Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Microsoft: Iran-linked hackers breached Office 365 customer accounts (The Record by Recorded Future) Microsoft said today that a new Iran-linked hacking group has targeted more than 250 Office 365 tenants and compromised accounts for less than 20.
Iran-linked DEV-0343 targeting defense, GIS, and maritime sectors (Microsoft Security Blog) MSTIC has observed DEV-0343 conducting extensive password spraying against more than 250 Office 365 tenants, with a focus on United States and Israeli defense technology companies, Persian Gulf ports of entry, or global maritime transportation companies with business presence in the Middle East.
Microsoft said it mitigated a 2.4 Tbps DDoS attack, the largest ever (The Record by Recorded Future) Microsoft said its Azure cloud service mitigated a 2.4 terabytes per second (Tbps) distributed denial of service attack this year, at the end of August, representing the largest DDoS attack recorded to date. Amir Dahan, Senior Program Manager for Azure Networking, said the attack was carried out using a botnet of approximately 70,000 bots primarily […]
Business as usual for Azure customers despite 2.4 Tbps DDoS attack (Microsoft Azure) The pace of digital transformation has accelerated significantly during COVID-19 pandemic, alongside the adoption of cloud services. Bad actors, now more than ever, continuously look for ways to take applications offline. Azure DDoS Protection Standard provides enhanced DDoS mitigation feature...
The covid tech that is intimately tied to China’s surveillance state (MIT Technology Review) Heat-sensing cameras and face recognition systems may help fight covid-19—but they also make us complicit in the high-tech oppression of Uyghurs.
Turkey and Vietnam pose hacking threat, says Microsoft (Register) It isn't just the big dogs preparing to bite, warns Redmond
BlackTech Espionage Gang Adds to Malware Toolset (Decipher) Researchers at VB2021 localhost gave an inside look into new malware families that the BlackTech espionage group is now using.
NSA warns of ALPACA TLS attack, use of wildcard TLS certificates (The Record by Recorded Future) The National Security Agency has issued a technical advisory this week warning organizations against the use of wildcard TLS certificates and the new ALPACA TLS attack.
Twitch defaced with pictures of Jeff Bezos (The Verge) Hackers were able to replace images on Twitch for hours.
Trolls defaced Twitch's website with pictures of Jeff Bezos, the latest security concern - CyberScoop (CyberScoop) Two days after an unnamed hacker leaked a trove Twitch data including the streaming platform’s source code and information about payments to streamers, users are still seeking answers.
Facebook and its apps suffer another outage. (New York Times) All of Facebook’s main products — Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and the “big blue app” of Facebook — were inaccessible to at least some users around 3 p.m. Eastern time.
New Research: The Threat of Ransomware to S3 Buckets (Ermetic) What leads to ransomware exposure in S3 buckets and the native mitigation tools you can leverage to prevent it.
Ermetic Finds Majority of AWS Accounts Surveyed are Vulnerable to Ransomware (Ermetic) In newly published research, Ermetic found identities that, if compromised, would place at least 90% of the S3 buckets in an AWS account at risk.
Phishers Get Clever, Use Math Symbols for Verizon Logo (INKY) A large category of phishing attacks comes under the heading of brand impersonation. What made these attacks interesting was their use of mathematical symbols as part of the Verizon logo.
The cost of hiring a hacker on the dark web (Comparitech) Hired hackers break into social media accounts, erase debts, and change students' grades, says an analysis of hacking services on the darknet.
Four months later, Cox Media confirms ransomware attack (The Record by Recorded Future) The Cox Media Group, one of the largest media conglomerates in the US, has formally acknowledged a ransomware attack that crippled and took down live feeds for several TV and radio stations earlier this year, in June.
Intuit warns QuickBooks customers of ongoing phishing attacks (BleepingComputer) Intuit has warned QuickBooks customers that they are targeted by an ongoing phishing campaign impersonating the company and trying to lure potential victims with fake renewal charges.
