Power Provider in Puerto Rico Hit With DDoS Attack Right Before Unexplained Fire

McDonald's and Volkswagen hit by data breaches, Nuclear Security Administration subcontractor hit by ransomware, Avaddon ransomware gang calls it quits, Putin proposes hacker swap, more

Check out my CSO column this morning on the ambitious Congressional agenda on cybersecurity in the wake of recent ransomware attacks and supply chain hacks.

Puerto Rico’s main power provider Luma Energy LLC said that it was hit with a DDoS attack shortly before a fire at a substation in San Juan Thursday caused blackouts for hundreds of thousands of residents. Luma has not explained the fire, but an explosion occurred shortly before it broke out.

The attack targeted the company’s customer portal, Mi Luma, and its mobile app, shutting out customers trying to access their accounts or report outages. (Kim Nash and James Rundle / Wall Street Journal)

Related: NPR, Al Jazeera, The Hill, Deutsche Welle

Fast-food giant McDonald’s said that after it hired external consultants to investigate unauthorized activity on an internal security system, it discovered that company data had been breached in markets including the U.S., South Korea, and Taiwan.

The breach disclosed some business contact info…