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Hello, all…. are trying for two bites of the apple – one ransom pay-
ment for the key to unlock the encrypted files and a sec-
I hope that you all have been able to get at least one shot ond ransom payment to prevent publication of the stolen
toward being vaccinated against COVID-19, and prefera- sensitive data. Either way, there is the potential for seri-
bly both (where needed) – and that you, your family, and ous collateral damage to individuals, businesses, or or-
your friends have been able to avoid a COVID infection! ganizations beyond the primary target.
We are still waiting for a green light from the Grayslake
Area Public Library and/or the Grayslake State Bank of This is clearly becoming a serious worldwide problem,
the Lakes about availability of their meeting rooms. which potential targets have been on their own to protect
We’ll keep checking and will let you know when we get against. It is good to see a collaborative effort being put
an OK to begin meeting in person. together to address this scourge!

th
There hasn’t been any blockbuster news on the technolo- (The above information comes from an April 29 article
gy front that I am aware of. However, I am encouraged published in the KrebsOnSecurity online newsletter.)
by recent news that top executives from Amazon, Cisco,
Microsoft, and dozens of other firms have joined with the On a more cheerful note, I would like to call your atten-
U.S. Department of Justice and various international anti- tion to Libby. Libby is an emagazine service from Over-
crime agencies in delivering an 81-page report to the drive that is replacing RB Digital in many local libraries.
Biden Administration calling for an international coalition (Based on an informal check, it appears that this service is
to combat ransomware criminals, and for a global net- available at Cook, Grayslake, Warren Newport, and
work of ransomware investigation hubs. Waukegan public libraries, and may be available at others
as well.) What has been amazing for me as I have looked
As has been reported previously, those behind ransom- through the available choices is the breadth of their selec-
ware attacks are now favoring large targets with deep tion. Whereas RB Digital and Flipster – two other emaga-
pockets over individual computer users. While the bad zine services – offered perhaps 50 titles or less, Libby
guys are typically looking for a big payday, their tactics offers over 3,000 different magazines!
can cause major negative side-effects for their targets
and for individuals and organizations served by their tar- This makes it much more likely that you can find your fa-
gets. (Municipal governments, hospitals and other ser- vorite magazine at your public library, in digital form that
vice providers are examples.) According to a report from you can download to your device (PC, tablet or phone) in
security firm Emsisoft, almost 2,400 U.S.-based govern- a choice of formats. No more having to go to the library
ments, healthcare facilities and schools were victims of and sort through the 50 or 75 different print magazines to
ransomware in 2020! check out one or two to take home. If your library offers
Libby, you now have a huge inventory to pick from, and
Moreover, ransomware attacks against major targets you can begin reading instantaneously without getting
now often include the threat that the bad guys will post out of your chair!
to the Internet sensitive information stolen from the tar-
get’s files about trade secrets, customers, suppliers, etc. Another plus is that as you turn to each article in a maga-
In some cases, the threat is intended to coerce targets zine, you are presented with a “READ THE ARTICLE”
who may have backups of their encrypted files and were button. If you click on this button, it changes the page
about to blow off the ransomware demand into capitula- movement from horizontal to vertical and it changes the
tion and ransom payment. In other cases, the bad guys (Continued on page 6)

May 2021 4