Nagoya port recovers from LockBit 3.0. Charming Kitten sighting. Spyware in Play store apps. Solar panel vulnerabilities.

Summary

By the CyberWire staff

At a glance.

LockBit 3.0 claims responsibility for Nagoya ransomware attack.
Charming Kitten sighting.
Spyware infested apps found in Google Play.
Solar panels and cyberattacks.
Hacktivist auxiliaries remain active in Russia's hybrid war.

LockBit 3.0 claims responsibility for Nagoya ransomware attack.

The Port of Nagoya resumed some container operations Thursday as it restored normal services in the course of recovering from Tuesday's ransomware attack. Bloomberg reports that five terminals are returning to operation. The Japan Times quotes the Nagoya Harbor Transportation Association as saying that LockBit 3.0, the well-known Russian ransomware gang, has issued a ransom demand, thereby claiming responsibility for the disruption. Tech Monitor notes that LockBit 3.0, a ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) gang, has been unusually active over the past week. Its other victims include Taiwanese chip maker TSCM as well as a range of organizations in the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, and the US. The amount LockBit 3.0 has demanded remains unknown. For more on the incident, including industry reaction, see CyberWire Pro.

Wish you had a cheat sheet for AWS investigations? Expel created one!

We remediate loads of cyber incidents in Amazon Web Services (AWS), and some common themes have emerged re: attacker use of APIs. We’ve noticed they map nicely to MITRE ATT&CK tactics.

So we captured them in a mind map of possible attack paths once hackers are inside an AWS environment. This resource should be helpful if you ever find yourself chasing a baddie through the cloud and want to catch them sooner than later.

Charming Kitten sighting.

Proofpoint researchers have been tracking the Iranian threat group TA453 (more familiarly, Charming Kitten) and have observed it deploying Mac malware and replacing Microsoft Word malicious macros with LNK infection chains. The approach begins with patient social engineering, contacting targets with benign emails. The hook is set only later. Proofpoint explains, in its conclusion, "TA453 continues to significantly adapt its infection chains to complicate detection efforts and conduct cyber espionage operations against its targets of interest. The use of Google Scripts, Dropbox, and CleverApps demonstrate that TA453 continues to subscribe to a multi-cloud approach in its efforts to likely minimize disruptions from threat hunters. TA453’s willingness to port malware to Mach-O also demonstrates how much effort the threat actor is willing to put into pursuing its targets. Regardless of the infection method, TA453 continues to deploy modular backdoors in an effort to collect intelligence from highly targeted individuals."

The InfoSec Survival Guide to Continuous Compliance

For a security compliance program to be effective, it must be built into the fabric of the organization, its processes, and its people. In AuditBoard’s The InfoSec Survival Guide: Achieving Continuous Compliance, security and compliance experts explore the need for a new approach to rapidly expanding compliance demands and dive into solutions at every stage of the compliance life cycle to help InfoSec teams of all maturity levels improve and optimize their practices.

Spyware infested apps found in Google Play.

Pradeo has notified Google that its researchers have discovered two malicious apps in Google Play. Both represent themselves as file management tools, and both of them serve spyware. They launch without user interaction, and they send exfiltrated data to servers in China. They look legitimate, they run unobtrusively, and they're difficult to uninstall. The two apps between them have a million-and-a-half downloads. The data the apps collect and transfer include:

"Users’ contact lists from the device itself and from all connected accounts such as email, social networks..."
"Media compiled in the application: Pictures, audio and video contents,"
"Real time user location,"
"Mobile country code,"
"Network provider name,"
"Network code of the SIM provider,"
"Operating system version number, which can lead to vulnerable system exploit like the Pegasus spyware did," and
"Device brand and model."

The Dirty Secret of OS Updates.

Users don't install updates, and IT admins won't force installs via a restart. But installing OS updates is a top priority for both security and IT.

When you make it part of conditional access, you can finally get it done without massive lists of exemptions or mountains of support tickets.

