N.H. lottery website returns after facing cyber attack

Clicking unknown pop-ups on the internet is never a good idea.

The New Hampshire lottery website is back in service after the agency faced a cyber attack last Friday that attempted to trick users into clicking a pop-up and downloading malware.

“The (cyber) attack resulted in the creation of a banner/pop-up intending to get users to click and download a .zip file…We are confident that this attack did not impact any player data nor compromise the integrity of our gaming platforms,” wrote the organization on Facebook.

The agency said anyone who accidentally clicked on the banners or pop-ups should delete any files that may have been downloaded and empty the computer’s trash/recycle bin.

If consumers opened up the .zip file, it recommended running anti-virus or anti-malware software.

The website was taken offline while an investigation into the attack took place. However, the organization posted its website was back online early Saturday.

In 2021, there was a 50% increase in cyber-attack attempts per week on corporate networks compared to the previous year, according to Check Point Research, a “cyber threat intelligence” company.

To avoid cyber attacks, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommends turning on two-factor authentication, updating software, looking at a link before opening, and using strong passwords.