Hackers could have stolen beer from BrewDog using bug that exposed details of 200,000 shareholders (Sky News) Vulnerabilities in the mobile app for the Scottish brewery and pub chain were in place for 18 months before being fixed, according to security researchers.
BrewDog exposed data of 200,000 shareholders for over a year (ZDNet) The beer's on BrewDog, too.
Craft beer specialist Brewdog fixes serious app vulnerability (ComputerWeekly) Vulnerability in brewer’s mobile app could have resulted in serious consequences for its shareholders and customers.
Someone hijacked a Navy warship’s Facebook account so they could livestream ‘Age of Empires’ [UPDATED] (Task & Purpose) In all fairness, it is a great game.
Clearview AI has scraped 10 billion photos from the web (Computing) Clearview appears to have ignored demands from social media companies to stop taking images from their platforms
Google pulls ‘stalkerware’ ads that promoted phone spying apps (TechCrunch) Five stalkerware apps had ads pulled after violating Google's policies on promoting spousal surveillance.
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Apple address actively exploited zero-day with OS updates (Computing) The company says it is aware of a report that the issue may have been actively exploited
Apple patches iPhone zero-day in iOS 15.0.2 (The Record by Recorded Future) Apple has released a security update on Monday for iPhone users to address a vulnerability in the iOS operating system that has been exploited in the wild.
Apache patch proves patchy – now you need to patch the patch (Naked Security) Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, and close up the hole of encoding dread.
Trends
DDoS Threat Report FHY 2021 (NexusGuard) Small bit-and-piece DDoS attacks boomed by 233% in the first half of 2021, revealed Nexusguard researchers in the Threat Report FHY 2021.
Sophisticated attacks on the rise: streaming industry targeted the most (Atlas VPN) As internet security tools improve, hackers need to come up with more advanced attack technologies as well. Sophisticated automated attacks emulate human behavior to evade detection. They can imitate human keystrokes and mouse movements. Such bots can trick standard bot-detection tools through human workers.
Opinion | These two brave journalists won the Nobel Peace Prize at just the right time (Washington Post) Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov demonstrate the essentiality of a free press in a crucial moment.
2021 SecureAge COVID & cybersecurity study
(SecureAge) In 2021 SecureAge surveyed 1,000 US-based respondents (400+ employers; 600+ employees), 600 UK-based respondents (200+ employers; 400+ employees), and 300 Japan-based respondents (100+ employers; 200+ employees) to find out more about cybersecurity concerns during the pandemic and what has been done to prepare for the future.
PwC Australia acquires Sydney MSSP WebSecure Technologies (CRN Australia) Bolsters Privileged Access Management capabilities.
Airmic: cyber risks are the most likely new risks to be financed by captives (Captive Insurance Times) The insurance market is failing to meet the requirements of Airmic’s members regarding premium rates, scope of cover and capacity, according to the association’s latest pulse survey
Australians lose over $100 million to investment scams in 2021; Q3 hits a record high (Finbold) Strikingly, in the first three quarters of 2021, Australians cumulatively lost AUD 115.46 million to investment scams.
2022 Global Digital Trust Insights Survey: Simplifying cyber (PwC) PwC’s 2022 Global Digital Trust Insights reflects the perspectives of business and technology executives on simplifying cyber.
Most Insurers Mandate MFA, But Premiums Are Still Soaring (Infosecurity Magazine) Some sectors have seen increase of 300% or more
U.S. Cyber Market Outlook (Risk Placement Services) The U.S. cyber insurance market is at a standoff. As coverage demand continues to accelerate in 2021, coverage supply has put on the brakes. On the demand side are organizations of all sizes, across all industry classes. They are looking to make an initial coverage purchase, increase their existing coverage or simply renew within budget.
The Human Hacking Report (SlashNext |) Phishing, spear-phishing and social engineering is a human problem across all digital channels.