Watch the on-demand demo to learn how Kolide enables device trust for teams with Okta, ensuring only secure devices can access your apps.

Solar panels and cyberattacks.

SecurityWeek reports that hundreds of instances of the solar power monitoring product Contec SolarView are still affected by an actively exploited vulnerability described by Palo Alto Networks last month. An exploit for the vulnerability (CVE-2022-29303) has been public since May 2022.

Researchers at VulnCheck found six hundred SolarView instances exposed to the internet, four hundred of which are vulnerable. VulnCheck states, “When considered in isolation, exploitation of this system is not significant. The SolarView series are all monitoring systems, so loss of view (T0829) is likely the worst-case scenario. However, the impact of exploitation could be high, depending on the network the SolarView hardware is integrated into. For instance, if the hardware is part of a solar power generation site, then the attacker may affect loss of productivity and revenue (T0828) by using the hardware as a network pivot to attack other ICS resources.”

Hacktivist auxiliaries remain active in Russia's hybrid war.

OODA Loop has an overview of "non-state actors'" recent cyber operations in the war. Hacktivists operating in the Ukrainian interest (and, we add, certainly with some degree of coordination with the competent Ukrainian government agencies) have devoted some attention to interfering with Russian rail traffic. The rail operator RZD disclosed yesterday in its Telegram channel that its website and mobile app had been taken down by a cyberattack. The Ukrainian IT Army claimed responsibility.

Belarusian dissidents have also been active. The Belarusian Cyber-Partisans claimed to have successfully intruded into the systems of the Belarusian State University, wiping systems and shutting down domain controllers. The university acknowledges having problems--its website, for example, has experienced outages--but denies having come under a cyberattack. Its problems are due to "technical issues," the university says.

And pro-Russian hacktivist auxiliaries have also stayed busy. NoName057(16)'s DDoSia project is directed against Ukraine and that country's supporters in the West. It's also hit one domestic victim: Russia's Wagner Group, whose sites were attacked as the mutiny was under way.

The CyberWire's continuing coverage of Russia's war against Ukraine, with special attention to the cyber phases of that war, may be found here.

Notes.

Today's issue includes events affecting Australia, Canada, China, Côte d’Ivoire, the European Union, India, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Dateline: Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine.

Ukraine at D+497: Ground combat grinds on. (CyberWire) Moscow and Kyiv accuse one another of preparing to sabotage the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Russia ‘flees key village’ as Ukraine edges closer to regaining Bakhmut (The Telegraph) Kyiv’s forces on the attack around Klishchiivka amid reports that Moscow’s troops have retreated from there already

Ukraine Counterattack Is Heavy Going, West Says, as Russia Resists (Wall Street Journal) Despite Russia’s loss of half its combat effectiveness since last year, Kyiv is struggling with tough Kremlin defenses.

Ukraine Has Caught Up With Russia’s Tank Numbers, Data Signal (Bloomberg) New figures from Kiel Institute put tank deliveries at 471. Russia’s fleet halves, but Kyiv needs more than parity to win.

Captured Russian soldiers tell of low morale, disarray and horrors of trench warfare (CNN) For three days, shells and mortars were “flying and whistling overhead, exploding around us,” Anton, a Russian soldier positioned south of Bakhmut, tells CNN. “We were jumping like rabbits under mortar rounds and bombs.”

Russian Missile Attack On Lviv Kills Four; Zelenskiy Chides West's Foot-Dragging On Crucial Weapons (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) The death toll from a Russian missile attack on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv climbed to four, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on July 6. Another nine were injured.

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Ukraine destroys huge ammunition dump - watch (The Telegraph) Ukrainian forces struck a large Russian ammunition dump in the occupied town of Makiivka.

Ukraine, Russia accuse each other of planning to attack Europe's biggest nuclear plant (AP News) Ukraine and Russia are accusing each other of planning to attack one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants.

