Dateline: Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine.
Ukraine at D+578: Mobile action, interdiction, and cyber ops. (CyberWire) Ukrainian forces push through Russian defenses as missile strikes hit military targets in occupied Crimea. Russia continues its war against grain. Operations on the ground affected by desire to create and sustain a narrative of battlefield success.
Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 579 of the invasion (the Guardian) Southern port of Odesa hit by Russian missiles overnight; at least one person killed in attack on Beryslav
Russian airstrikes kill 2 and wound 8 in southern Ukraine (Military Times) The governor of southern Ukraine's Kherson region says Russian airstrikes have killed two people and wounded three others.
Zelenskiy Says The First U.S. Abrams Tanks Arrived In Ukraine (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Ukraine received its first shipment of U.S.-made Abrams tanks that it says will strengthen its counteroffensive against Russian troops in the east after Moscow continued to attack port facilities in the southern city of Odesa destroying key grain storage facilities.
Ukraine map reveals counteroffensive progress amid Verbove breakthrough (Newsweek) The Institute for the Studies of War confirmed that Ukrainian troops "have broken through Russian field fortifications west of Verbove."
Ukraine targets a key Crimean city a day after striking Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters (AP News) Russia says Ukraine has launched another missile attack on Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean Peninsula. The strike on Saturday came a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering.
Storm Shadow missile ‘tears open’ Black Sea Fleet HQ in Crimea (The Telegraph) Attack on nerve centre of Russia's navy shows Ukraine's growing confidence
A Ukrainian missile strikes the headquarters of Russia's navy in Crimea (AP News) A Ukrainian missile struck the headquarters of Russia's navy in Crimea. The Russian Defense Ministry initially said one servicemember was killed in the Friday attack, but then issued a statement saying he was missing.
Russian commanders killed in Storm Shadow missile strike (The Telegraph) Ukraine attacks Kremlin’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters where senior military leaders were meeting
Ukraine-Russia war live: Naval HQ strike 'blow to the dictatorship of Putin' (The Telegraph) The missile strike that hit a Russian navy headquarters was a “blow to the dictatorship of Putin”, the Ukrainian air force spokesman has said.
Ukrainian Crews Put Hundreds Of Captured Russian Tanks Into Action
(RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Ukrainians have become adept at using captured Russian tanks against Moscow's invading forces. By some estimates, Ukraine has made up for all the armor it's lost by capturing an estimated 500 enemy tanks. A Ukrainian crew training on a Russian tank from Chernihiv finds the vehicle now running well.
Russia’s Army Learns From Its Mistakes in Ukraine (Wall Street Journal) Early in the war, the West was shocked at Russia’s poor performance. But Moscow has fixed many errors and adapted on the battlefield.
Russia's Lavrov calls UN bid to revive Black Sea deal unrealistic (Reuters) The latest proposals to restart the Black Sea grain deal will not fly because they do not deliver on promises made to Moscow, Lavrov said after a week of global diplomacy at the U.N. General Assembly.
Russian foreign minister lambastes the West but barely mentions Ukraine in UN speech (AP News) Russia’s top diplomat is lashing out at the U.S. and the West as self-interested defenders of a fading international power structure.
Zelenskiy urges Canada to stay with Ukraine as he speaks to parliament (the Guardian) Ukrainian president thanks Canada for financial support and says ‘stay with us to our victory’
Experts react: Zelenskyy faces down Washington roadblocks (Atlantic Council) The Ukrainian president faces shifting winds in Congress as he visited Capitol Hill and the White House on Thursday. Our experts break down what's next.
Smart Take | Zelensky Seeks More Support from Congress and the UN (Wilson Center) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is making his second visit to the United States, during which he will attend the UN General Assembly meeting before arriving in Washington to lobby for additional support for Ukraine's war effort. Kennan Institute Director William Pomeranz talks about Zelensky’s overall goals for the trip and the challenges he faces in attempting to secure continued sanctions on Russia and additional aid for Ukraine.
US agrees to send long-range missiles to Ukraine (the Guardian) America will supply the ATACMS weapons, enabling Ukrainian forces to target Russian military logistics way beyond the frontline
Ukraine must now take the war into Russia (The Telegraph) US ballistic missiles could be a game-changer – but only if Kyiv can target enemy territory
U.S. close to providing Ukraine with long-range cluster missiles (Washington Post) After nearly a year of rebuffing Kyiv’s pleas, the Biden administration intends to send a variant of the Army Tactical Missile System, which would enable strikes farther into Russian-held territory
The West must arm Ukraine with ATACMS now. That way Putin will be defeated (The Telegraph) The Nato nations have it within their power to crush the Kremlin despot. We must simply supply Zelensky with the weapons he needs
We’re going to need a bigger NATO — but especially a better NATO (The Hill) Next year, NATO — the largest, most capable political and military alliance in history — will mark its 75th anniversary. As Russia’s brutal and unlawful invasion of Ukraine demonstrates, the security challenges the Alliance was established to confront remain clear and present.
About 90 Russian Men Seeking To Avoid Conscription Back Home Granted Asylum In Germany (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) About 90 Russian men have been granted asylum in Germany in their bids to avoid military conscription back home, the Interior Ministry in Berlin said on September 23.
