Dateline Moscow, Kyiv, Berlin, Rome, Washington, Beijing: Russia reconstitutes its forces, under pressure.
Ukraine at D+85: Russian attempts to reconstitute its forces, under pressure. (The CyberWire) Russian forces appear to attempting to consolidate their positions in the Donbas and along the Azov coast while their government seeks to reconstitute the units that have taken severe personnel and equipment losses during the invasion of Ukraine. Cyber phases of the war continue to concentrate on disinformation and nuisance-level attacks, many of these conducted by nominal hacktivists.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: List of key events, day 86 (Al Jazeera) As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 86th day, we take a look at the main developments.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: List of key events, day 85 (Al Jazeera) As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 85th day, we take a look at the main developments.
Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 85 of the invasion (the Guardian) Russia says 1,730 fighters at Azovstal plant have surrendered since Monday; ‘culture of cover-ups’ in Russian military, says UK’s MoD
Russia could actually lose territory amid Ukraine war disaster (Newsweek) The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine said Russian troops could be expelled from more regions they had occupied, which raises the prospect of Moscow losing Crimea.
‘Now we get hit too’: Belgorod, the Russian city on the Ukraine frontline (the Guardian) Locals speak of a tense atmosphere after a number of attacks – and reports of Ukrainian saboteurs
Red Cross registers hundreds of Ukrainian POWs from Mariupol (AP NEWS) The Russian military said Thursday that more Ukrainian fighters who were making a last stand in Mariupol have surrendered, bringing the total who have left their stronghold to 1,730, while the Red Cross said it had registered hundreds of them as prisoners of war.
Ukrainian POWs Could Face Real Legal Jeopardy in Russia (World Politics Review) This week, speculation has been intense about the fate of the hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to Russia in Mariupol. While it is easy to dismiss Russia’s claims against the prisoners as propaganda, the Geneva Conventions would allow Russia to bring some of them to court for certain crimes.
Captive medic’s bodycam shows firsthand horror of Mariupol (AP NEWS) A celebrated Ukrainian medic recorded her time in Mariupol on a data card no bigger than a thumbnail, smuggled out to the world in a tampon. Now she is in Russian hands, at a time when Mariupol itself is on the verge of falling.
Potential US responses to the Russian use of non-strategic nuclear weapons in Ukraine (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists) Responding in-kind to a Russian nuclear attack against Ukraine or caving to nuclear coercion would clearly be unwise, but the other US response options have risks and uncertainties that make one thing obvious: Russian use of a nuclear weapon in Ukraine would greatly increase the likelihood of direct NATO-Russia conflict.
Senate confirms new ambassador to Ukraine; Russia displaying scaled-down ambition, U.S. says (Washington Post) Senate confirms Bridget A. Brink as next U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Mariupol officials warn of ‘environmental catastrophe’: Updates from key battlegrounds. Trial of two more Russian soldiers set for Thursday, Ukraine prosecutor says
Russian attempts to restock its military may be doomed to failure (Breaking Defense) New revelations about Russia's reliance on foreign components means replacing equipment lost in Ukraine may prove nearly impossible.
Struggling in Ukraine, Russia paves way to sign up over-40s for army (Reuters) In a sign of Russia's urgent need to bolster its war effort in Ukraine, parliament said on Friday it would consider a bill to allow Russians over 40 and foreigners over 30 to sign up for the military.
Putin’s ‘Under Pressure’ Commanders Will Push Unprepared Forces To Donbas, U.K. Defense Ministry Says (Forbes) The rushed redeployment puts Russia at risk of further military losses, the ministry said.
Putin purges top generals over failure to capture Kharkiv and Moskva sinking (The Telegraph) Turmoil in top ranks of the Russian army as 'culture of cover-ups and scape-goating' becomes prevalent
Putin under pressure to fold Ukrainian territory into Russia (Newsweek) The Russian-appointed leader of Ukraine's occupied Kherson region and a Crimean official say they believe Russia will incorporate parts of southern Ukraine.
The Window To Expel Russia From Ukraine Is Now (Foreign Policy) Russia is digging in across the southeast.
Why Russia needs to be humiliated in Ukraine (Spectator) Too little was learnt from the collapse of the Soviet Union
Russia claims its Zadira laser weapon destroyed a drone in Ukraine (Defense News) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday that the claim reflects Moscow’s desire to find an alternative to missiles.
Russia touts new laser weapons, but Ukraine and U.S. are skeptical (Washington Post) A senior Russian official told state media on Wednesday that a state-of-the-art laser weapons system has been deployed for active use in Ukraine, a claim that U.S. defense authorities and military experts say has not been substantiated and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has mocked.