Zelensky set to blow up Zaporozhye NPP ahead of NATO summit, says senior Russian lawmaker (TASS) Leonid Slutsky said that "giving up their military support for the Kiev junta," which seeks to trigger a nuclear disaster, "would be much more effective than any words"

Putin’s Real Security Crisis (Foreign Affairs) The most important lesson of the Wagner rebellion is the FSB’s failure.

Russia’s Smoking Guns (Foreign Affairs) How to prove the Putin regime’s war crimes in Ukraine.

Western Europe Is Still Falling Short in NATO’s East (Foreign Affairs) Deterring Russia requires more than just promises.

Former U.S. officials have held secret Ukraine talks with Russians (NBC News) The aim of the discussions is to lay the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the war, people briefed on the talks tell NBC News.

Russia’s war on Ukraine forced us in Germany to think differently about our role in the world | Annalena Baerbock (the Guardian) We can no longer stand back and hope for the best; instead we must be strong partners to those promoting peace and freedom, says German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock

Opinion | Xi Jinping May Be Souring on His ‘Best, Most Intimate Friend’ (New York Times) How Putin’s leadership troubles have implications for China.

Lukashenko Says Prigozhin Is in Russia, Not Belarus (New York Times) The president of Belarus told reporters that the Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, who led a failed mutiny in Russia, is in St. Petersburg. The claim could not be confirmed.

Mercenary chief is still in Russia after mutiny, Belarus' leader says (NBC News) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told a rare news conference that Yevgeny Prigozhin was in his hometown of St. Petersburg more than a week after the armed rebellion.

Wagner boss Prigozhin has returned to Russia, Lukashenko says (the Guardian) Belarus president says head of mercenary group behind failed mutiny is in St Petersburg

Prigozhin flies to Russia to collect weapons seized after mutiny (The Telegraph) Wagner boss was exiled to Belarus but has been spotted flying in his private jet back and forth to Moscow

Kevin Mandia on Attacks Against Ukraine and Why They Matter (Bank Info Security) Russia has relied on blunt-force cyberattacks in Ukraine to inflict maximum damage rather than turning to new techniques. In many cases, Ukrainian defenders are

The Continued Expansion of Cyber Incidents by Non-State Actors in the War in Europe (OODA Loop) Last week, a new hacking group took responsibility for the taking down a Russian telecom satellite, which we interpreted as an expansion of the tactical activity (brought on by the instability in Russia) by Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) and non-state cyber actors on all sides of the multi-sided hybrid conflict in Europe. The following cyber incidents in the last week are consistent with a pattern of an increase in cyber attacks related to the Ukrainian conflict.

Russian railway site allegedly taken down by Ukrainian hackers (Record) The Russian state-owned railway company RZD said Wednesday that its website and mobile app were down for several hours due to a “massive” cyberattack, forcing passengers to only buy tickets at railway stations.

Mutiny Aftermath Jolts Ruble as $43.5 Billion Outflow Takes Toll (Bloomberg) The ruble has crashed through what a top government official recently called Russia’s “comfort” zone after a mutiny that briefly threatened President Vladimir Putin’s power compounded months of capital outflows.

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

Welcome to New York: Exploring TA453's Foray into LNKs and Mac Malware | Proofpoint US (Proofpoint) Proofpoint appreciates the analytic assistance from Dropbox and HSBC Cyber Intelligence and Threat Analysis during this investigation.

Two spyware tied with China found hiding on the Google Play Store (Pradeo) This week, our engine detected two spyware hiding on the Google Play Store and affecting up to 1.5 million users.

Sensitive govt information released in cyber attack (Yahoo News) The new national cybersecurity co-ordinator has confirmed government agencies were affected by the cyber attack on law firm HWL Ebsworth.

Exploited Solar Power Product Vulnerability Could Expose Energy Organizations to Attacks (SecurityWeek) An actively exploited vulnerability in the Contec SolarView solar power monitoring product can expose hundreds of energy firms to attacks.

