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LAST UPDATE | 3 Jan 2019
THE LUAS WEBSITE is down for the day after being hacked.
Luas operator Transdev said that the attack was “professional” and that the site is being analysed to see how the attack happened. It said:
We have identified 3,226 user records at this point of the investigation which may have been compromised.
“These are the records of where people signed up to a Luas newsletter. Luas will write to these people within the next 24 hours informing them of the potential breach.”
No financial information has been compromised in this attack, it added. Luas is also in contact with the Data Protection Commissioner.
Visitors to Luas.ie are met with a note demanding payment of one bitcoin, currently worth €3,385.
“You are hacked,” the message read:
It continued: “Some time ago I wrote that you have serious security holes. You didn’t reply the next time someone talks to you, press the reply button.”
The message then demanded payment of one bitcoin within the next five days, or else the hacker claims they will “publish all data and send emails to your users”.
In a tweet, Luas said all travel updates will be provided on Twitter until technicians regain control of the website.
It later said that it will take about a day to resolve the issue with the website.
Luas / TwitterThe #Luas website is down at the moment. We will be using this forum only for travel updates should the need arise. We have technicians working on this issue. NF
— Luas (@Luas) January 3, 2019
Luas / TwitterDue to an ongoing issue, please do not click onto the Luas website. We currently have technicians working on the issue. We will be using this forum only for travel updates should the need arise. For any queries, please contact our customer care number on 1850 300 604.
— Luas (@Luas) January 3, 2019
Transdev said that it would take the day to resolve, and that it would notify its customers when the website is back online:
The website has been taken down by the IT company who manage it, and their technicians are working on it.
Luas are informed this may take the day to resolve. We will update customers via Twitter and Facebook, AA Roadwatch and the media should there be any change to Luas services today.
One possibility is that the hack was a ransomware attack.
This involves finding a security weakness on the website or using leaked or phished login credentials, and using this to install malicious software on computers or servers connected to the site.
The software then locks down the computer’s files using powerful encryption. The hacker will often offer to provide the decryption code in return for payment, to allow owners to regain access.
Another is that the data was stolen in a hack, rather than ransomware being used.
- with reporting from Gráinne Ní Aodha
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What is happening on the roads in Donegal. Seems like there is a death nearly everyday at the moment there.
@Anthony Hilton: Ask them to drive like normal human beings and you will have less death.
@Anthony Hilton: Rural roads are mostly not fit for purpose, it exacerbates human error and creates a melting pot for potential accidents. Same all over the country. 75% of road deaths are happening outside of cities. A system of road widening is warranted, maybe since we decided to rely on vehicles to moves us around, not building trains etc. Small nation, why build infrastructure, everyone for themselves, etc.
@Thesaltyurchin: Rural road are perfect when people don’t see the speed limit as the objective.
@William Slevin: I’m getting a headache.
@Alex: lol. Just speaking as someone who lives in the countryside and sees the amount HGVs that use the roads daily, as well as but not limited to, cyclists, walkers, runners, horses, etc etc. All on the same tiny boreen. So really it’s all bound to happen.
@Alex: Wrong, our brutal narrow roads are a major contributor, ie dual carriageways are multiples safer than single carriageway roads. Where human are concerned you will get mistakes and bad judgment, of course if you were a grown up I wouldn’t have to tell you this.
Crumbs for the slaves
@Paul Kavanagh: Things not working out for ya?
@Jack Hayes: my life is the Greatest
They Got a guy called “anto”to do a statue of the queen.
Lol
@reg morrisey: She looking well! And her cousin Philip!
@reg morrisey: pretty poor, she looks like a roma gypsy
@Alan Kennedy: Her Cusband lol
@reg morrisey: what queen ? The British one ?
Any truth to the rumour that there a futher adjustment today for people on tracker mortgages?
@John Mcmahon: I don’t even know what a tracker mortgage is
@John Mcmahon: a further 3 percent is likely
@John Mcmahon: a contract is a contract, I have one, they have to adjust it immediately after this announcement. It’s in your contract and it’s enforceable
@John Mcmahon: There’s a .35% adjustment coming to align the lending and deposit rates. Not a rumour, that’s been planned for a while now. Just happens to be at the same time as the rate reduction. Good news all round for once
@Eamonn Keating: Just ensure that your bank passes this on it was announced last March and takes effect from the 18th of September.
@J Ven: No usually it’s a few weeks after wards but they should inform you , when rates went up again it wasn’t immediately passed on expect the reduced amount in October
Crumbs for the little people.
God bless the tracker :)
Asset prices will increase then.
It’s all a scam. Banks lending money they don’t even have.
.25, it wouldn’t buy you two cups of coffee weekly.
@Áine G: It’s a 0.6% drop off you are on a tracker
Did we not invent these systems? But were slaves to their working? Makes sense.
Gold hitting all time high
Looks like the trolls won over Brendan O’Brien. Where is it?
Needs to come right back down to give young people not on mega salaries some hope of a mortgage
what a joke
have your say