Don't be dazzled by Russia's laser weapons claims: Experts (Breaking Defense) "There’s not a lot of detail, but from what there is, there’s no need to hyperventilate," said Laura Grego, an astrophysicist at MIT.
Russian Weapon Exports (Wilson Center) Russia is the world’s second largest weapons exporter, but its stock is slowly being destroyed on the battlefields of Ukraine every day.
New Evidence Shows How Russian Soldiers Executed Men in Bucha (New York Times) Witness testimony and videos obtained by The New York Times show how Russian paratroopers executed at least eight Ukrainian men in a Kyiv suburb on March 4, a potential war crime.
Russian soldier on trial asks victim's widow to forgive him (AP NEWS) A Russian soldier facing the first war crimes trial since the start of the war in Ukraine testified Thursday that he shot a civilian on orders from two officers and pleaded for his victim's widow to forgive him.
A Crime in Search of a Court (Foreign Affairs) How to hold Russia accountable.
We were once pro-Russian ... but now we’ve switched sides to defend Ukraine against Vladimir Putin (The Telegraph) Defiant cities in the separatist Donetsk region illustrate how Vladimir Putin got Ukrainian sentiment so wrong
Putin "very alone" and there's no turning back after war―German minister (Newsweek) "I believe that at least a majority of the people have understood that we mustn't be naive again when it comes to Russia," Tobias Lindner told Newsweek.
Opinion | We Should Say It. Russia Is Fascist. (New York Times) If Vladimir Putin prevails in Ukraine, fascists around the world will take comfort.
Vladimir Putin’s plot to dismantle the West has backfired spectacularly (The Telegraph) An alliance of democracies is forming, and for the first time Asian states are rallying to the cause
Russian pundit who condemned Ukraine war changes his mind two days later (Newsweek) Mikhail Khodaryonok gave a rosier take of Russia's campaign in Ukraine on the program 60 Minutes, after a clip of him criticizing Russian forces went viral.
Pro-Russian hackers spread hoaxes to divide Ukraine, allies (AP NEWS) As Ukrainians flooded into Poland earlier this year to flee Russian invaders, a hacking group aligned with the Kremlin sought to spread rumors that criminal gangs were waiting to harvest the organs of child refugees.
Pro-Russian hackers attack institutional websites in Italy, police say (Reuters) Pro-Russian hackers have attacked the websites of several Italian institutions and government ministries, the police said on Friday.
Cyber Attacks on Ukraine: Not What You Think (PCMAG) Ukraine suffers almost continuously under cyberattacks attributed to Russia. Experts say, though, that almost none of these attacks directly support physical attacks.
Microsoft President: Cyber Space Has Become the New Domain of Warfare (Infosecurity Magazine) Brad Smith argues that the Russia-Ukraine war marks significant shift in way warfare is conducted
Nature of cyber war evolving in real time, says Microsoft president (ComputerWeekly) The past three months have seen the rapid evolution of the very nature warfare to incorporate cyber attacks, Microsoft’s Brad Smith tells the audience at its Envision conference in London
Here’s how a state-sponsored cyber attack will affect our daily lives (Evening Standard) With Russian reprisals for sanctions a strong possibility, cyber security expert Rahul Tyagi unpicks the impact of a state-sanctioned, large-scale cyber-attack on how we work, live and communicate - and how we can best prepare for the worst.
Sweden, Finland Weigh Cyber Risks Stemming From NATO Applications (Wall Street Journal) Authorities in Sweden and Finland have raised alert levels for cyberattacks, concerned they face increased hacking risks because of the war in Ukraine and the two Nordic countries’ subsequent applications to join NATO.
German intel chief says espionage at Cold War levels (Federal News Network) The head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service says levels of espionage now are as high as during the Cold War…
Top U.S., Russian generals speak for first time since Ukraine invasion (Reuters) The top U.S. military officer, General Mark Milley, spoke by telephone with Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the Pentagon said on Thursday, the first conversation between the two since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February.
Ukraine Aid Tracker: Mapping the West’s support to counter Russia's invasion (Atlantic Council) The West has shown a common understanding of the need to support Ukraine with military and humanitarian aid. Our interactive maps track the aid that Western countries are sending.
Four Ways to Understand the $54 Billion in U.S. Spending on Ukraine (New York Times) It’s the most annual assistance given by the U.S. to a country in the last decade.
Ukraine getting battalion’s worth of artillery in new $100 million aid package (Defense News) The U.S. is sending Ukraine another $100 million in military assistance, including heavy artillery and counter-artillery radars, the Biden administration announced Thursday.
Here are the high-end weapons Zelenskyy hopes the new Ukraine aid bill will provide (Defense News) The Senate has passed a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine that will enable the Biden administration to transfer more advanced, high-end weapons systems in order to counter Russia.