Human Hacking Rises Dramatically in 2021 SlashNext Releases First Human Hacking Report (SlashNext |) Of the more than 14M malicious URLs identified to date in 2021, 51% were credential stealing – the gateway to ransomware attacks. PLEASANTON, Calif. – October 12, 2021 – Human hacking – phishing attacks across all digital channels – has dramatically increased in 2021. SlashNext, the leader in AI-based spear-phishing and human hacking defense across digital […]
Cyberattacks concerning to most in US: Pearson/AP-NORC poll (AP NEWS) Most Americans across party lines have serious concerns about cyberattacks on U.S. computer systems and view China and Russia as major threats, according to a new poll. The poll by The Pearson Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that about 9 in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned about hacking that involves their personal information, financial institutions, government agencies or certain utilities.
Ransomware – Are you the Next Target? (Accountants Daily) In 2021, many Australians fell victim to ransomware attacks and the accounting industry was in the top three industry sectors to notify data breaches.
New Danger: Ransomware hits finance industry hard (The Financial Express) Financial institutions spent over $2 million in recovery costs in 2020: Sophos
Ethiopia Encounters 2,800 Cyber Attack Attempts (Walta) Ethiopia has encountered some 2,800 cyber-attack attempts during the last Ethiopian fiscal year (2020/21), according to
Kaspersky blocks more than 30 000 mobile malware attacks combined in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa in just 6-months (Africanews) Out of the more than 206 000 mobile malware attacks blocked by Kaspersky (https://africa.Kaspersky.com) solutions for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa (META) region in just
Marketplace
RealDefense Completes Fourth Cyber Security Acquisition; Adds STOPzilla to Its Portfolio (BusinessWire) RealDefense completes fourth cybersecurity acquisition; seeks to acquire additional tech companies in security sector
Shift5 Raises $20 Million to Defend Planes, Trains, and Tanks from Cyberattacks (PR Newswire) Shift5, an OT cybersecurity company that defends military platforms and commercial transportation systems from cyberattacks, raised $20 million...
Mandiant Completes the Divestiture of Its FireEye Products Business to McAfee Enterprise (BusinessWire) Mandiant, Inc. has completed the divestiture of the FireEye Products business.
Orca Security raises $550m, extends platform and global footprint (Security Brief) Orca Security has raised $550 million in its extended Series C fundraising round led by Temasek, an investment company headquartered in Singapore. The round boosted its valuation 50% in seven months to $1.8 billion.
CYTRIO Raises $3.5 Million to Address Mid-market Data Privacy Compliance Challenges (CYTRIO) CYTRIO, a data privacy compliance startup, has raised $3.5 million in seed funding to address mid-sized companies’ challenges of meeting increasing data privacy regulations.
STG Closes $1.2B FireEye Buy, Merges It With McAfee Enterprise (CRN) Symphony Technology Group has completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of FireEye and has combined it with the McAfee Enterprise business to create a cybersecurity titan.
Russian Cyber Firm to Pursue Global Drive With CEO in Prison (Bloomberg) Group-IB looking for foreign investor, still eyes an IPO. IT chief accused of state treason, faces 20-year sentence.
Forcepoint To Acquire Security Service Edge Leader Bitglass (Forcepoint) Accelerates Delivery on Company’s Vision for Truly Converged Data-first SASE Forcepoint plans to integrate into the company’s Data-first SASE platform Bitglass’ best-in-class Security Service Edge (SSE) combination of CASB, SWG, ZTNA, CSPM, and DLP managed from a single cloud-based console with over 300 PoPs Worldwide. Forcepoint’s Data-First SASE architecture with advanced data security and connectivity capabilities brought together with Bitglass’ Security Service Edge offering will dramatically simplify how customers safely and efficiently access, protect and use data anywhere, on any device
Wiz raises $250 mln, values Israeli cyber firm at $6 bln (Reuters) Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz said on Monday it had raised $250 million in a private funding round that values the company at $6 billion.