Pro-Russian hackers target Port of Nagoya, disrupting loading of Toyota parts (The Japan Times) The group, LockBit 3.0, has made a ransom demand in exchange for the system's recovery, Nagoya Harbor Transportation Association said.

Port of Nagoya resumes operations later than planned after Russian hack (The Japan Times) The port, which handles some of Toyota’s exports and imports, has been at a standstill since Tuesday afternoon, when Nagoya United Terminal System was infected with ransomware.

Ransomware Halts Operations at Japan's Port of Nagoya (Dark Reading) LockBit 3.0 claims responsibility for the cyberattack that shuttered the largest port in Japan, according to authorities.

Nagoya Port Faces Disruption After Ransomware Attack (Infosecurity Magazine) Container import and export operations via trailer transportation have been temporarily halted

Ransomware Attack Stops Container Operations at Japan’s Nagoya Port (The Maritime Executive) Container operations are suspended at the Port of Nagoya, the largest port in Japan for the past two decades, as they work to recover from a ransomwar...

Nagoya Port Resumes Some Operations After Ransomware Attack (Bloomberg) Japan’s biggest maritime port suffered outage this week. No impact to automobile shipments for now, Toyota says.

Dutch counterterrorism agency says Generative AI is posing new cyber threats (NL Times) The advent of advanced technologies, such as generative AI, presents new cybersecurity threats, the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV) warned in its annual cybersecurity assessment. The Dutch counterterrorism agency is urging organizations to adapt their security measures accordingly.

Greatest cyber threats to aircraft come from the ground (CSO Online) Passengers’ Wi-Fi devices offer hackers more access to commercial airliners than onboard avionics do

EV Charger Hacking Poses a ‘Catastrophic’ Risk (WIRED) Vulnerabilities in electric vehicle charging stations and a lack of broad standards threaten drivers—and the power grid.

Cyber fraudsters get hands on policy info, dupe insured persons (The Times of India) In the latest cyber fraud technique found in Uttarakhand, the criminals are getting people working at insurance companies to reveal policy details of

New tool exploits Microsoft Teams bug to send malware to users (BleepingComputer) A member of U.S. Navy's red team has published a tool called TeamsPhisher that leverages an unresolved security issue in Microsoft Teams to bypass restrictions for incoming files from users outside of a targeted organization, the so-called external tenants.

Cyber Extortionists Increasingly Threaten Data Breaches (GovTech) A new global report finds that cyber extortionists are increasingly using double extortion or skipping encryption entirely, going directly to just threatening to publish stolen data.

250GB of NHS Patient Data Leaked in the University of Manchester Cyber Attack (CPO Magazine) The British media outlet The Independent reported a cyber attack that leaked patient data of over a million NHS patients.

Thirty-three US Hospitals Hit By Ransomware This Year (Infosecurity Magazine) Most had data stolen, according to Emsisoft

Trends

Honeypot Recon: Enterprise Applications Honeypot - Unveiling Findings from Six Worldwide Locations (Trustwave) To obtain a better perspective of attacks worldwide, Trustwave has implemented a network of honeypots located in multiple countries across the globe. By distributing honeypots in such a manner, we can gather a reliable set of information on the methods and techniques used by attackers and their botnets.

Human Error the Leading Cause of Cloud Data Breaches (Infosecurity Magazine) The report also found a significant rise in sensitive data being stored in the cloud and a continued surge in multicloud adoption

Attacks Against OT & Industrial Organizations Are on the Rise (Morphisec) This blog explores why proactive OT defense is critical and how OT operators use Morphisec’s Automated Moving Target Defense to protect critical systems.

Lack of DMARC protocol weakens already fragile e-mail security (ITWeb) Market research by SendLayer shows how not implementing protocol adds to vulnerability.