The Senate overwhelmingly approves $40 billion in aid to Ukraine, sending it to Biden. (New York Times) The measure’s smooth path through Congress reflected a broad consensus on Capitol Hill, for now, to devote massive sums to supporting Ukraine’s war effort with little debate.
NATO chief sure spat over Sweden, Finland will be resolved (AP NEWS) Turkey's leader flatly opposes having Sweden and Finland join NATO, but the military alliance's chief said Thursday he was confident the standoff would be resolved and the two Nordic nations would have their membership requests approved soon.
Why Finland and Sweden weren’t previously part of NATO (Washington Post) Western nations founded NATO in 1949 as a means of collective security against the Soviet Union and its allies. But for more than 70 years, two European countries — Finland and Sweden — declined to join the alliance, instead pursuing careful Cold War policies of neutrality and nonalignment.
Biden Seeks Swift Effort to Bring Finland and Sweden Into NATO (New York Times) Speedy approval seems likely among most members of the alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but Turkey’s objections remain a sticking point.
How the US Senate could slow down Sweden and Finland’s NATO future (Atlantic Council) Now isn't the time to debate for the sake of debating: The United States and Europe will be safer with Finland and Sweden in the Alliance.
What Finland will bring to NATO - and how it might change the alliance (Breaking Defense) There has been so much focus on whether Finland would join NATO that few have questioned what happens if it does. Here are 5 key areas to watch.
Sweden would strengthen NATO with fresh thinking and an able force (Atlantic Council) Sweden’s unique characteristics could make it a serious security provider—not merely a security consumer—in the heart of Northern Europe.
Four maps explain how Sweden and Finland could alter NATO’s security (Washington Post) Over more than 70 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or NATO, has grown to an alliance of 30 countries. Founded in 1949 to counterbalance the growing power of the Soviet Union, NATO — long a source of tension between the West and Russia — has reasserted itself as a significant and unified force against Moscow since Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
A “New Era” of NATO Expansion Deepens the Divide Between Russia and the West (The New Yorker) Finland and Sweden will join the alliance, spurring debate about the move’s long-term consequences.
Why has Erdoğan doubled down on threat to veto Nordic Nato bids? (the Guardian) Analysis: By demanding extradition of alleged PKK members, Turkish president could have one eye on elections
The Strongman Cometh (Dispatch) Why Erdoğan suddenly has a problem with Finland and Sweden joining NATO.
Germany's Scholz wants Western Balkans in EU (Reuters) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he will travel to the Western Balkans before a meeting of the European Council takes place next month, bearing the message that the region belongs in the European Union.
Kosovo prime minister: Europe can help defend this ‘democratic success story’ amid Russian aggression (Atlantic Council) Prime Minister Albin Kurti made the case for the power of the EU and addressed his country’s path forward with Serbia at an Atlantic Council Front Page event.
US embassy in Kyiv reopens after nearly three months of war (Al Jazeera) Washington remains committed to helping Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion, US says, as embassy staff returning to capital.
Pete Buttigieg says US backs new Marshall plan to rebuild Ukraine (the Guardian) Exclusive: Transportation secretary says there is global support for reconstruction effort to help recovery from Russian invasion
Mountains of grain left to rot as Vladimir Putin ‘blackmails the world’ (The Telegraph) The Kremlin's blockade of Ukrainian ports is crippling the world's food production as shipping containers sit loaded with immovable crops
Russia Rejects Pleas to Permit Grain Shipments From Ukraine (Wall Street Journal) U.S., U.N. aim to transport grain through Belarus to help world markets facing food shortages.
Russia-Ukraine war: Russia ‘will only open ports if sanctions reviewed’; Nato chief ‘confident’ in quick decision for Finland and Sweden – live (the Guardian) Russian minister says access to Ukrainian Black Sea ports linked to sanctions; Stoltenberg says alliance ‘addressing concerns Turkey has expressed’
Ukraine war has stoked global food crisis that could last years, says UN (the Guardian) Shortages of grain and fertiliser could cause ‘mass hunger and famine, says chief, as World Bank pledges another $12bn to ease shortfall
Russia-Ukraine latest: Vladimir Putin's food blockade 'craven and reckless', says Boris Johnson (The Telegraph) Boris Johnson has branded Vladimir Putin’s blockade of Ukrainian food exports “craven and reckless”, after the UN warned it could lead to global famine.
US accuses Russia of weaponising food in Ukraine crisis and holding global supplies ‘hostage’ (the Guardian) Blinken calls on Moscow to end blockade of Ukraine ports as Medvedev says Russia is ready to allow the flow of food when sanctions lift
U.S. preparing plan to destroy Russia's Black Sea Fleet—Ukraine (Newsweek) Anton Gerashchenko said U.S. officials are in talks to deliver anti-ship missiles as fears grow a Russian Black Sea blockade threatens world food supplies.
