Dateline: Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine.
Ukraine at D+491: Sorting out the Wagnerite mutiny. (CyberWire) The question answers itself, but the head of Russia's National Guard asked it anyway: if the West knew what Prigozhin had in mind, shouldn't they have warned President Putin? (No, General Zolotov, no way.)
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 492 (Al Jazeera) As the war enters it 492nd day, these are the main developments.
Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) RFE/RL's Ukraine Live Briefing gives you the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. The Live Briefing presents the latest developments and analysis, updated throughout the day.
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin builds dam 'to flood Ukrainian counter-offensive target' (The Telegraph) Russia has created a dam on the outskirts of Tokmak, one of the key targets of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, to flood the area and complicate Kyiv’s efforts to reclaim it, new satellite imagery suggests.
Ukraine’s toxic water crisis is escalating – and the consequences will be huge (The Telegraph) Destruction of the Kakhovka dam unleashes toxins like heavy metals and radioactive materials stored in sediments from the Chernobyl disaster
Opinion Don’t second-guess the Ukrainian counteroffensive. It’s just starting. (Washington Post) The whole world was riveted by the Wagner Group’s mutiny against the Putin regime. But the infighting in Russia did not last long enough to produce a significant shift on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s top general, Valery Zaluzhny, wants shells, planes and patience (Washington Post) For Ukraine’s counteroffensive to progress faster, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the top officer in Ukraine’s armed forces, says he needs more — of every weapon. And he is telling anyone who will listen, including his American counterpart Gen. Mark A. Milley as recently as Wednesday, that he needs those resources...
Ukraine aims to wear down and outsmart a Russian army distracted by infighting (AP News) Ukrainian forces are attempting to wear down the Russian army and reshape battle lines to create more favorable conditions for a decisive, eastward counteroffensive.
Putin ally furious with West for not giving him heads up about mutiny (Newsweek) The head of Russia's National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, said Western intelligence agencies knew about Yevgeny Prigozhin's rebellion "weeks" ago.
Days of Chaos: How OSINT Helps Us Understand the Putin-Prigozhin Schism (Flashpoint) Over the course of two days, social media and messaging platforms like Telegram played a key role in understanding events, rumors, and ideas surrounding the Putin-Prigozhin schism.
Russian general is believed to be detained in aftermath of Wagner mutiny, AP sources say (AP News) Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the deputy commander of the Russian group of forces fighting in Ukraine, has been detained days after mercenaries staged a revolt inside Russia.
Putin begins post-mutiny purge as ‘General Armageddon’ reportedly detained and deputy fired (The Telegraph) Sergei Surovikin, who's not been seen for days, is said to have been questioned by military prosecutors over his links to the Wagner group
Wagner shot down 'special mission' plane that will hurt Russia on the battlefield, says MoD (The Telegraph) Prigozhin claims the prized aircraft was shot down by a “fool” in the mercenary convoy
What happened when Russia’s air force attacked Wagner’s rebels? (The Economist) The mercenaries’ downing of several aircraft is another embarrassment for Moscow
How "Putin’s chef" undermined the Kremlin’s case for invading Ukraine (DFRLab) Yevgeny Prigozhin’s pre-mutiny remarks exposed Putin’s lies to the Russian public. They may be of interest to investigators as well.
The humbling of Vladimir Putin (The Economist) The Wagner mutiny exposes the Russian tyrant’s growing weakness. But don’t count him out yet
Russian uprising sparks muted reaction from China; 'unlimited partnership' under strain? (Breaking Defense) "China above all would like to see stability. It’s becoming increasingly apparent that China would like this war to end as soon as possible, but instability in Russia would not be to China’s advantage," said Meia Nouwens of the Institute for International Strategic Studies.
NATO leaders to parse Putin’s weakness in Wagner mutiny aftermath (Military Times) With Wagner chief whereabouts in doubt, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to address Thursday's gathering by video link.
Putin's Wagner weakness is a signal to support Ukraine's counteroffensive (Atlantic Council) With the short-lived Wagner mutiny exposing Vladimir Putin’s weakness for all to see, the time has come for Ukraine's Western partners to provide the country with everything it needs to secure victory, writes Taras Kuzio.
WSJ News Exclusive | U.S. Considers ATACMS Long-Range Missiles to Bolster Ukraine’s Fight (Wall Street Journal) President Biden has long declined to provide the advanced system, fearing escalating the fight with Russia.
