Overwatch 2 hit by DDoS attacks / FBI states hackers won't affect U.S. elections / Giant CommonSpirit hospitals forced to go offline

Plus: RealDefense raises $30M

Inside.com Part of   Network October 06, 2022

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Multishooter game Overwatch 2 was hit by a DDoS cyberattack on its launch day. The threat actor responsible is unknown so far. More: The DDoS attack was confirmed by Blizzard Entertainment President Mike Ybarra. The hacking campaign rendered most players unable to launch the game. Those who could launch the game were shut off multiple times. Hackers launched two consecutive DDoS attacks, attacking different parts of the digital infrastructure that powers the game. Blizzard stated that it has partially fixed some server issues that have improved key aspects such as log-in reliability. The company also added nodes to take the pressure off the database. Zoom Out: Cyber attacks against video game companies have increased exponentially in recent years. In 2020, video game companies globally were hit by more than 240 cyberattacks, a 340% increase from 2019. GTA, one of the best-selling video game franchises of all time, was recently hit by a cyberattack that leaked many details about the upcoming GTA 6 game. Earlier this year, hackers stole over $600M from Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based game that made play-to-earn a buzzing trend in the industry.

The FBI, in a joint statement with CISA, has stated that potential cyberattacks are unlikely to affect U.S. election results. The FBI claims it has not tracked any foreign actor activity so far. More: The law authority added that efforts meant to undermine future U.S. elections have been tracked and have been neutralized but that they remain locally spread.  Hackers who may successfully attempt to either manipulate vote counts or discourage citizens from voting may do so at a limited scale that does not affect the general vote. In the case of a cyberattack, election officials use failsafe measures such as provisional ballots, backup poll books, and other safeguards to ensure that election results are accurate. In the announcement, the FBI and CISA give a list of recommendations such as: Being aware of phone calls and emails from unidentified actors that try to provide information about elections Avoid website domains that do not end with ".gov," etc. Zoom Out: Foreign cybersecurity threat actors were accused of having impacted the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. A large number of researchers and political pundits blamed Russia for attempting to hijack and manipulate the election process. The accusations were confirmed by the Special Counsel investigation for the 2016 Russian interference in the U.S. elections. The event is related to the now-confirmed 2020 U.S. federal government data breach. The incident is considered one of the worst cyber espionage events in the history of U.S. federal institutions. These accusations were heavily opposed by the Russian government, culminating with an ongoing investigation of Russian diplomats around the world as well as ongoing investigations against former President Donald Trump.

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A cyberattack has hit U.S. healthcare company Giant CommonSpirit. The attack has affected numerous locations around the U.S. More: The company announced that it had tracked a security flaw, forcing it to take its systems offline. Security researchers believe that the healthcare company may have been targeted by a ransomware attack, but Giant CommonSpirit has not credited the attack to a specific threat actor yet. Some of the affected hospitals include: MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, Lakeside Hospital, Creighton University Medical Center Bergan Mercy, and Immanuel Medical Center. Zoom Out: A few days ago, a report showed that $22B globally is in danger of being stolen by hackers. The funds belong to healthcare organizations. There was an 84% increase in cyberattacks against healthcare organizations from 2018 to 2021. A new report by IBM showed that the average hacking campaign targeting the health sector costs victims $10M per attack.

Cybersecurity company RealDefense has raised a $30M funding round. Sunflower Bank led the round. More: The company offers software solutions for companies by utilizing its retail store and affiliate partners. RealDefense claims to have 20,000 retail stores. RealDefense stated that the funding round will be deployed for future M&A deals, which the company also specializes in. Its representatives stated that the company can help companies lower their customer acquisition costs and increase their order value. Over 1 million customers use its products, according to company officials.

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Elpha Secure has raised a $20M Series A funding round. Canapi Ventures led the round. More: Stone Point Ventures, AXIS Capital, State Farm Ventures, The Hartford STAG Ventures, Fermat Capital Management, and EOS Venture Partners also participated in the round. Elpha Secure aims to differentiate itself by combining risk insurance with cybersecurity software. The company offers data backups, multi-factor authentication for remote desktop connections, software version control, and machine learning to detect anomalies and advise specific actions for small and medium-sized businesses.

Quick Hits: Google Ventures (GV) leads a $35M round investing into Courier's notification system joining Twilio, Slack, Bessemer, and Matrix Partners as investors.* Pentagon has given CounterCraft a $26M contract to provide the agency with high-interaction self-deception technology. Supernova Invest has led a $13M funding round for CrowdSec, a  company that claims to be the world's first crowdsourced cyber threat intelligence platform. Dunedin, a city in Pinellas, Florida, has been hit by a cyberattack. The attack meant to shut down the city's telecommunication lines and wastewater treatment but failed to do so. A Chinese threat actor tracked as Emperor Dragonfly has been credited with deploying the cheerscrypt ransomware. The hacking campaign, also known as Bronze Starlight and DEV-040, attacks Linux systems and EXI servers. *This is sponsored content.

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Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. Editor Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords.

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