US missiles could end Putin's food blockade (The Telegraph) Handful of nations said to be open to sending Harpoons to sink Russian war vessels in the Black Sea
Senior Executives, Board Members Flee Russian Oil Giant Rosneft (Wall Street Journal) The Russian state oil giant is shedding senior executives and board members, a brain drain that stands to weaken a prime driver of the country’s economy while Moscow wages war on Ukraine.
McDonald's era in Russia coming to a close, restaurants sold (AP NEWS) McDonald’s is selling all of its restaurants in Russia 30 years after the burger chain became a powerful symbol of easing Cold War tensions between the United States and Soviet Union. The company shuttered hundreds of locations in March after Russia invaded Ukraine, which has cost McDonald's about $55 million per month.
A Russian businessman has agreed to hire and pay all 62,000 of McDonald's employees in the country following the fast-food chain's exit (Business Insider) Russian businessman Alexander Govor has to rebrand McDonald's in Russia under a new name, which hasn't been revealed yet.
Russian oil production is rebounding and will continue to increase as shunned supplies may find indirect route to Europe, Kremlin says (Markets Insider) Output increased by 200,000-300,000 barrels per day in May after declining by 1 million barrels per day in April, the Kremlin said.
Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Greenland says health services 'severely limited’ after cyberattack (The Record by Recorded Future) Government officials did not respond to requests for comment about whether it was a ransomware attack. Systems are still coming back online.
Conti ransomware shuts down operation, rebrands into smaller units (BleepingComputer) The notorious Conti ransomware gang has officially shut down their operation, with infrastructure taken offline and team leaders told that the brand is no more.
Conti Ransomware Gang Threatens Costa Rica's Government (Security Boulevard) The Conti ransomware group is claiming to have infiltrated Costa Rica’s government and has issued a ransom demand of $20 million, along with a threat to
This Russian botnet does far more than DDoS attacks - and on a massive scale (ZDNet) Operators can track social media trends and tailor their propaganda to suit.
Lazarus hackers target VMware servers with Log4Shell exploits (BleepingComputer) The North Korean hacking group known as Lazarus is exploiting the Log4J remote code execution vulnerability to inject backdoors that fetch information-stealing payloads on VMware Horizon servers.
Twisted Panda: Chinese APT espionage operation against Russian’s state-owned defense institutes (Check Point Research) Introduction In the past two months, we observed multiple APT groups attempting to leverage the Russia and Ukraine war as a lure for espionage operations. It comes as no surprise that Russian entities themselves became an attractive target for spear-phishing campaigns that are exploiting the sanctions imposed on Russia by western countries. These sanctions have... Click to Read More
Chinese Hackers Tried to Steal Russian Defense Data, Report Says (New York Times) The campaign detailed by a cybersecurity firm highlights Beijing’s increasingly sophisticated tactics to spy on an array of targets, including countries it considers friends.
China-linked Space Pirates APT targets the Russian aerospace industry (Security Affairs) A new China-linked cyberespionage group known as ‘Space Pirates’ is targeting enterprises in the Russian aerospace industry. A previously unknown Chinese cyberespionage group, tracked as ‘Space Pirates’, targets enterprises in the Russian aerospace industry with spear-phishing attacks. The group has been active since at least 2017, researchers believe it is linked with other China-linked APT […]
Space Pirates: исследуем инструменты и связи новой хакерской группировки (Positive Technologies) Space Pirates: исследуем инструменты и связи новой хакерской группировки
Spyware Vendors Target Android With Zero-Day Exploits (Wired) New research from Google's Threat Analysis Group outlines the risks Android users face from the surveillance-for-hire industry.
Protecting Android users from 0-Day attacks (Google) To protect our users, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) routinely hunts for 0-day vulnerabilities exploited in-the-wild. In 2021, we reported nine 0-days affecting Chrome, Android, Apple and Microsoft, leading to patches to protect users from these attacks.This blog is a follow up to our July 2021 post on four 0-day vulnerabilities we discovered in 2021, and details campaigns targeting Android users with five distinct 0-day vulnerabilities:CVE-2021-37973, CVE-2021-37976, CVE-2021-38000, CVE-2021-38003 in ChromeCVE-2021-1048 in Android. We assess with high confidence that these exploits were packaged by a single commercial surveillance company, Cytrox, and sold to different government-backed actors who used them in at least the three campaigns discussed below.
