Month: September 2021

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers offered a plan Wednesday to repeal a tax on businesses even though he vetoed legislation to do just that less than two months ago.

Republicans who control the Legislature called the move hypocritical. Evers said he was offering a better plan to end the state’s personal property tax than the one he vetoed, which he has said was drafted in a “haphazard” fashion.

“This legislation will continue our efforts to support businesses and families as they bounce back from the pandemic while ensuring our local governments have the aid they need to remain whole,” Evers said in a statement.

Republican Sen. Duey Stroebel of Saukville, a longtime backer of the effort to end the personal property tax, said the way Evers rolled out his plan “has all the hallmarks of political cover and not serious legislating.”

Republicans who control the Legislature this summer approved a bill to end the personal property tax alongside the state budget. The budget included a provision to provide local governments with state payments to cover revenue losses that would be caused by ending the tax.

Evers vetoed the bill to end the personal property tax because he said Republicans wrote it in a way that could have resulted in an additional tax break for utilities.

He said at the time he backed ending the personal property tax and approved the budget provision that set aside funds for local governments. He now wants to tap into that account for his plan to end the personal property tax.

In a news release, Stroebel accused Evers of “political posturing” and said his plan would treat outdoor advertisers and the makers of manufactured homes unfairly.

Evers said the new legislation was better than the bill he vetoed because it would ensure local governments would receive inflationary increases in state aid to cover their revenue losses.

 Attorney General Josh Kaul is advising Wisconsinites to be aware of ever-evolving ransomware threats. To date, the FBI has received 41 ransomware reports in Wisconsin this year, compared to 30 reports total in 2020.

“As technological threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, DOJ’s Cyber Unit remains committed to investigating cybercrimes throughout Wisconsin,” said Attorney General Kaul. “All of us can help combat the threat of ransomware by taking a few precautions: not clicking on links or attachments from unverified sources, using unique, complex passwords, and installing computer updates regularly.”

Ransomware is a type of malicious software cyber actors use to deny access to systems or data. The malicious cyber actor holds systems or data hostage until the ransom is paid. After the initial infection, the ransomware attempts to spread to shared storage drives and other accessible systems. If the demands are not met, the system or encrypted data remains unavailable.

A person may unknowingly download ransomware onto a computer by executing one of the following actions embedded with malware: opening an email attachment, clicking an advertisement, following a link, or visiting a website. Cyber actors continue to evolve their ransomware tactics over time to extort organizations and citizens. Awareness of these tactics is important to avoid unnecessary exposure.

Cyber-attacks may be prevented by following the Department of Homeland Security – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) best practices for managing risks posed by ransomware: https://www.cisa.gov/stopransomware. To learn more, visit the CISA Ransomware Guide at, https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/CISA_MS-ISAC_Ransomware%20Guide_S508C.pdf

Victims of ransomware attacks are encouraged to resist any urge to fulfill a ransom request. Compliance in response to a ransom does not guarantee the captured data will be returned. Compliance also encourages perpetrators to target more victims and offers an incentive for other cyber actors to get involved in this type of illegal activity.

If you believe you are a victim of a ransomware attack:

• Contact Wisconsin DOJ’s Cyber Unit https://wifusion.widoj.gov/
• Contact your local Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office (FBI) https://www.ic3.gov/