Attorney General Brown offers tips for consumers to shop securely this holiday season

BALTIMORE, MD—As Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday approach this holiday weekend, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown is urging consumers to remain vigilant and steer clear of common holiday shopping scams. With fake websites designed to steal personal information and misleading online ads, the risk of fraud increases during this busy holiday shopping season. “Year-end sales are […]

Governor Moore announces $1.8 million investment to bolster cybersecurity training at Maryland community colleges

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Governor Wes Moore this week announced a $1.8 million award to BCR Cyber and the Maryland Association of Community Colleges to bolster Maryland’s cybersecurity talent pipeline during a ribbon cutting at Howard Community College. The funding, secured in partnership with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, will help make Maryland more competitive by empowering all of Maryland’s […]

Russian national extradited in $16 million Phobos ransomware scheme

BALTIMORE, MD—Evgenii Ptitsyn, a 42-year-old Russian national, was extradited from South Korea to face charges related to his alleged role in the Phobos ransomware scheme. He made his initial appearance in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland on November 4th. The Justice Department alleges that Ptitsyn served as a key administrator of the Phobos ransomware operation, overseeing the […]

Maryland MVA launches app for businesses to accept mobile IDs for age verification

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Transportation’s Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) has launched a new mobile app, Mobile ID Check by MD, enabling businesses to accept mobile driver’s licenses and identification cards for age verification. The free app, available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play, aims to provide a secure and convenient way for businesses to verify […]

Cybercrime conference held in Baltimore

BALTIMORE, MD—The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland and the University of Maryland co-hosted a cybersecurity conference on Thursday to address the growing threat of cybercrime. The conference brought together cybersecurity experts from government and the private sector to equip business and public sector leaders with the knowledge and tools needed to combat the rising tide of data […]

Maryland bolsters cybersecurity with new monitoring service

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Labor’s Office of Financial Regulation on Wednesday announced the implementation of SecurityScorecard, a cybersecurity monitoring service, to bolster its supervision of Maryland financial institutions. This move underscores the Office’s commitment to consumer protection in the face of evolving cyberthreats. SecurityScorecard will provide continuous, real-time monitoring of cybersecurity risks for state-regulated banks, credit unions, and other […]

Maryland launches first-of-its-kind tech bug bounty program

BALTIMORE, MD—The Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT) has announced the successful completion of its first bug bounty program, which identified over 40 exploitable vulnerabilities in the state’s public-facing web assets. Launched as a pilot program focused on 12 key state websites, the initiative was later expanded to encompass all *.maryland.gov, *.md.gov, and *.state.md.us domains. This wide-ranging approach, modeled after […]

Marriott settles data breach lawsuit for $52 million

BALTIMORE, MD—Marriott International, Inc. has agreed to a $52 million settlement with 50 U.S. attorneys general, including Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown, following a multi-year data breach affecting 131.5 million guests. The settlement resolves allegations that Marriott violated state consumer protection and data security laws by failing to prevent the breach, which occurred between July 2014 and September 2018. […]