CrateDepression | Rust Supply-Chain Attack Infects Cloud CI Pipelines with Go Malware (SentinelOne) Software developers using GitLab CI are being targeted with malware through a typosquatting attack, putting downstream users at risk.
Deadbolt ransomware group targeting QNAP network storage devices (SC Magazine) QNAP advises customers to update their devices immediately and to not expose their NAS systems to the internet since discovering the Deadbolt ransomware.
Researchers Spot Supply Chain Attack Targeting GitLab CI Pipelines (SecurityWeek) A new software supply chain hack combines typosquatting and the impersonation of a known Rust developer to plant malware aimed directly at infecting GitLab Continuous Integration (CI) pipelines.
Media giant Nikkei’s Asian unit hit by ransomware attack (BleepingComputer) Publishing giant Nikkei disclosed that the group's headquarters in Singapore was hit by a ransomware attack almost one week ago, on May 13th.
Microsoft detects massive surge in Linux XorDDoS malware activity (BleepingComputer) A stealthy and modular malware used to hack into Linux devices and build a DDoS botnet has seen a massive 254% increase in activity during the last six months, as Microsoft revealed today.
ISC Releases Security Advisory for BIND (CISA) The Internet Systems Consortium (ISC) has released a security advisory that addresses a vulnerability affecting version 9.18.0 of ISC Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND). A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability to cause a denial-of-service condition. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the ISC advisory for CVE-2022-1183 and apply the necessary update.
Anonymous Server Leaks Millions of Loan Applicants’ Data (SafetyDetectives) Led by Anurag Sen, the SafetyDetectives security team discovered a misconfigured server belonging to an unknown entity that leaked data for potentially millions
What is ARP Spoofing? How to Prevent an ARP Attack (CrowdStrike) Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) spoofing or ARP poisoning is a form of spoofing attack that hackers use to intercept data.
Radware Mitigates 1.1Tbps DDoS Attack (Radware Blog) As more businesses migrate critical resources and applications to the public cloud, attackers are adapting their tactics and techniques to match the scale of public cloud providers
Majority of Kubernetes API Servers Exposed to the Public Internet (Dark Reading) Shadowserver Foundation researchers find 380,000 open Kubernetes API servers.
Health care systems vulnerable to cyberattacks supported by Russian intelligence agencies (Medical Economics) HHS cybersecurity center issues threat brief.
Small businesses under fire from password stealers (SearchSecurity) Kaspersky researchers found that several types of cyber attacks, most notably password stealers, are increasing against small businesses.
Phishers Add Chatbot to the Phishing Lure (SecurityWeek) Researchers have discovered a new approach being taken by phishers to increase victim engagement and confidence: the addition of an interactive chatbot.
ITG23 Crypters Highlight Cooperation Between Cybercriminal Groups (Security Intelligence) IBM Security X-Force researchers have continually analyzed the use of several crypters developed by the cybercriminal group ITG23, also known as the "Trickbot Group". Get the details here.
K-12 school districts in New Mexico, Ohio crippled by cyberattacks (The Record by Recorded Future) Washington Local Schools in Ohio and the Fort Sumner Municipal Schools in New Mexico each confirmed the unrelated incidents.
VyStar denies cyber attack theories as customers react on social media to ongoing outage (Florida Times-Union) VyStar Credit Union continues to experience an outage for its online and mobile services after one week.
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC iQ-F Series (CISA) 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY CVSS v3 8.6 ATTENTION: Exploitable remotely/low attack complexity Vendor: Mitsubishi Electric Equipment: MELSEC iQ-F Series Vulnerabilities: Improper Input Validation 2. RISK EVALUATION Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could cause a denial-of-service condition by sending specially crafted packets. A system reset is required for recovery.
Trends
CISA Releases Analysis of FY21 Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (CISA) CISA has released an analysis and infographic detailing the findings from the 112 Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (RVAs) conducted across multiple sectors in Fiscal Year 2021 (FY21).
Intelligence Insights: May 2022 (Red Canary) Raspberry Robin tracked as new activity cluster, Gootloader returns separate from Gootkit, and Qbot adopts new tradecraft.
Q1 2022 Threat Landscape: Threat Actors Target Email for Access & Extortion (Kroll) In Q1 2022, Kroll observed a 54% increase in phishing attacks being used for initial access in comparison with Q4 2021.Find out more in Kroll’s Threat Landscape report.
Ransomware Attack Vectors: RDP and Phishing Still Dominate (GovInfo Security) Attackers who successfully infect targets with ransomware primarily first gain access by exploiting poorly secured remote desktop protocol or VPN connections or by
Nearly Half of Enterprises Store Passwords in Spreadsheets and Other Documents, Hitachi ID Survey Shows (Business Wire) Nearly half — 46% — of IT, security, and cybersecurity leaders say they still store passwords in shared office documents. That’s despite an overwhelmi
More than 40% of banks worried about cloud security - report (IT Brief Australia) Publicis Sapient's new report finds security and the lack of cloud skills and internal understanding of business benefits are big obstacles for banks moving to the cloud.