Pentagon says no imminent decisions on ATACM missiles for Ukraine (Reuters) The Pentagon said on Thursday it was not aware of any imminent decision about the provision of ATACM long-range missiles to Ukraine, following a news report from the Wall Street Journal suggesting Washington was close to providing them to Kyiv.
Wagner drama drags Belarus deeper into Russia’s wartime turbulence (Atlantic Council) News that Wagner chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin and many of his battle-hardened troops will be exiled to Belarus has sparked concerns that the country is being dragged further into Russia's wartime turmoil, writes Hanna Liubakova.
Belarus leader welcomes Wagner forces, but others see them as a threat (Military Times) As life in Russia returned to normal after an armed rebellion by a mercenary group, tensions were rising in and around its neighbor Belarus, where the exiled leader of the force and some of its fighters were settling in.
Russia Has Reached a Dead End (The Atlantic) An indifferent response to a warlord’s march on Moscow heralds the dawning realization that Russia has no good way out in Ukraine.
Ukrainians have good reason to cheer Russia’s Wagner rebellion (Atlantic Council) As the Wagner mutiny unfolded in Russia over the weekend, Ukrainian social media was flooded with memes about popcorn as millions of Ukrainians settled down to enjoy the spectacle. This gleeful reaction was perhaps predictable, given the unimaginable horror and suffering Russia has brought to Ukraine over the past sixteen months, but there may also be a number of good practical reasons for Ukrainians to cheer Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s short-lived revolt.
Can Ukraine capitalise on chaos in Russia? (The Economist) Ukraine’s counter-offensive is going slowly
Five steps toward Ukrainian victory and a lasting peace with Russia (Atlantic Council) Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk offers his five-step vision for the decisive defeat of Russia's Ukraine invasion and a genuinely sustainable peace in Eastern Europe.
What next for Wagner’s African empire? (The Economist) The group is unlikely to pack its bags. But African states may rethink Russia’s reliability
Former U.S. Vice President Pence Visits Ukraine, Reassures Zelenskiy Of Support In Fight Against Russia (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, in a surprise visit to Ukraine, assured President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of his strong support for Kyiv’s "courageous" fight against the Russian invasion.
There’s No Such Thing as a Great Power (Foreign Affairs) How a dated concept distorts geopolitics.
Russian Spies, War Ministers Reliant on Cybercrime in Pariah State (Dark Reading) Swiss intelligence warns that Russia ramping up cyberattacks on infrastructure and cyber espionage as on-the-ground options evaporate.
Following NoName057(16) DDoSia Project’s Targets (Sekoia.io Blog) DDoSia is a DDoS attack toolkit used by the pro-Russia hacktivist group NoName057(16) against countries critical the invasion of Ukraine.
Pro-Russia DDoSia hacktivist project sees 2,400% membership increase (BleepingComputer) The pro-Russia crowdsourced DDoS (distributed denial of service) project, 'DDoSia,' has seen a massive 2,400% growth in less than a year, with over ten thousand people helping conduct attacks on Western organizations.
Hackers attack Russian satellite telecom provider, claim affiliation with Wagner Group (CyberScoop) The attackers released nearly 700 files associated with the attack.
Hackers claim to take down Russian satellite communications provider (Record) A group of previously unknown hackers has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on the Russian satellite communications provider Dozor-Teleport, which is used by energy companies and the country's defense and security services.
'It's All Lies': Supporters Say Petty Politics Lies Behind Treason Conviction Of Ailing Russian Scientist (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Valery Golubkin, a 71-year-old professor and researcher with more than 130 published works and numerous Russian state awards, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for treason, a charge he firmly denies. His family and lawyers say it amounts to a death sentence for the ailing man.
Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Proxyjacking: The Latest Cybercriminal Side Hustle (Akamai) The Akamai Security Intelligence Response Team (SIRT) has discovered a proxyjacking campaign that is targeting vulnerable SSH servers, then launching Docker services that share the victim's bandwidth for money.
Dark Web Intelligence Shows Everest Ransomware Group Increasing Initial Access Broker Activity (Business Wire) Searchlight Cyber publishes report on the dark web activity of the Everest ransomware group
Over 130 Organizations, Millions of Individuals Believed to Be Impacted by MOVEit Hack (SecurityWeek) More victims of the MOVEit hack have come to light, with a total of over 130 organizations and 15 million people believed to be affected.