Companies Play Catch-up as Cybersecurity Attacks Rise in Digital India (Bloomberg) Breaches, ransomware attacks rising as companies go digital. Firms may have neglected cybersecurity amid fast growth.

Marketplace

Nokod Security raises $8 million to enhance low-code/no-code app security (Help Net Security) Nokod Security announced its $8 million seed round, which will be used to establish a presence in the United States market.

Outdid Raises $2.5 Million to Provide Identity Verification in a Private and Trustless Manner (Business Wire) Seed Round Led by Jump Crypto followed by Superscrypt

AUCloud nets $8.5m investment to boost cyber security and multi-cloud operations (FinTech Global) ASX-listed cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) provider, AUCloud, has successfully closed an $8.5m capital raise, marking an important milestone in the company

Increased pressure from reinsurers to place cyber separately at renewals: Gallagher Re (ReinsuranceNe.ws) According to Gallagher Re's 1st View report, cyber insurance carriers continued to explore standalone cyber placements at the mid-year renewals in

Cyber insurance rates drop 10% in June (Business Insurance) Cyber insurance rates dropped around 10% in June compared with a year earlier, reversing recent sharp rate increases, as claims proved smaller than expected, broker Howden said in a report released Wednesday.

Lloyd’s confirms departure of cyber head Arklie (The Insurer) Neil Arklie’s departure as Lloyd’s head of cyber has been confirmed with responsibility for managing the class being passed to Maria Mathews Saunders.

Aqua Security Appoints Former Microsoft Azure Executive as Chief Product Officer (Aqua) Aqua Security, the pioneer in cloud native security, today announced the appointment of Gilad Elyashar as Chief Product Officer. Elyashar will be Aqua’s first Chief Product Officer responsible for leading the product management organization from strategy to execution. Working closely with Aqua’s customers and Aqua’s technology team, he will guide the evolution of […]

Products, Services, and Solutions

Mastercard leverages its AI capabilities to fight real-time payment scams (Mastercard) Using latest AI-powered insights, Mastercard is helping banks predict scams in real time and before any money leaves a victim’s account. TSB report a reduction in losses to scams equivalent to £100m pa across the UK – should all banks adopt the technology and mirror their success.

Dig Security Becomes First Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) Solution to Support OCR For Image Classification (PR Newswire) Dig Security, the cloud data security leader, today announced it has added support for Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to the Dig Data...

TrustCloud™ Transforms Legacy GRC Programs with new API and AI-Powered Tools (TrustCloud) New AI-Powered Custom Frameworks, API, and 100+ Software Integrations Provide Unparalleled Efficiency, Agility and Cost Savings for Growing Businesses

authID Announces New Customer Contracts (GlobeNewswire News Room) authID® [Nasdaq: AUID], a leading provider of innovative biometric identity verification and authentication...

Cloud Range Partners with ActiveBytes Innovations to Distribute Its Cyber Readiness Platform and Services in the Middle East (Business Wire) Increased global expansion into the Middle East meets demand for critical infrastructure and industrial cybersecurity customers in high-growth markets

Skyhigh Security News & Information Center (Skyhigh Security) Unify data protection across endpoints, web, private apps, email & cloud. Enable unified reporting & incident management without increasing overhead.

Twitter quietly backtracks on requiring users to log in to see tweets | Engadget (Engadget) Several days after Twitter stopped showing tweets to logged-out users, that basic functionality seems to be returning..

Threads vs. Twitter: What’s the Difference? (Wall Street Journal) The Instagram-linked app joins the crowded microblogging fray. Here’s how it compares with Twitter.

Technologies, Techniques, and Standards

New INE Cybersecurity Certification Takes Aim at Closing Critical Cyber Skills Gap (GlobeNewswire News Room) A crippling skills gap continues to impact the Information Technology industry worldwide. As a result,...

Design and Innovation

Microsoft to build 'quantum supercomputer' within a decade (Computing) Computing is the leading information resource for UK technology decision makers, providing the latest market news and hard-hitting opinion.