Marketplace
QuSecure Announces Company Launch With Industry’s First End-to-End Post-Quantum Cybersecurity Solution (Business Wire) QuSecure™, Inc., an innovator in post-quantum cryptography (PQC), today formally launched as the first company to offer an end-to-end, quantum resilie
Enterprise Data Protection Company Seclore Raises $27 Million (SecurityWeek) Enterprise data protection company Seclore this week announced that it has received $27 million in Series C growth funding, which brings the total raised by the firm to $46 million.
Cloud Data Security Firm Dig Emerges From Stealth With $11 Million in Funding (SecurityWeek) Cloud data security company Dig has emerged from stealth mode with $11 million in seed funding.
Permira Completes Acquisition of Mimecast (GlobeNewswire News Room) Mimecast Limited (“Mimecast”) today announced the completion of its acquisition by funds advised by...
Conditions are cooling off for troubled SolarWinds (Federal News Network) By any measure software vendor Solar Winds was a high flyer, with many federal customers for its IT managements software. Now the company says it's nearly recovered from the 2020 Sunburst hack that…
WSJ News Exclusive | Porsche Rolls Out Board-Approved Privacy Strategy (Wall Street Journal) Drivers of Porsche cars can switch on privacy mode to stop the auto maker from tracking their data, or they can consent to having their data used for specific services.
Mitek Appoints Industry Veteran Chris Briggs as Head of Product (Business Wire) Mitek (NASDAQ: MITK), a global leader in digital identity solutions, today announced that industry veteran Chris Briggs has been named Head of Product
ReliaQuest Names Mike McPherson as Senior Vice President of Security Operations and Regina Marrow as Chief Information Officer (ReliaQuest) New SVP of Security Operations formerly served as FBI Special Agent in Charge; new CIO brings experience from Ernst & Young and Accenture.
James Fraley Named SVP, Chief Scientist of Pragmatics (GovCon Wire) Looking for the latest GovCon News? Check out our story: James Fraley Named SVP, Chief Scientist of Pragmatics. Click to read more!
ExtraHop Names Fouad Tawk as Area Vice President of Middle East, Turkey, and North Africa (ResponseSource Press Release Wire) With nearly 20 years of experience in the cybersecurity space, Tawk plans to expand ExtraHop’s team and partner ecosystem to support accelerated growth in the region
Mario Espinoza joins Illumio as CPO (Help Net Security) Illumio announced the appointment of Mario Espinoza as Chief Product Officer (CPO) to lead product strategy and engineering.
Sternum Adds the Cybersecurity Expert Behind NotPetya Malware Vaccine to Its Security Leadership Team (Business Wire) Amit Serper, a Cybereason and Guardicore veteran, joins the IoT security and insights company as its new Director of Security Research
Products, Services, and Solutions
New infosec products of the week: May 20, 2022 (Help Net Security) The featured infosec products this week are from: Deepfence, Kasten by Veeam, Qualys, Skybox Security, and Trusona.
Dr. Gerald Auger Joins ThreatGEN as Director of Cybersecurity Education (ThreatGEN) ThreatGEN Ups Its Game and Brings on Cybersecurity Education and Workforce Development Icon, Dr. Gerald Auger
CyberSheath Partner Program Delivers CMMC Compliance Across the Defense Industrial Base (Business Wire) Security, compliance, and IT roadblocks slow down federal contractors working to achieve compliance with Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (C
Support for CrowdStrike Falcon Added to Pondurance MDR Services (Pondurance) Pondurance and CrowdStrike bring together best-in-class technology and expert security analysts to detect and respond to today’s advanced threats.
Veriff obtains ISO 27001 certification (PR Newswire) Veriff, a global identity verification provider, today announced that it has been awarded certification against the ISO/IEC 27001:2013...
GDMS receives NSA contract for ethernet encryptor (Intelligence Community News) On May 17, Fairfax, VA-based General Dynamics Mission Systems announced that it has been awarded a contract from the National Security Agency (NSA) to design, develop, test and deliver a certifiable 400 Gbps high-assurance encryption solution.
QuSecure Lauches Quantum-Resilient Encryption Platform (SecurityWeek) QuSecure's platform was designed to provide an ‘easy button’ for the infrastructure-wide rapid implementation of NIST recognized quantum resilient encryption
NT selects Radware to improve telecom cyber defenses (SecurityBrief Asia) National Telecom Public Company (NT) has chosen Radware to strengthen the cyber defences of its international telecommunications infrastructure.
