Anonymous marks Guy Fawkes Day with attacks on PayPal, Symantec, Facebook, and NBC. Its hackers also leak VMWare ESX kernel source code.
Other hacktivist groups issued statements over the weekend: the al-Qassam Cyber Fighters tell ABC News they've got no connection with the Iranian government, and Team Ghostshell "declares war" on Russia.
The University of South Carolina's Center for Information Assurance Engineering criticizes the state's role in last week's data breach, essentially charging the Department of Revenue with negligence. Two exploits from 2009 are disclosed: Coca Cola was hacked (apparently a Chinese economic espionage campaign) and Occidental Petroleum's email system was compromised.
Kaspersky publishes a threat trend study calling Russia the most dangerous nation for cyber activity. (Russia has begun a major upgrade to its extensive state surveillance of online behavior.) Kaspersky also finds a significant shift in cyber crime toward small business targets.
Contractors continue to look for ways around US Federal budget sequestration (despite Air Force advice to view the coming squeeze as an "opportunity of innovation"). The US Department of Homeland Security, likening Hurricane Sandy to a cyber attack on critical infrastructure, seeks to recruit a "cyber reserve." Much of the reserve talent is expected to be found in community colleges.
India gets a new cyber security chief and is expected to develop more offensive capabilities. The FBI is ordered to disclose its "Going Dark" surveillance program. Chinese editorialists say mutual mistrust harms the US and China; they recommend the US vet Huawei products, not ban them.