Brazil: Hackers take down Ministry of Health website
Group that claimed responsibility for attack confirmed it to be ransomware; Minister promised punishment
The websites of Brazil’s Health Ministry and the ConectaSUS platform, which centralizes vaccination data and other health information for Brazilians, were taken down by hackers in the early hours of Friday. Both platforms were still down as of Friday noon in Brazil after the attack.
Early in the morning, when trying to access the ministry website, users only saw a black screen with a message which read “The internal data of the systems were copied and deleted. 50 Tb of data is in our hands. Contact us if you want the data back,” followed by an email address and a link to a Telegram channel.
This kind of attack is known as ransomware, a type of virus that hijacks access to system data by encrypting it. Usually hackers promise to release access after receiving a ransom. No information on ransom was released, though.
Hours later, the message was taken down, but the ministry's website was still inaccessible. The platform with vaccination data was also inaccessible, preventing Brazilians from issuing their vaccination certificates.
A group known as the Lapsus$ Group claimed responsibility for the attack but did not elaborate on what had motivated it.
The attack takes place in the wake of a controversy involving the Brazilian government’s decision not to demand the so-called “vaccine passport” from travelers arriving in the country, going against the recommendation by the country’s health authority, Anvisa. The decision has drawn criticism from the scientific community.
Last Wednesday, when making the announcement about the decision not to require proof of vaccination from tourists visiting Brazil, Queiroga said that, “according to President Jair Bolsonaro, ‘losing your life is better than losing your freedom’," which drew a lot of criticism. Earlier, Bolsonaro lashed Anvisa’s recommendation saying that the vaccination passport would be a “leash” around people’s necks.
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/brazil-hackers-take-down-ministry-of-health-website/2444317
Tor network: Russia blocks access to popular anonymous online service
Russia has blocked the popular Tor network that allows users to remain anonymous online. The country's state communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, confirmed on Wednesday it has blocked access to the Tor service.
The authority said the move followed the "dissemination of information on the site ensuring the operation of services that provide access to illegal content". It is the latest development in a series of moves as Moscow aims to tighten its grip on the Russian internet.
The Kremlin says their efforts are to combat online extremism and terrorism, but critics say that Russia is stifling free speech and attempting to control political debate.
According to the Tor Project, Russian users are the service's second-largest audience, with over 300,000 users per day or 15% of all users of the service.
https://www.euronews.com/2021/12/08/tor-network-russia-blocks-access-to-popular-anonymous-online-service
Leaked SoCal hospital records reveal huge, automated markups for healthcare
Dec. 10, 2021 6 AM PT
Ridiculous, seemingly arbitrary price markups are a defining characteristic of the $4-trillion U.S. healthcare system — and a key reason Americans pay more for treatment than anyone else in the world. But to see price hikes of as much as 675% being imposed in real time, automatically, by a hospital’s computer system still takes your breath away.
I got to view this for myself after a former operating-room nurse at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas shared with me screenshots of the facility’s electronic health record system. The nurse asked that I not use her name because she’s now working at a different Southern California medical facility and worries that her job could be endangered.
Her screenshots, taken earlier this year, speak for themselves.
What they show are price hikes ranging from 575% to 675% being automatically generated by the hospital’s software. The eye-popping increases are so routine, apparently, the software even displays the formula it uses to convert reasonable medical costs to billed amounts that are much, much higher.
For example, one screenshot is for sutures — that is, medical thread, a.k.a. stitches. Scripps’ system put the basic “cost per unit” at $19.30. But the system said the “computed charge per unit” was $149.58. This is how much the patient and his or her insurer would be billed. The system helpfully included a formula for reaching this amount: "$149.58 = $19.30 + ($19.30 x 675%).”
You read that right. Scripps’ automated system took the actual cost of sutures, imposed an apparently preset 675% markup and produced a billed amount that was orders of magnitude higher than the true price. This is separate from any additional charges for the doctor, anesthesiologist, X-rays or hospital facilities.
Call it institutionalized price gouging. And it’s apparently widespread because the same or similar software is used by other hospitals nationwide, including UCLA, and around the world.
https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-12-10/column-healthcare-billing-markups
Kyle Rittenhouse permanently banned from all EA games/services
Kyle Rittenhouse, and the username, has been permanently banned from Instagram and all EA services and games without violating any of their rules
EA is following in the footsteps of Instagram and have permanently banned Kyle Rittenhouse username and will ban all other people with similar names because it references “violence and terror.” Despite being found not guilty on all counts, Kyle Rittenhouse and anyone who supports him are being punished by big tech and the game industry. Players who have the username Rittenhouse have been permanently banned from all EA services and games, and the ban is not reversible.
According to a spokesperson at EA using the name “Kyle Rittenhouse” as a username breaks their Positive Play Charter because, “it is a phrase that harms others or negatively disrupts the game.” EA allege that Kyle Rittenhouse’s name references “acts of terror and violence” and that is a permanently bannable offence.
“EA is committed to building healthy communities. We’re not here to drop the ban hammer, unless we absolutely need to. We will take action to protect our players against harmful behaviors, cheating, harmful content, and illegal activities,” the guidelines state.
https://poptopic.com.au/news/kyle-rittenhouse-permanently-banned-from-all-ea-games-services/
Julian Assange is dragged from London's Ecuadorian Embassy.
(Twitter embed)
Nothing in their "News" section since October of this year:
News page
https://wikileaks.org/-News-.html
Raw
https://file.wikileaks.org/
https://file.wikileaks.org/file/
https://twitter.com/bclemms/status/1469662822795816968
Today in History: December 11
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1927 - Nearly 400 world leaders sign a letter to President Calvin Coolidge asking the United States to join the World Court.
1930 - As the economic crisis grows, the Bank of the United States closes its doors.
1941 - The United States declares war on Italy and Germany.
1946 - United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established.
1964 - Frank Sinatra, Jr., is returned home to his parents after being kidnapped for the ransom amount of $240,000.
1972 - Challenger, the lunar lander for Apollo 17, touches down on the moon's surface, the last time that men visit the moon.
1978 - Massive demonstrations take place in Tehran against the shah.
1997 - More than 150 countries agreed at a global warming conference in Kyoto, Japan, to control the Earth’s greenhouse gases.
1998 - House Judiciary Committee approved three articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton.
2001 - People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization.
2008 - Bernard "Bernie" Madoff arrested and charged with securities fraud in what was called a $50-billion Ponzi scheme.
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https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2021/12/11/today-history-december-11-th/6470103001/
https://ktar.com/story/4803557/today-in-history-189/
Wayback machine down for anyone else?
Getting an error 503