Local expert says to be aware as cyberattacks are on the rise
It could be months before MODOT and KDOT message boards are up and running again.Both departments were hit with a cyber hack last week. They’re working together on repairs to the KC Scout system, but for now, the boards will stay blank.”Humans make mistakes,” Jeremy Hehl with Foresite Cybersecurity said. “I think that we believe in the good in one another. And naturally, we assume good intent. Attackers prey on those kinds of human qualities.”Hehl said attacks, like the one KC Scout is experiencing, are increasing across the board – adding 85% of all cyberattacks begin with a phishing scam. “It has been a ramping, continuously escalated, more automated pathway of attacks,” Hehl said. In a statement posted on Facebook, officials with KC Scout said the outages from last week’s attack could last months. “The recovery time probably has to do with potentially outdated hardware, outdated firmware, a need to make sure that the attacker is not still in the system,” Hehl said. As these types of cyberattacks increase, Hehl said everyone should use extra caution to keep attackers out of their systems in the first place.”I think a healthy sense of paranoia is something that everybody should focus on,” he said. “Just general caution in interacting with files or with messages that you may receive on the Internet.”He can’t say how hackers got into the KC Scout system specifically, but he hopes it serves as a learning opportunity for others. Officials emphasized immediate traffic information is being shared through Modot.org and KanDrive.org.
It could be months before MODOT and KDOT message boards are up and running again.
Both departments were hit with a cyber hack last week. They’re working together on repairs to the KC Scout system, but for now, the boards will stay blank.
“Humans make mistakes,” Jeremy Hehl with Foresite Cybersecurity said. “I think that we believe in the good in one another. And naturally, we assume good intent. Attackers prey on those kinds of human qualities.”
Hehl said attacks, like the one KC Scout is experiencing, are increasing across the board – adding 85% of all cyberattacks begin with a phishing scam.
“It has been a ramping, continuously escalated, more automated pathway of attacks,” Hehl said.
In a statement posted on Facebook, officials with KC Scout said the outages from last week’s attack could last months.
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“The recovery time probably has to do with potentially outdated hardware, outdated firmware, a need to make sure that the attacker is not still in the system,” Hehl said.
As these types of cyberattacks increase, Hehl said everyone should use extra caution to keep attackers out of their systems in the first place.
“I think a healthy sense of paranoia is something that everybody should focus on,” he said. “Just general caution in interacting with files or with messages that you may receive on the Internet.”
He can’t say how hackers got into the KC Scout system specifically, but he hopes it serves as a learning opportunity for others.
Officials emphasized immediate traffic information is being shared through Modot.org and KanDrive.org.