Research and Development

Why cyberpsychology is such an important part of effective cybersecurity (CSO Online) Insight into how the human mind works can help combat the evils of social engineering, boosting the fight against phishing and other mind-manipulation techniques.

Academia

Houston students place high in national cyber security competition (InnovationMap) A team from Houston Community College had a strong showing earlier this month at the spring National Cyber League competition.

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

EU lawmakers set to close deal on cybersecurity law for connected devices (Euractiv) The main political groups of the European Parliament are expected to reach a common position on the new cybersecurity regulation at a political meeting on Wednesday (5 July).

New law could allow GCHQ to monitor UK internet logs in real-time to tackle fraud (Record) Britain’s cyber and signals intelligence agency GCHQ could monitor logs of domestic internet traffic in the United Kingdom in real-time to identify online fraud and interrupt criminals during the act, under a new law being considered by the government.

Recent Chinese Cyber Intrusions Signal a Strategic Shift (Real Clear Defense) On 25 May, Australia and its partners in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network—Canada, New Zealand, the U.K. and the U.S.—made a coordinated disclosure on a state-sponsored cyber hacking group dubbed ‘Volt Typhoon’.

Singapore cracks down on digital scams in latest law targeting online crimes (South China Morning Post) The new legislation grants authorities the power to issue social media platforms and internet service providers different types of directions to stop malicious activity.

This Is the Help Congress Needs to Regulate AI (The Information) When OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before Congress in May about the existential risks large-language models and other generative artificial intelligence technologies pose to humanity, there was an elephant in the room. Who believes that Congress—in its current state, at least—is capable of ...

Statement on AI Risk (CAIS) A statement jointly signed by a historic coalition of experts: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”

US Spies Are Buying Americans' Private Data. Congress Has a New Chance to Stop It (WIRED) The National Defense Authorization Act now includes draft language forbidding government entities from buying Americans' search histories, location data, and more.

Austin Directs DOD Components to Reinforce Classified Safeguards Following Security Review (U.S. Department of Defense) Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has tasked DOD components with implementing a series of recommendations aimed at improving classified information safeguards following a review of

After secret documents leak, Pentagon plans tighter controls to protect classified information (AP News) The Pentagon is announcing its plans for tightening protections of classified information following the explosive leaks of hundreds of intelligence documents that were accessed through security gaps at a Massachusetts Air National Guard base.

Pentagon review finds no 'single point of failure' in Discord leaks, proposes new office to monitor users (Breaking Defense) The review was launched in April after a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was hit with two federal charges alleging that he shared classified information about the Russia-Ukraine war on the social media platform Discord.

Pentagon Warns of Overcorrection on Secrets After Alleged Teixeira Leaks (Wall Street Journal) The Defense Department acknowledged the need to improve safeguards that could prevent future breaches.

The FTC's biggest AI enforcement tool? Forcing companies to delete their algorithms (CyberScoop) Algorithm disgorgement requires companies to remove products built on data they shouldn't have used in the first place.

Forget a Cyber Force, CYBERCOM is Doing Just Fine (OODA Loop) According to recent reporting, the Senate Armed Services Committee has requested a third-party assessment on the potential establishment of an independent military Cyber Force for the Department of Defense (DoD). The six-month assessment would address such areas

The Navy Defensive Cyber Force Needs Greater Specialization (U.S. Naval Institute) Navy Cyber needs greater specialization and training.

Marine Corps triples enlistment bonuses for cyber jobs (Marine Corps Times) The service has said it needs Marines who can defend against cyber attacks and launch some of their own.

U.S. is barred from combating disinformation on social media. Here's what it means (NPR) Under a judge's new ruling, much of the federal government is now barred from working with social media companies to address removing any content that might contain "protected free speech."

Judge limits Biden administration contact with social media firms (POLITICO) The ruling and order are the latest developments in a long-running lawsuit spearheaded by Republican-led states.