Blockchain Analytics Firm Elliptic Raises $60M to Fund R&D, Expansion (Coindesk) The fundraising highlights growing interest in the transaction-analysis industry as companies strive to comply with AML rules and track the proceeds from successful hacks.
Irish mobile and cloud security firm to create 25 new jobs in Ireland and UK (Silicon Republic) Dublin-headquartered CWSI is investing more than €1.2m in an expansion plan, creating new roles in the UK and Ireland.
Telos Corporation Awarded $19.4M Task Order by the U.S. Air Force (GlobeNewswire News Room) Cybersecurity leader to provide assessment and authorization for SCI and ISR networks and weapons platforms...
‘I might delete it’: Facebook’s problem with younger users (the Guardian) According to leaked research, the firm has found engagement among a key demographic is in decline
Area 1 Security Wins XCellence Award for 'Best MES Newcomer' at Fall 2021 Midsize Enterprise Summit (PR Newswire) Area 1 Security, the only preemptive cloud email security provider, announced today that it has been honored with an XCellence Award in the...
KnowBe4's General Counsel Alicia Dietzen Recognized as a Business Observer 40 Under 40 Award Winner for 2021 (Yahoo Finance) KnowBe4, the provider of the world's largest security awareness training and simulated phishing platform, announced that its General Counsel, Alicia Dietzen, has been recognized by the Business Observer for their 2021 40 Under 40 Awards.
Emily Rollin joins McAfee Board of Directors (Help Net Security) McAfee announced the addition of former Deloitte Partner Emily Rollins to its Board of Directors and the Audit Committee.
Peraton selects Leidos veteran to head intelligence business unit (Washington Business Journal) Working within Peraton’s space and intelligence sector, the hire will bring more than two decades of experience to the company.
Accenture poaches two more partners away from Deloitte (Australian Financial Review) Accenture has poached two partners away from Deloitte, while PwC and Rennie Partners have also made senior appointments.
Bill Shields Named TransUnion’s Chief Information Security Officer (GlobeNewswire News Room) Shields brings more than 22 years of experience with leadership roles at Visa, Citadel and Fidelity Investments...
Philippe Vuilleumier, Head of Group Security at Swisscom, Joins Kovrr CISO Advisory Board (BusinessWire) Kovrr, a provider of cyber risk modeling and quantification for enterprises and (re)insurers, announced today that Philippe Vuilleumier, head of Group
Products, Services, and Solutions
Mandiant announces new solutions for leveraging threat intel (Security News Desk UK) Mandiant, announced two new, SaaS offerings – Active Breach and Intel Monitoring and Ransomware Defense Validation. The new products
Cybeats Products Service Security Needs of Large Utility Corporations; Relay Comments on the Economic and National Security Concerns for Utilities Infrastructure (StreetInsider.com) Relay Medical Corp. (CSE: RELA) (OTCQB: RYMDF) (FSE: EIY2) ("Relay" or the "Company")addresses the critical infrastructure...
As Cybercriminals Prey on Underserved SMBs, Huntress Globalizes Threat Operations Center and Launches New Endpoint Protection Capabilities (GlobeNewswire News Room) Following a $40M fundraising round, Huntress has doubled in size and led industry-wide response efforts to combat high-profile cyberattacks—and it's...
Motion Picture Academy employs cutting-edge tech to keep Oscar contenders secure (TechRepublic) With video use on the rise across the board, new technologies are being deployed to prevent it from being pirated or showing up in places it shouldn't.
This leading password manager has slashed its prices for Cyber Awareness Month (TechRadar) Keep all your account credentials safe with one of the best password managers around
F-Secure SENSE becomes Zyxel's third-party offering deployed by containers (VanillaPlus - The global voice of Telecoms IT) Cyber security provider F-Secure and broadband networking solutions provider Zyxel Communications are working together to help people and families protect
Google gives security keys to 10,000 high-risk users (BBC News) It follows warnings to users targeted by state-sponsored hackers, and expanded two-step security.