Major UK Retailer Stops Novel Malware Attack With Darktrace AI (PR Newswire) Darktrace, a global leader in cyber security AI, today announced that a UK retailer used Darktrace's AI to stop a cyber-attack attempting to...
Kaspersky Launches Online Ransomware Response Training Course (IT News Africa) Kaspersky, the Russia-based, self-styled independent cybersecurity and online safety provider, has today announced the launch of a new Windows Incident Response training course. This is in order to offer in-house cybersecurity teams and InfoSec professionals an opportunity to expand their analytical skills in the incident response domain, especially in the midst of a ransomware attack. […]
Hexnode partner with Keeper Security (News Today) Hexnode, an award-winning unified endpoint management solution, has announced a partnership with Keeper Security, a leading provider of zero-trust and zero-knowledge cybersecurity software, to assist businesses in bolstering their password management approach.
Thrive Integrates SOAR Technology into their Security Operations to Enhance Real-Time Cyber Threat Detection (PR Newswire) Thrive, one of the leading Managed Security Services Providers (MSSPs) in the world, has made a significant investment to upgrade their...
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
NASA Official Speaks to Cybersecurity 'Language Gap' in the Agency (Via Satellite) Getting cybersecurity right at a federal agency means learning to speak the language of the program and mission managers who actually run the IT systems
Mimecast: The 5 Types of Email Encryption (GlobeNewswire News Room) Email encryption is one of the most misunderstood and complex fields of data security, with many companies...
Malicious Reconnaissance: What It Is and How To Stop It (Security Intelligence) Malicious reconnaissance is the digital version of casing a house. How can cybersecurity professionals protect their organizations against it?
Zero Trust: Faustian bargain? (Netography) With no hardware, no software, and nothing to install, you can quickly replace the network visibility you’re rapidly losing in a Zero Trust world and complement EDR with capabilities you’ve never had before to better protect your ever-expanding enterprise network.
Threat Hunting Hypothesis Examples: Five Hunts to Start Out (Cyborg Security) A threat hunting hypothesis is a proposition regarding a tactic, technique, or procedure. Get 5 start hunt hypotheses free today!
Design and Innovation
Introducing our crisis misinformation policy (Twitter) Information about Twitter's crisis misinformation policy.
MissionLink.Next Announces Its Graduates from Spring 2022 Cohort; Joins Esteemed Alumni Network (PR Newswire) MissionLink.Next, an exclusive nationwide community that serves as a force-multiplier and gateway to accelerating innovation and advancing...
Research and Development
Cryptography In The Blockchain Era (Texas A&M Today) Texas A&M researchers have identified the properties needed to prove that bitcoin and other related cryptographic protocols are secure and safe to use.
Scientists create tool to kill cyber attacks in ‘less than a second’ (Central Fife Times) Researchers at Cardiff University have published details of a new method of finding and fighting malware.
Academia
NPS Students “Hack The Port” at Maritime Cybersecurity Conference (DVIDS) Five students from the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and their faculty advisor recently attended the inaugural Maritime and Control Systems Cybersecurity Conference, known as “Hack the Port 22,” which took place in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and online from March 21-25.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
International law should rule cyberspace, Attorney General will say (IET) UK Attorney General Suella Braverman will use a speech at the Chatham House think tank to lay out the government’s position on the application of the law in the digital space.
UK can lawfully launch cyberattacks against hostile states, says Attorney General (Computing) International law should apply in cyberspace, says Suella Braverman
Canada to ban Huawei/ZTE 5G equipment, joining Five Eyes allies (Reuters) Canada on Thursday said it plans to ban the use of China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd (HWT.UL) and ZTE Corp 5G gear to protect national security, joining the rest of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.
Canada bans China’s Huawei Technologies from 5G networks (AP NEWS) Wireless carriers in Canada won’t be allowed to install Huawei equipment in their high-speed 5G networks, the Canadian government said Thursday, joining allies in banning the giant Chinese technology company.
Canada to Ban 5G Equipment From China’s Huawei, ZTE (Wall Street Journal) The decision follows a yearslong security review disrupted by geopolitical tension between Ottawa and Beijing.
Canada Bans Huawei From 5G, Ending Years-Long Impasse (Bloomberg) Decision follows Huawei CFO’s release from Canada last year. Telcos including BCE, Telus have already begun to exclude gear.
House lawmaker to Biden: Pick a new cyber diplomat already (The Record by Recorded Future) A senior House Republican on Wednesday said he is concerned President Joe Biden hasn’t nominated a leader for a new State Department bureau that aims to set international norms for cybersecurity.
