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Auction for a laptop full of malware closes at $1.3 million (updated)
Today, bidding on a laptop packed with some of the world's most dangerous malware closed at $1.345 million. Dubbed "The Persistence of Chaos," the Samsung NC10 contains six viruses that have caused an estimated $95 billion in damages. Despite what you might think, it's not meant to be a tool for any world domination scheme. It's intended strictly as an art piece -- though it could be used for academic purposes -- and it's currently isolated and air-gapped to prevent foul play.
Hospital ransomware: A chilling wake-up call
If you had a loved one in the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center during its recent ransomware siege, would you be mad at the digital extortionists or the hospital? For me, the answer would be both. Hollywood Presbyterian declared a state of emergency over the ransomware on February 5th. The hospital issued a statement to press Wednesday evening on the 17th saying, "HPMC has restored its electronic medical record system ("EMR") on Monday, February 15th." The hospital isn't saying exactly when it paid the ransom, but it looks like they waited at least a week to end the file-hostage situation. Hollywood Presbyterian said its payment was 40 bitcoin, around $17K (not the 9K in bitcoin / $3.6 million initially reported).