BBS Offers Cybersecurity and Product Management Skills Training (Cyber Security Asean) BBS, otherwise known as the Boston Business School, a training academy of long-standing in Singapore, is launching state-of-the-art programmes to train, upskill, and reskill people to work in highly s
Cymulate Broadens Scope to Offer Extended Security Posture Management (PR Newswire) Cymulate, the industry leader in SaaS-based Continuous Security Validation (CSV), today announced the next generation Extended Security Posture...
Cobalt Iron Compass Named DCIG Top 5 VMware vSphere Backup Solution
(Wallstcom) Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced that DCIG has named the company's industry-leading Compass® enterprise SaaS backup platform as a Top 5 Large Enterprise VMware vSphere Backup Solution.
Broadcom Software Named Google Cloud Customer of the Year (Symantec Enterprise Blog) Our focus is business-critical software that modernizes, optimizes, and protects
Google Cloud and Cybereason Join Forces to Drive XDR Innovation (Cybereason) Cybereason, a leader in operation-centric cyber attack protection, and Google Cloud today announced a joint collaboration between the two companies to create and bring to market unprecedented Extended Detection and Response (XDR) -- across endpoints, networks, cloud and workspaces -- at record-setting speed.
FREE Kubernetes Learning Platform Launched by Kasten by Veeam (Kasten) Learning.kasten.io features interactive labs that educate developers and DevOps teams on Kubernetes fundamentals, backup, disaster recovery, and application mobility
AT&T Managed XDR Extends Threat Detection with Machine Learning and Analytics (AT&T) AT&T Managed XDR is available today and provides 24/7 threat monitoring for greater network visibility and faster endpoint threat detection.
eSentire Launches MDR with Microsoft Azure Sentinel Extending… (eSentire) As a Microsoft Gold Security Partner, eSentire is Helping Organizations Globally Optimize their Investment in the Microsoft 365 Defender and Azure Defender Product Suites with 24/7 Threat Detection, Containment and Response Services.
Vaultree Introduces Encryption-as-a-Service Solution for the Global Market (PR Newswire) Vaultree today introduced a first of its kind Encryption-as-a-Service solution to improve data protection for the cloud era. The company's...
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
The Facebook Outage Also Highlights the Internet’s Aging Foundations (World Politics Review) Facebook's two technical outages last week highlight the systemic dangers that the emergence of supernodes, such as Facebook and its Big Tech rivals, pose to the internet. They also reveal the disparity of public debate surrounding social media platforms on one hand and the internet's foundational protocols on the other.
How a bill of materials prevents an agency from buying a bill of goods (Federal News Network) SBOM. It sounds like a play on a word you can’t say, but it stands for software bill of materials.
How do malware removal tools work? (TechRadar India) We shine a light on the inner workings of anti-malware software
Security Operations on the backfoot: How poor tooling is taking its toll on security analysts (Trend Micro) A global study: We reveal the personal and professional challenges facing SecOps teams.
#BeCyberSmart: Real World Advice on How to 'Fight the Phish' (IGI) We still shouldn’t open emails from people we don’t know, but that is no longer enough. Now, the thought has to be “question every email.”
Air Force communications squadrons increase emphasis on cyber operations for manned and unmanned aircraft (Military & Aerospace Electronics) Requests for support can be from base units for cyber protection team support in which the teams will work together on response efforts to an incident.
Army banks on new unit to help transform its data handling (Defense News) The Multidomain Task Force will be integral in helping shape the Army's approach to managing its data.
Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Fight the Phish (NIST) This week’s blog post highligThis week’s blog post highlighting Cybersecurity Awareness Month is from NIST’s Dr. Shaneé Dawkins, Computer Scientist in ITL’s Visualization and Usability Group. In this post, Shaneé discusses Phishing attacks and scams, as well as ways to keep your information protected.
