{"id":219016,"date":"2026-05-22T17:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T21:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/ransomware-phishing-cases-prompt-renewed-cybersecurity-warning-in-north-dakota\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T04:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T08:10:12","slug":"ransomware-phishing-cases-prompt-renewed-cybersecurity-warning-in-north-dakota","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/ransomware-phishing-cases-prompt-renewed-cybersecurity-warning-in-north-dakota\/","title":{"rendered":"Ransomware, phishing cases prompt renewed cybersecurity warning in North Dakota"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ransomware, phishing cases prompt renewed cybersecurity warning in North Dakota<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.kfyrtv.com\/2026\/05\/22\/ransomware-phishing-cases-prompt-renewed-cybersecurity-warning-north-dakota\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-22 17:29:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.kfyrtv.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author: <\/a><\/p>\n

Using an unordered list, summarize the following article with between 4 and 8 key points. BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On Thursday, May 21, thousands of North Dakotans received notification emails from ND Information Technology regarding a phishing scam.No harm was done, nor was a hack successful in this incident. As NDIT says, \u201cThis incident was not the result of a compromise within the ND.GOV environment. A non-state email account experienced a business email compromise (BEC), and a malicious message attempted to spread to additional contacts, including the external account group.The message was successfully detected and blocked by the state\u2019s email security protections and placed into quarantine. However, due to an automated notification process, a quarantine notification was sent to the external account group.We have since implemented additional configuration changes to prevent similar notifications from being distributed in this manner going forward. The security protections functioned as intended and prevented the malicious message from reaching users\u2019 inboxes.”This latest hack attempt, plus two major cyber incidents in North Dakota this year, are renewing warnings from state technology leaders that online safety has to become a daily habit for everyone.In Minot, a ransomware attack hit a computer server at the city\u2019s water treatment plant. The affected server was unplugged, and staff used manual procedures for about 16 hours. City officials said the water supply remained safe and the city stayed operational.In Dickinson, school officials said criminals used an email scheme to impersonate a trusted vendor and redirect payments, defrauding the district of more than $4.92 million from its Building Fund.The district said it immediately notified financial institutions and law enforcement, and the FBI was able to help recover the funds.State cybersecurity officials said the two cases highlight different threats, one targeting critical infrastructure and the other aiming for money, but they share the same bottom line.\u201cAnybody that\u2019s on the internet really is a sitting target,\u201d said Josh Kadrmas, governance, risk and compliance senior manager with North Dakota Information Technology. \u201cSo if you have a digital presence, digital identity, unfortunately, you\u2019re a potential target, and then you have the typical drive-by type of incidents with regular phishing emails.\u201dNorth Dakota Information Technology is urging residents, businesses and public entities to follow its Stay Cyber SMART guidance, a list of steps officials say can stop many common attacks before they start.\u201cCybersecurity needs to be part of an everyday journey. It\u2019s a shared responsibility,\u201d Kadrmas said.SMART stands for setting strong, unique passwords, making multifactor authentication a habit, avoiding risky links, attachments and senders, regularly updating software and devices, and taking care with personal information shared online.Kadrmas said cybercriminals often cast a wide net.\u201cCyber attackers mostly do not discriminate,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a drive-by. I\u2019m going to send out these phishing emails. If I get one or two people that fall for it, great.\u201dKadrmas said global events can heighten cyber risks and that North Dakota is not immune, noting the state\u2019s two military bases and the potential for increased activity when geopolitical tensions rise.Officials said anyone who believes they have been targeted should document what they are seeing, contact local law enforcement and report the incident to the FBI\u2019s Internet Crime Complaint Center here.Kadrmas added that prevention remains the best protection, including enabling multifactor authentication, keeping devices updated and verifying messages before clicking links or sending money.Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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Ransomware, phishing cases prompt renewed cybersecurity warning in North Dakota https:\/\/www.kfyrtv.com\/2026\/05\/22\/ransomware-phishing-cases-prompt-renewed-cybersecurity-warning-north-dakota\/ Publish Date: 2026-05-22 17:29:00…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":219018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/gray-kfyr-prod.gtv-cdn.com\/resizer\/v2\/JBOWBWYKE5F7BO36OUEZX35ZOY.png?auth=a0cb73e8179272d5242590173f6a26fa7d42bc10b986cbbc6aad11ee436a3393&width=1200&height=600&smart=true","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[24,25],"class_list":["post-219016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cybersecurity","tag-cybersecurity","tag-phishing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219020,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219016\/revisions\/219020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/219018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testing.news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}