Texas ransomware attacks show big gaps in cyber defenses — expect more like them

The ransomware attacks against more than 20 Texas towns this week are significant. Though little is known about the origins of the attacks, the spread of ransomware across small-town America has exposed a deep problem in how the country approaches cybersecurity.

That’s because local governments commonly share single service providers, making many vulnerable at once. On top of this, ransomware has often been used to mask more targeted, malicious activity by nation-states, and there are clear indications this will happen again in the future.

Ransomware, which is malicious software that spreads across networks and shuts down computers until a ransom is paid, can have a significant impact on the technology that runs local services, including water, power, wastewater treatment and emergency services.

Officials say at least 20 Texas government entities targeted in cyber attack

At least 20 local government entities across Texas were hit by a ransomware attack, authorities announced Friday.

The Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) said in a statement that officials from state agencies were responding to the cyber attack, but did not release the identities of affected agencies.

"Currently, DIR, the Texas Military Department, and the Texas A&M University System’s Cyberresponse and Security Operations Center teams are deploying resources to the most critically impacted jurisdictions. Further resources will be deployed as they are requested," the department said in the press release.

Broadcom-Symantec deal troubles cybersecurity experts

Broadcom laid down a $10.7 billion bet in buying Symantec's enterprise security software. While some are optimistic, security experts predict another Intel-McAfee deal.

Chipmaker Broadcom Inc. continued its quest to buy its way into the software market with the acquisition of Symantec's enterprise security business in a straight cash deal for $10.7 billion.

The Broadcom-Symantec deal is the second software acquisition Broadcom has made in less than a year. The first was its $18.9 billion takeover of CA Technologies, a 40-year-old company best known for its mainframe software, although the company was in the process of refocusing its business on a number of cloud and open-source initiatives.

Google reveals fistful of flaws in Apple's iMessage app

A team of bug-hunters at Google have shared details of five flaws in Apple's iMessage software that could make its devices vulnerable to attack.

In one case, the researchers said the vulnerability was so severe that the only way to rescue a targeted iPhone would be to delete all the data off it.

Another example, they said, could be used to copy files off a device without requiring the owner to do anything to aid the hack.