BBB releases tips to help protect yourself from a cyber attack while shopping online (WFXR) The coronavirus pandemic increased online shopping habits, but the Better Business Bureau (BBB) wants to make sure consumers are protecting themselves from cyber-attacks. According t…
Design and Innovation
U.S. Satellite Sector Must Get Agile to Beat China, Says Former USAF Software Chief (Via Satellite) The U.S. satellite sector must embrace modern software design practices like agile and DevSecOps if America’s space efforts are to remain ahead of foreign competitors like China, Nicolas Chaillan, the recently departed chief software officer of the U.S. Air Force told CyberSatGov this week. He said in
The US Army will soon be able to see itself in cyberspace on the battlefield (C4ISRNet) Commanders will soon have a tool to visualize and understand the cyber terrain in their battlespace.
Army promises to learn, improve oversight after recent tech failures (Army Times) Among other things, the Army needs to better employ tech-savvy troops, said Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston.
Academia
Baltimore City student laptops are monitored for mentions of suicide. Sometimes, the police are called. (Baltimore Sun) Critics warn the monitoring might be used for disciplinary purposes, unintentionally out LGBTQ students or squash student expression.
A boy wrote about his suicide attempt. He didn’t realize his school’s Gaggle software was watching (the Guardian) Round-the-clock surveillance of students’ accounts raises tricky privacy concerns. And do they really help keep kids safe?
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
Hybrid Warfare and Active Measures (Small Wars Journal) Modern Russian intelligence operations, cyber intrusions and influence operations have found both potency in the proliferation of social media technologies and a receptive target in the existing political and social divisions in the United States. Media reports, including dramatic documentaries and breathless biopics on the ten Russian “illegals” arrested in 2010, create perceptions of either a newly developed Russian playbook or a full-scale return to the Cold War era of spy-vs-spy. Neither perspective is entirely accurate.
UK cyber head says Russia responsible for 'devastating' ransomware attacks (BBC News) UK security agencies say most of these attacks on the UK come from cyber-criminals in Russia.
A Pentagon official said he resigned because US cybersecurity is no match for China, calling it 'kindergarten level' (Yahoo) Nicolas Chaillan, the US Air Force's chief software officer, quit in September, citing insufficient investment in guarding from Chinese attacks.
Australia mulls measures making social media giants responsible for defamatory postings (Reuters) The Australian government is considering a range of measures that would make social media companies more responsible for defamatory material published on their platforms, Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said on Sunday.
Why Is The Indian Government Most Targeted Nation After the US And Who Are The Suspects? (ED Times) Building a system that cannot be hacked is more important than trying to locate the hacker. The conspiracies will remain, as will the facts.
Netherlands Says Armed Forces May Combat Ransomware Attacks (GovInfoSecurity) The Dutch government says it may use intelligence agencies or military services to counter cyberattacks - including ransomware attacks - that threaten the country's
Why Tackling Corruption Is So Urgent—and So Difficult (World Politics Review) Corruption knows no geographic boundaries, and its impact is devastating, particularly for developing countries. While recent revelations of massive corruption have made the issue a high priority for voters, the obstacles to effectively tackling corruption can prove to be persistent. That, in turn, can lead to popular disenchantment with leaders and democratic processes.
Africa’s Pandora Papers Revelations Are About More Than ‘Legality’ (World Politics Review) Nearly 50 public officials from 18 African countries have secretive holdings in tax havens, according to the Pandora Papers investigation. The revelations come at a time when debates over taxation, sovereign debt and capital flight from Africa are raging, against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic’s economic fallout.
Biden administration ramps up efforts to secure American infrastructure from Russian and Chinese cyberattacks (CNN) The Biden administration is ramping up its efforts to secure America's far-flung critical infrastructure amid ongoing concerns from top US officials that Russia and China continue to seek a digital foothold inside the networks of pipelines, ports and other targets -- with the intention of gathering data or one day exploiting any access gained.