How the GOP assault on social media flipped net neutrality on its head (Washington Post) For over a decade, Democrats have argued that Internet service providers (ISPs), like AT&T and Verizon, shouldn’t be allowed to favor or throttle certain content on their networks, a push that ushered in the 2015 net neutrality rules later repealed by the GOP. But in the years since, a growing number of Republicans have flipped that playbook on its axis, extending it to social media platforms and calling for them to be treated like “common carriers” or “public utilities” and blocked from discriminating against users’ viewpoints.
Before we regulate Big Tech, let’s make sure we don’t hurt national security (The Hill) Obviously, curtailing a platform’s ability to prevent a computer virus from infecting that platform or its users can’t be good for our national security.
Conservatives revel in collapse of Joe Biden's disinformation board (Newsweek) Representatives John Katko and Mike Turner described the Disinformation Governance Board as an "Orwellian entity."
Space Force will likely add a component to Cyber Command, senior official says (FedScoop) As the newest military branch, the Space Force is currently leveraging the Air Force’s component to U.S. Cyber Command as its conduit and connection to the organization. But that may change, according to a senior official. “We don’t have our own cyber component yet in U.S. Cyber Command [but] I think that day will come, […]
The 688th Cyberspace Wing activates the 692nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron to consolidate operations, enhance Air Force security and capabilities (Sixteenth Air Force) The 688th Cyberspace Wing held an activation ceremony for the 692nd Cyberspace Operations Squadron, April 20, 2022 at Elgin Air Force Base, Florida.
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Department of Justice Announces New Policy for Charging Cases under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (US Department of Justice) The Department of Justice today announced the revision of its policy regarding charging violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).
DoJ Won't Charge 'Good Faith' Security Researchers (Dark Reading) Revised policy means security analysts won't be charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
U.S. DOJ will no longer prosecute ethical hackers under CFAA (BleepingComputer) The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced a revision of its policy on how federal prosecutors should charge violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), carving out "good-fath" security research from being prosecuted.
DOJ says it will no longer prosecute good-faith hackers under CFAA (TechCrunch) The policy change under CFAA comes a year after the Supreme Court limited the scope of U.S. federal computer hacking laws.
Justice Department softens enforcement of hacking law in 'good faith' cases (The Record by Recorded Future) The change is intended to protect "researchers who root out vulnerabilities for the common good," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.
US Narrows Scope of Anti-Hacking Law Long Hated by Critics (Insurance Journal) The US Department of Justice is changing its policy around a controversial anti-hacking law, addressing longstanding complaints from cybersecurity
Pegasus row: Supreme Court says probe panel can submit report by June 20 (Hindustan Times) Pegasus row: There are allegations that Pegasus was used for snooping against opposition leaders among others.
US recovers $15 million in profits from 3ve ad fraud scheme (The Record by Recorded Future) The U.S. government said Wednesday that it had recovered over $15 million of funds derived from an elaborate, international digital advertising scheme that used a botnet of infected computers to fake web traffic.
7 data breach reporting rules banks need to understand (American Banker) Several federal agencies have recently stepped up requirements on banks to notify regulators and the public when they fall victim to cybersecurity incidents.
EdTech Providers Can't Ignore Kids' Privacy Rules, FTC Warns (Law360) The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday stepped up its efforts to protect children online, warning that it won't hesitate to go after education technology companies that fail to protect students' privacy and revealing that it will hold an October workshop to explore how businesses advertise to kids.
Google faces UK lawsuit for NHS patient data breach (Jurist) A sole claimant Tuesday filed a representative action suit against Google and its artificial intelligence (AI) subsidiary DeepMind Technologies in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales for mi...
OAG: $1.2M cybersecurity settlement reached with real estate company (NJBIZ) The OAG and DCA announced a $1.2 million settlement with Weichert Co. and its affiliates over cybersecurity allegations.
Marriott Investor’s Security Fraud Claims Arising from Data Breach Rejected by Fourth Circuit (JD Supra) The Fourth Circuit dismissed an investor’s lawsuit against a hotel chain that had been subject to a data breach, ruling that the company had not made...
Texas Says Google's 'Incognito' Mode Stealth Tracks Data (Law360) Texas on Thursday expanded its deceptive trade practices lawsuit against Google LLC, adding claims that the search engine's "Incognito" mode misleads users to believe the company cannot track their search history or location when using the privacy setting.
Ex-FBI Atty Says Sussmann Said He Was Acting On His Own (Law360) The FBI's former top lawyer told a D.C. federal jury on Thursday he is "100% confident" that ex-Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann told him he was not representing any clients when he brought suspicions to him ahead of the 2016 election about a possible connection between then-candidate Donald Trump and a Russian bank.