Feds, Medtronic Warn of Flaw in Cardiac Device Data Tool (Gov Info Security) Federal regulators have issued a warning about a vulnerability in medical device maker Medtronic's Paceart Optima System which, if exploited, could lead to a
More than a million NHS patients’ details compromised after cyberattack (The Independent) Exclusive: NHS leaders warned patient data may have been accessed in university cyberattack
CISA Wants Exposed Government Devices Remediated In 14 Days (Dark Reading) Though government agencies have hundreds of devices exposed to the open Internet, experts wonder if CISA is moving at the right pace.
50 US Agencies Using Unsecured Devices, Violating Policy (Bank Info Security) Security researchers at Censys found hundreds of federally owned devices at 50 different agencies exposed to the internet, accessible through IPv4 addresses and
CISA working with agencies to pull exposed network tools from public internet (Record) The cybersecurity agency is trying to help agencies catch up as deadlines pass. A security firm says there is a lot of work to do.
2023 CWE Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) The Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute, sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and operated by MITRE, has released the 2023 Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses.
MITRE releases new list of top 25 most dangerous software bugs (BleepingComputer) MITRE shared today this year's list of the top 25 most dangerous weaknesses plaguing software during the previous two years.
CISA Adds Eight Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) CISA has added eight new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
CISA Releases Nine Industrial Control Systems Advisories (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) CISA released nine Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on June 29, 2023. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.
Microsoft Sysmon now detects when executables files are created (BleepingComputer) Microsoft has released Sysmon 15, converting it into a protected process and adding the new 'FileExecutableDetected' option to log when executable files are created.
Trends
Acronis Cyberthreats Report H1 2023: Dark side of AI | Acronis Resource Center (Acronis) The report represents a global outlook and is based on over 1,000,000 unique endpoints distributed around the world. Most of the statistics discussed focus on threats for Windows operating systems, as these are much more prevalent than those targeting macOS and Linux.
Dark Web Price Index 2023 - Exclusive Research (Privacy Affairs) As in the previous 3 years, we conducted research into the supply and prices of various goods and services sold by cybercriminals on the dark web.
Marketplace
Reveald Merges with Epiphany Systems to Usher in a New Era of Predictive Security Operations (AiThority) Reveald and Epiphany Systems are pleased to announce the completion of their strategic merger, resulting in a powerhouse cybersecurity.
Cy4gate, 5.4 million foreign contract for cyber intelligence systems (Breaking Latest News) Listen to the audio version of the article Cy4gate has been awarded a 12-month 5.4 million euro…
Cisco to buy network-monitoring firm SamKnows for better last-mile visibility (Network World) SamKnows technology will be integrated into Cisco’s ThousandEyes cloud-based network-intelligence software.
LogRhythm Celebrates 20 Years of Empowering Security Teams to Ensure a More Secure Environment with Continued Quarterly Innovations (LogRhythm) LogRhythm, the company helping security teams stop breaches by turning disconnected data and signals into trustworthy insights, today announced its 20-year milestone with a renewed commitment to delivering innovative solutions.
Products, Services, and Solutions
High Wire Networks and EverFast Fiber Networks Partner to Provide Overwatch Managed Cybersecurity to Midwest Businesses (GlobeNewswire News Room) EverFast and High Wire Co-Sponsoring and Presenting at INTERFACE Kansas City 2023 on July 13...
Leaseweb Canada Launches Cloud Connect to Support Hybrid Cloud Environments (Leaseweb) Leaseweb Cloud Connect enables fast, secure connections to Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and AWS from Leaseweb’s Canada data centers
NetWitness now supports AWS AppFabric to improve security for SaaS applications (NetWitness.com) NetWitness, a globally trusted provider of threat detection, investigation, and response technology and incident response services, today announced it is now integrated with AWS AppFabric, a new service from Amazon Web Services (AWS) that quickly connects software as a service (SaaS) applications for better productivity and security.
GoTo Launches New Mobile Device Management Solution for GoTo Resolve, Empowering IT Teams to Secure, Set Up, and Manage Company-Owned and BYOD Devices (Business Wire) GoTo Resolve MDM ensures strict compliance and streamlines management of devices running iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows OS, regardless of location
Proact hybrid cloud service achieves VMware Cloud Verified status (News Powered by Cision) Proact, Europe's leading independent data centre and cloud services provider, today announced that
Palo Alto, Orange partner for cloud-native SASE (SC Media) A tie-up between cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks, Orange Business, and Orange Cyberdefense has produced a cloud-native secure access service edge offering, SDxCentral reports.