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Announces New Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative (US Department of Justice) Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced today the launch of the department’s Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative, which will combine the department’s expertise in civil fraud enforcement, government procurement and cybersecurity to combat new and emerging cyber threats to the security of sensitive information and critical systems.
DOJ Increases Efforts to Combat Cyber Breaches by Targeting Government Contractors (Cooley | Global Law Firm) The US Department of Justice is increasing its arsenal to pursue cyber-related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients. The program, called the “Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative,” was announced by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Wednesday. The initiative – along with other recent steps taken by the federal government – should prompt companies to be acutely aware of any areas in which their cybersecurity measures may be deficient or out of keeping with representations made in their government contracts.
A Sea Change in Handling of Government Contractor Cyber Incident Reporting? (JD Supra) In the wake of increasing cybersecurity threats and incidents, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) amended its Federal Acquisition Regulation...
Pentagon says NSA working with major firms on cyber issues, defense information sharing (Republic World) Amid rising cases of cyber fraud, Pentagon said that the NSA is working with big defence industrial base companies on information sharing on cyber issues.
U.S. Cyber Agency Hopes to Avoid the ‘Regulator’ Label (Wall Street Journal) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency doesn’t want to be a regulator, its chief says, though another official argues mandatory reporting of hacks could complement the agency’s voluntary programs.
Congress Inches Toward Response to Ransomware Attacks (Wall Street Journal) Recent attacks have hobbled oil infrastructure like the Colonial Pipeline and meatpacker JBS before the companies paid millions to regain control.
White House Weighs Wide-Ranging Push for Crypto Oversight (Bloomberg) Draft executive order part of plan to coordinate agencies. Administration has yet to finalize strategy, decide on order.
Latest OMB Memo Doubles Down on Flawed NIST Critical Software Standards (Infosecurity Magazine) The administration must re-examine NIST’s new standards and seize the opportunity to make a real difference
Biden signs bill to strengthen K-12 school cybersecurity (TheHill) President Biden on Friday signed into law legislation intended to strengthen the cybersecurity of K-12 institutions after a year in which cyberattacks aimed at schools spiked as classes moved online during the COVID
Statement of President Joe Biden on Signing the K-12 Cybersecurity Act Into Law (The White House) Today, I was pleased to sign the K-12 Cybersecurity Act into law to enhance the cybersecurity of our Nation’s K-12 educational institutions. This law
Americans Need a Bill of Rights for an AI-Powered World (Wired) The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is developing principles to guard against powerful technologies—with input from the public.
U.S. Treasury’s Response to Ransomware Gangs: Punish the Attackers and the Victims (OODA Loop) In late September 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury (DoT) levied sanctions against the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Suex for the laundering of transactions from at least eight ransomware groups. This latest move to “follow the money” is designed to hinder ransomware operations that rely on cryptocurrency to receive payments from victims.
The FCC wants to crack down on SIM swapping, a common form of identity theft (Popular Science) SIM swapping is difficult to protect yourself against, and companies haven't been successful at stopping it. That could change with new rules.
Army opens Cyber Warfare School in Abuja to defend Nation’s cyberspace (The Sun Nigeria) Molly Kilete, Abuja The Chief Of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Faruk Yahaya, has commissioned the Nigerian Army Cyber Warfare
Arm takeover critic becomes national security adviser (The Telegraph) Alex Van Someren, who has blasted Nvidia's $40bn deal for chipmaker, is now the Government's chief scientific adviser on national security
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Maryland Nuclear Engineer and Spouse Arrested on Espionage-Related Charges (US Department of Justice) Jonathan and Diana Toebbe, both of Annapolis, Maryland, were arrested in Jefferson County, West Virginia, by the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) on Saturday, Oct. 9.
U.S. Charges Navy Engineer, Wife With Allegedly Trying to Share Military Secrets (Wall Street Journal) They are accused of trying to pass information involving nuclear submarine technology to a foreign country, according to unsealed court documents.
