, Social Security numbers, driver’s licenses and insurance data. Some of the info belonged to parents, guardians and guarantors (people who pay bills on others’ behalf), MCNA says. A filing with Maine’s Attorney General indicates that over 8.9 million people were affected.

The company hasn’t identified the perpetrator. However, TechCrunch has learned that the Russia-based LockBit ransomware group is taking credit and says it has published all the files after MCNA refused to pay a $10 million ransom. Samples from the roughly 700GB of data appear to corroborate the claim.

MCNA is offering one year of free identity theft protection to affected customers. It’s also advising clients to check their accounts and bills for anything unusual. The firm says it’s the largest US insurer for government-backed plans for children and seniors, and its partners include New York City as well as numerous unions.

The tally makes this the largest health data breach in 2023 to date. Before now, the largest incident was a March breach at PharMerica that compromised info for nearly 6 million patients. MCNA is far from unique as a victim of ransomware, but the responses have varied across the industry. While some have refused to pay ransoms and have instead dealt with the repercussions, others have paid millions to reclaim their systems.

This also suggests that LockBit hasn’t been deterred by recent crackdowns. Canadian police arrested alleged leader Mikahil Vasiliev in November, while the US charged a Russian national in March. However, the cybercrime outfit has also been attached to high-profile attacks that include California’s finance department and the UK’s Royal Mail. Campaigns like this aren’t likely to stop in the near future.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ransomware-attack-exposes-sensitive-data-for-nearly-9-million-dental-patients-161546447.html?src=rss

Following a limited return in late 2022, Audio-Technica has decided to bring back a modern version of the Sound Burger as a regular part of its catalog.

The pro League of Legends scene has been upended after players voted “overwhelmingly” in favor of a walkout to protest changes Riot has made to the minor leagues. Now, the publisher has threatened to cancel the summer season of the League Championship Series (LCS), which would prevent North American teams from qualifying for the LoL World Championship, if an agreement can’t be reached.

Players approved the action only a few days before the Summer Split of the LCS, the top level of LoL esports in North America, was set to start. Riot has delayed the season by two weeks in an attempt to resolve issues with players and the LCS Players Association (LCSPA), the association that represents them.

“Hopefully, this two-week window will give us time for productive dialogue between the LSCPA, teams and the league and then resume LCS competition this summer,” Naz Aletaha, Riot’s global head of LoL esports, wrote in a blog post, which was published after a meeting with the LCSPA. “The LCS will not be penalizing the teams for not fielding their rosters during this two-week period to allow everyone space to focus on constructive dialogue. We are doing our best to ensure LCS employees, contractors and others supporting the LCS are not negatively impacted by the delay.”

The company said although it needs “an LCS that is thrilling to watch and showcases the highest levels of League of Legends play,” it wouldn’t be able to delay the Summer Split any further. Aletaha said doing so “would make it nearly impossible to run a legitimate competition,” and as such Riot would be prepared to nix the season entirely. “That is not an outcome we’d want, but it’s unfortunately the reality of ensuring we run a fair, competitive global system,” Aletaha added.

The LCSPA claimed on Monday there had been “attempts to require teams to field scab players at the start of the season.” The LCSPA urged potential replacements to refuse to play for an LCS team because “crossing the line puts all players’ futures at risk” and “undermines player negotiating power.”

On Sunday, a majority of the 50 LCS players voted in favor of the walkout, resulting in one of the first major instances of collective action in esports. They are protesting a decision Riot announced earlier this month to no longer require LCS teams to field a team in an official farm system. The company agreed to a request from the teams in order to “support the continued, long-term success of the teams and the professional esports ecosystem in North America.”

Most LCS teams swiftly said they’d be dropping their North American Challengers League (NACL) rosters. The LCSPA said the move would result in “as many as 70 players, coaches and managers” losing their jobs and that most of the current LCS players came through the official farm system. The LCSPA claimed the average salary cost of an NACL roster “accounts for less than 17 percent of an average LCS organization’s League-based salary costs in a year.” It claimed that although farm systems in other regions were working well, “North America now has a developmental product with no viewership, no institutional support, no paying jobs and no future.”

The LCSPA urged Riot to agree to several conditions, including a promotion and relegation format between the LCS and NACL. It also wanted the publisher to “commit to a revenue pool for player salaries of $300,000 per NACL team per year.”

Aletaha addressed each of the LCSPA’s five requests in the blog post. In terms of the revenue pool, “this ask is for multiple millions in subsidies for the NACL. That simply isn’t sustainable — and to be brutally honest, it shouldn’t be necessary. We have other Tier 2 leagues around the world which thrive on their own, and we believe the NACL can get to that place too.” Aletaha noted that Riot is giving the organization that operates the NACL a one-time payment of $300,000 to “jump-start” the season and provide support to teams.

“Without players, there is no league, and there is no esport,” the LCSPA said in response. The association planned to today start discussions “that result in meaningful collaborative action to get our players back where they want to be: competing for fans on the LCS stage.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/riot-threatens-to-cancel-a-league-of-legends-esports-season-after-a-player-revolt-165429365.html?src=rss

Following a limited return in late 2022, Audio-Technica has decided to bring back a modern version of the Sound Burger as a regular part of its catalog.

Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus monthly games lineup for June. These are the three titles that folks on the Essential, Extra and Premium tiers can all claim and retain access to as long as they continue to subscribe. The headliner for June is NBA 2K23. The most recent edition of the long-running series features the return of the Jordan Challenge, in which you can play through 15 key moments from Michael Jordan’s legendary career.

Also in the lineup is Jurassic World Evolution 2, a construction and management sim in which you’ll build your own Jurassic World theme park. Perhaps you’ll have better luck at keeping the dinosaurs in their enclosures than the characters from the movies.

The third game PS Plus subscribers will able to snag next month is Trek to Yomi. It’s an Akira Kurosawa-inspired action-adventure set in the Edo period of Japan. You play as a young samurai who seeks revenge against those who attacked his village. I enjoyed Trek to Yomi quite a bit. It’s more style than substance, but goodness is that style gorgeous — I’ve used a screenshot as my desktop background for the last year.

You can add these games to your library at no extra cost starting on June 6th. PS4 and PS5 versions of all three will be available. In the meantime, you still have a chance to claim May’s games: Grid Legends, Chivalry 2 and Descenders.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-playstation-plus-monthly-games-for-june-include-nba-2k23-175506332.html?src=rss