Palo Alto's Prisma Cloud to get enhanced CI/CD security (SC Media) Palo Alto Networks Prisma Cloud Chief Technology Officer Ory Segal spoke at the company's annual Code to Cloud Cybersecurity Summit, in which he spoke about some of the security trends and challenges in the field of DevOps in the cloud, TechRepublic reports.
Detectify Enhances Integrations to Enable Security Teams with Easy Access to External Attack Surface Management Data (Business Wire) Best-of-breed EASM Player Enables Integrations with Any Security Tool for Frictionless Workflows and Accelerated Remediation
Bishop Fox Expands Social Engineering Adversarial Emulation Services (GlobeNewswire News Room) New and Expanded Red Team Offerings Overcome “Security Awareness” Gap and Improve Protection Against Multistage, Advanced Attack Methods...
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
New MIT Framework Evaluates Side-Channel Attack Mitigations (SecurityWeek) The framework helps evaluate the effectiveness of obfuscation side-channel mitigation schemes against data leaks.
Employee monitoring: is ‘bossware’ right for your company? (WeLiveSecurity) While employee monitoring software may boost productivity, it may also be a potential privacy minefield and it can affect your relationship with staff.
Design and Innovation
Malwarebytes: Consumer Sentiment Toward ChatGPT Negative (Channel Futures) A new Malwarebytes survey shows overall consumer sentiment towards ChatGPT is far from excitement, much less positive.
Council Post: Uncovering How AI's Dual Relationship With Cybersecurity Operates (Forbes) Cybersecurity has evolved and played a pivotal role in AI discussions due to threat feeds, AI platform protection and the need for rapid data analysis.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
One Step Closer to a European Law Regulating Artificial Intelligence (cyber/data/privacy insights) On 14 June 2023, the European Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act. The European Parliament’s vote on the AI Act proposal marks a significant milestone toward the regulation of AI within the European Union, as it sets the baseline for inter-institutiona
NCSC marks 20th anniversary of first response to state-sponsored cyber attack (NCSC) In June 2003, GCHQ experts were involved in responding to a cyber attack against the UK Government for the first time.
GCHQ reveals British government was hacked by foreign cyber spies 20 years ago (Record) Officials said that it was the 20th anniversary of the first time British cyber experts responded to a digital intrusion by foreign spies.
DOE CIO Talks to SecurityWeek About Cybersecurity, Digital Transformation (SecurityWeek) SecurityWeek interview with Ann Dunkin, CIO at the Department of Energy (DOE), about cybersecurity and digital transformation.
The State Department Improves Its Cyber State (AFCEA International) User experience and cybersecurity can go hand-in-hand, chief information officer says.
Navy Gets New Cyber Categories (Defense One) The move will make it so cryptologists and IT professionals no longer have additional duties in cyberspace operations.
Navy crafts new cyber rating, designator to streamline roles (Navy Times) The new rating and designator will predominantly be assigned to shore billets such as staff positions and leadership positions, and instructor billets.
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Former Group-IB manager has been arrested in Kazahstan (Security Affairs) The former head of network security at Group-IB has been arrested in Kazakhstan based on a request from U.S. law enforcement. Nikita Kislitsin who worked as the head of network security at Group-IB, as well as its Russian-based spinoff company (known as F.A.C.C.T.), has been arrested in Kazahstan based on a request from the U.S. […]
Pornhub Is Being Accused of Illegal Data Collection (WIRED) Complaints filed in the European Union claim the porn site fails to follow basic data-collection policies under GDPR.
Why US agencies buy personal info and what it means in the age of AI (Military Times) The government faces legal restrictions on gathering personal information on citizens, but the law is largely silent on agencies purchasing the data.
ChatGPT maker OpenAI faces a lawsuit over how it used people’s data (Washington Post) A California law firm says the company’s use of scraped data from the web violates the rights of millions of internet users
Ex-Uber and SolarWinds CISOs are taking the legal rap for attacks (how to avoid the same fate) (SDxCentral) Recent incidents have led to personal concerns among CISOs about their legal liability in the aftermath of security breaches.
Trickbot member pleads guilty in Cleveland, becomes U.S.’ first conviction in probe into notorious Russian-based cyber gang (Cleveland.com) Alla Witte became the first member of the international cybergang TrickBot to plead guilty in U.S. courts during a hearing Wednesday in federal court in Cleveland.