U.S. Navy nuclear engineer and his wife arrested on espionage charges (Baltimore Sun) Jonathan and Diana Toebbe were arrested in Jefferson County, West Virginia, on espionage charges.
Navy nuclear engineer and his wife charged with trying to share submarine secrets with a foreign country (Washington Post) A Navy nuclear engineer and his wife have been charged with repeatedly trying to pass secrets about U.S. nuclear submarines to a foreign country, in an alleged espionage plot discovered by the FBI, according to court documents.
U.S. Arrests Couple on Spy Charges to Sell Nuclear-Sub Data (Bloomberg) Navy employee offered secrets to a foreign power, DOJ says. Crypto payments and an SD card in a peanut-butter sandwich.
Navy nuclear engineer and wife arrested for trying to sell submarine secrets to foreign power (CBS News) One "dead drop" allegedly involved a peanut butter sandwich.
Prosecutors seek detention in Navy submarine espionage case (Navy Times) Jonathan Toebbe is accused of passing on design information about sophisticated Virginia-class submarines to someone he thought represented a foreign government but who was actually an undercover FBI agent.
Plans to allow police access to NHS data could erode trust in healthcare, England's Data Guardian warns (Computing) The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is set to go to the House of Lords later this month
Amnesty International links cybersecurity firm to spyware operation (BleepingComputer) A report by Amnesty International links an Indian cybersecurity company to an Android spyware program used to target prominent activists.
Citizen Lab researcher disputes claims from NSO Group after UK court finds UAE ruler used Pegasus to hack ex-wife, lawyers (ZDNet) "Would NSO Group have notified Princess Haya's lawyers had I not done my own notification?" Citizen Lab's William Marczak told ZDNet.
Israel’s NSO Group has disabled its spyware from hacking UK phones — report (Times of Israel) Controversial company said to have blocked Pegasus from targeting British numbers after learning the spy tool was allegedly used by Dubai ruler against his ex-wife, her lawyers
NSO's Pegasus spyware no longer effective in the UK (Computing) The Israeli firm blocked the +44 code in August 2020, says a source
Nicole Kidman lookalike spy 'hacked phone of lawyer who campaigned to free Princess Latifa' (The Telegraph) David Haigh became the first British person to have his iPhone targeted by the Israeli military grade Pegasus spyware
Pegasus Snooping- 'Matter Is Sub-Judice': AG Refuses Consent To Initiate Contempt Proceedings Against NSO Group Directors; Secretary Home (Live Law) The Attorney General for India KK Venugopal on Thursday declined...
Sale of spyware to dictatorial regimes stifles independent journalism, US media firm CIMA reveals (International Centre for Investigative Reporting) THE increased sale of commercial spyware to repressive governments globally has put independent journalists at the crosshairs of invasive surveillance and harassment.
Cloudflare Isn't Liable for Sites That Hawk Counterfeits (Wired) A federal judge ruled that the content-delivery service doesn't "contribute" to copyright infringement.
Hacker arrested in France for theft of COVID-19 tests for 1.4 million Parisians (The Record by Recorded Future) French police have detained a 22-year-old suspect on the accusation of breaching a Paris hospital, stealing, and then leaking the COVID-19 test results of more than 1.4 million patients.
Former TD Bank, Bank of America employee allegedly helped email scammers launder money (CyberScoop) An accused money launderer allegedly used his positions as an employee at Bank of America and TD Bank to aid an email fraud scheme that scammed five businesses out of more than $1 million. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday that a grand jury had returned an indictment against three men — Onyewuchi Ibeh, Jason Joyner and Mouaaz Elkhebri — charging them with money laundering and aggravated identity theft.
Three Men Charged with Laundering Proceeds of a Business Email Compromise Scheme (US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia) A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment yesterday charging three individuals with money laundering and aggravated identity theft as part of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme.