Judge limits Biden administration's communication with social media companies (NPR) A federal judge has restricted the Biden administration and some government agencies and officials from communicating with social media companies about certain content.

M U Nair appointed as new national cyber security coordinator (Techcircle) The National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC), the cybersecurity and e-surveillance agency in the government of India, has appointed Lt Gen MU Nair as the new National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) replacing Lt Gen (retd.) Dr Rajesh Pant.

An interview with cyber-focused presidential candidate Will Hurd (Washington Post) GOP presidential candidate Will Hurd talks Chinese cyberattacks, protecting U.S. networks and more

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

Police Arrest OPERA1ER Cybercrime Group Suspect (Decipher) Operation Nervone shows how international and private-public sector collaboration is essential in identifying and arresting cybercriminals.

Top suspect in OPERA1ER cybercrime operation arrested in Africa (Record) A “suspected senior member” of the French-speaking OPERA1ER cybercrime gang is in custody, international police announced Wednesday.

AI girlfriend ‘told crossbow intruder to kill Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle’ (The Telegraph) Jaswant Singh Chail was detained close to late Queen’s private Berkshire residence on Christmas Day 2021

State Dept. cancels Facebook meetings after judge’s ‘censorship’ ruling (Washington Post) A Louisiana federal court’s order is upending efforts to guard against 2024 election interference

UK Cybersecurity Officials Investigating Breach Affecting London Hospitals (Bloomberg) Hacking gang claims to have stolen trove of data from Barts Health NHS Trust

UK Cybersecurity Officials Investigate Data Breach Affecting London Hospitals (Insurance Journal) British cybersecurity officials are investigating an alleged cyberattack on a group of hospitals in London that has led to the disclosure of confidential

Department of Justice fined R5m for not beefing up cyber security after 2021 data breach (News24) The Information Regulator has fined the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development R5 million after it failed to comply with an enforcement notice requiring it to improve its cyber security software following a 2021 data breach.

Trump valet charged in classified documents case set again for arraignment after earlier delays (AP News) A valet for Donald Trump accused of helping the former president hide classified documents from federal authorities is due back in a Florida court after an earlier appearance was postponed because of a canceled flight.

EU court decision orders Meta to change data practices (Record) A Tuesday ruling from the European Union’s Court of Justice (CJEU) held up a German government antitrust authority’s 2019 order directing Facebook to change how it tracks customers’ web surfing and use of browser apps.

TikTok asks US judge to block Montana ban before Jan. 1 effective date (Reuters) TikTok Inc on Wednesday asked a U.S. judge to block enforcement of a Montana state ban on use of the Chinese-owned app before it takes effect on Jan. 1.

Harry’s Sun phone-hacking claim is ‘Alice in Wonderland stuff’, court hears (the Guardian) Duke of Sussex alleges secret deal between the publisher of the Sun and the royal family

Industry Events

For a complete running list of events, please visit the Event Tracker.

Newly Noted Events

Girls Hack Village presents SquadCon (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, Aug 10 - 12, 2023) Girls Hack Village presents SquadCon is a three-day conference that seeks to bring gender diverse perspectives of the contributions, experiences, and issues facing the industry's other. Hackers that are new or from underrepresented communities may not often feel comfortable in existing conferences. SquadCon is a forum for conversations about topics that impact girls, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals, including mental health and all the factors that shape the experiences of marginalized groups in the industry. SquadCon is a cybersecurity conference that will include talks, labs, workshops, discussions, CTFs and panels to move towards our mission of improving diversity in ethical hacking. SquadCon is an independent conference event in Las Vegas during Hacker Summer Camp scheduled for August 10-12th. It is run by the makers of Girls Hack Village and exists to help foster diversity and inclusion in cybersecurity.

