Hackers Publicize US Authorities’ Home Addresses and Freeze Cops’ Computers

In case you missed our coverage this week in ThreatWatch, Nextgov’s regularly updated index of cyber breaches:

Right-Wing Extremists Allegedly Dumped U.S. Officials’ Home Addresses Online

Federal authorities are trying to determine the source of a leak of the home addresses of senior U.S. officials on the Internet.

Maine Cops Cave to Hacker Ransom Demands

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office, along with four towns sharing the same computer system, wired $300 to a crook after being told malware that already had frozen computers would wipe clean all files.

AT&T Call Center Employees Sold Customer SSNs to Black Market Cellphone Mob

A criminal entity going by the alias El Pelón (Spanish for “bald man”) provided the workers specific phone numbers and then paid for the names and Social Security numbers tied to those numbers. Cellphone traffickers seemed to be trying to activate filched phones with the customer data.

Boy Imprisoned for Guessing Teacher’s Password and Changing Screen Background

A middle school student “hacked into his school’s secure computer network” after watching his teacher type in the passcode: a last name. The eighth-grader then switched the teacher’s desktop wallpaper to an image of two males kissing.

(Image via scyther5/ Shutterstock.com)