Borderless Cyber: Cybersecurity Meets Privacy (Egham, Surrey, UK, Sep 11 - 12, 2023) 'Cybersecurity Meets Privacy' Royal Holloway, University of London 11-12 September 2023 Egham, Surrey, UK Borderless Cyber is unique, focusing on the convergence of the cybersecurity and privacy disciplines and addressing new technologies, research, operationalization realities, risks, and solutions. It brings together international experts and offers opportunities for networking, good dialogue, and future collaboration. It promises to be illuminating and challenging! Speakers from Uber, Meta, Vodafone, NATO NCI, Intel, CISA, Infosys, ITU, the UK Home Office, and other organizations are included in the recently released program.

TRUSTECH 2023 (Paris, France, Nov 28 - 30, 2023) During this new edition, TRUSTECH 2023 will welcome professionals from the cards, payments and identification solutions markets from all over the world. The outlook for the event should be at its best, since the number of exhibitors (85% of whom are from outside-France) is already superior to 2022. International speakers, opinion leaders and experts from the payments, financial services and identification ecosystems will be leading a high-level programme of keynotes, conferences and roundtables throughout the three-day event.

Events

Certified CMMC Professional (CCP) 2.0 Exam Prep (Virtual, Jul 10 - 14, 2023) This 5-day CCP course covers the foundational required curriculum along with CMMC Level 2 scoping and the full 110 practices. Edwards Cyber AB approved CCP 2.0 courses enable participants to sit for the CCP exam – making you a valuable resource to a consultancy providing CMMC preparation, C3PAO providing certified assessor support, or organization interested in having in-house CMMC trained resources. Edwards all-star lineup of Provisional Instructors (PIs) includes several of the CMMC industry’s most respected consultants along with Edwards’ internal SMEs to deliver their action packed bootcamps. Learn more and register now!

SANSFIRE 2023 (Washington, DC, USA, Jul 10 - 15, 2023) Hands-on cyber security training taught by world-renowned practitioners. Attend in Washington, DC or Live OnlineAt SANSFIRE 2023, choose from 40 interactive courses with hands-on labs. Practice your skills and compete against your peers during NetWars Tournaments, and network with your instructor and industry colleagues in real-time. Each course includes electronic and printed books, and several courses align with GIAC certifications.

Cyber Security for Critical Assets World Summit (Virtual, Jul 11, 2023) CS4CA World will return virtually as a unique large-scale event to keep the critical asset community connected across the globe. As a worldwide 24-hour event, it will follow the sun by starting with speakers from the APAC region through to MEA, Europe, LatAm, finishing in North America. This unique format allows sponsors, speakers, and attendees to engage & connect with peers through a wide range of interactive content & networking formats much like a physical event. Cyber attacks and cyber crime are increasing in number and sophistication across the world, leaving critical infrastructure organisations busy with reassessing their cyber risk while striving to maintain business continuity. The summit offers dedicated sessions, allowing delegates to hone in on their specialist areas of interest, as well as topics addressing the issues that bind both IT & OT professionals, with a focus on cyber resilience in a post-covid world. The agenda is curated by a group of industry-leading experts to be as relevant, cutting-edge, and as in-depth as possible over the 24-hour period.

AWS Summit New York (New York, New York, USA, Jul 26, 2023) The cloud event for everyone. You’re invited to be part of our free, in-person event that brings together cloud enthusiasts for a day of learning, networking, and collaboration. Attend keynotes, breakout content, and interactive labs led by AWS experts, partners, and customers - and network with other industry professionals about the latest cloud computing technologies.

Critical Infrastructure Security Summit (Alexandria, Virginia, USA, Jul 26 - 27, 2023) Defense Strategies Institute is proud to present the 3rd annual Critical Infrastructure Security Summit. This Summit will convene senior leaders from across DoD, the Cyber Defense community, Federal Agencies, Industry, and Academia to discuss current methods for creating resilient systems to protect US infrastructure from external threats, as well as the defense mechanisms to protect those systems. The Summit will be held July 26-27, 2023 at the Mary M. Gates Learning Center in Alexandria, VA.

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