Putin Betting on Massive Russian Conscript Surge to Win in Ukraine, Expert Says (US Naval Institute) Russia is relying on massive amounts of conscripts to win in Ukraine, an international security expert based in Brussels said Tuesday.
Russia Lauds North Korea’s ‘Square-Headed Dude’ and His Pauper Legions (CEPA) Russia claims to have escaped sanctions, but Russians are struggling. Kremlin mouthpieces responded with admiration for North Koreans.
Confiscating Russian Oligarchs’ Assets in Ukraine: The First Successes (RUSI) Ukrainian authorities have been actively using a sanction mechanism to freeze and confiscate assets of individuals and companies that are linked to or support Russia’s full-scale aggression. Among the first successful cases, assets belonging to well-known Russian oligarchs have been confiscated and allocated for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Large-scale cyberattack reported in occupied Crimea (The Kyiv Independent) Russian proxies in occupied Crimea announced on Sept. 22 that there was a cyberattack of an “unprecedented” scale.
Exclusive: Russian hackers seek war crimes evidence, Ukraine cyber chief says (Reuters) The hackers, working across Russian agencies, have stepped up digital intrusion campaigns targeting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's office and departments documenting war crimes, he said.
Russian hackers trying to steal evidence of Moscow’s war crimes in Ukraine - cyber chief (Ukrinform) Russian spies employ hackers to launch cyberattacks on Ukrainian law enforcement’s computer systems in an attempt to identify and obtain evidence related to alleged Russian war crimes. — Ukrinform.
Examining the Activities of the Turla APT Group (Trend Micro) We examine the campaigns of the cyberespionage group known as Turla over the years, with a special focus on the key MITRE techniques and the corresponding IDs associated with the threat actor group.
Government of Bermuda links cyberattack to Russian hackers (BleepingComputer) The Government of British overseas territory Bermuda has linked a cyberattack affecting all its departments' IT systems since Thursday to hackers based out of Russia.
Bermuda’s premier attributes system outages to ‘Russia-based’ attackers (Record) Premier David Burt said an incident affecting Bermuda's government networks was clearly "something external" and initially appeared to be based in Russia.
Russian news outlet in Latvia believes European state behind phone hack (the Guardian) Galina Timchenko, the CEO of Meduza, was hacked earlier this year before participating in a meeting of exiled Russian journalists
Inside the Shadow War: Cyber Baddies are Upskilling (International Policy Digest) The cyber realm is an increasingly ungovernable space.
War crimes dossier to accuse Russia of deliberately causing starvation in Ukraine (the Guardian) Human rights lawyers are working with Ukraine’s public prosecutor to prepare dossier to submit to the international criminal court
‘We are where we are’: Alexei Navalny’s team keep fighting despite having to leave Russia (the Guardian) The Anti-Corruption Foundation is still a vital opposition force even though its founder remains in jail
Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Roban: ‘very heart of public service has been attacked and immobilised’ (Royal Gazette) Cybersecurity and national crime teams in Britain are supporting authorities in Bermuda after a “major cyberattack” that brought down government IT systems, the Governor said yesterday.
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EvilBamboo Targets Mobile Devices in Multi-year Campaign (Volexity) Volexity has identified several long-running and currently active campaigns undertaken by the threat actor Volexity tracks as EvilBamboo (formerly named Evil Eye) targeting Tibetan, Uyghur, and Taiwanese individuals and organizations. These targets represent three of the Five Poisonous Groups of Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
From Watering Hole to Spyware: EvilBamboo Targets Tibetans, Uyghurs, and Taiwanese (The Hacker News) EvilBamboo tactics exposed: Targets sensitive data from Tibetan, Uyghur, and Taiwanese organizations.
Rare Backdoors Suspected to be Tied to Gelsemium APT Found in Targeted Attack in Southeast Asian Government (Unit 42) Threat activity targeting a Southeast Asian government could provide insight into the workings of APT Gelsemium. We examine the rare TTPs we observed in two attacks.
Rare Backdoors Suspected to be Tied to Gelsemium APT Found in Targeted Attack in Southeast Asian Government (IBM X-Force Exchange) IBM X-Force Exchange is a threat intelligence sharing platform enabling research on security threats, aggregation of intelligence, and collaboration with peers
Evasive Gelsemium hackers spotted in attack against Asian govt (BleepingComputer) A stealthy advanced persistent threat (APT) tracked as Gelsemium was observed in attacks targeting a Southeast Asian government that spanned six months between 2022 and 2023.
Unit 42 Researchers Discover Multiple Espionage Operations Targeting Southeast Asian Government (Unit 42) In early 2023, Unit 42 researchers began investigating a series of espionage attacks that targeted a government in Southeast Asia. These attacks focused on different governmental entities in the same country, including critical infrastructure, public healthcare institutions, public financial administrators and ministries.
New Report Uncovers 3 Distinct Clusters of China-Nexus Attacks on Southeast Asian Government (The Hacker News) Espionage Alert: Southeast Asian government targeted by China-nexus threat actors. A three-part report by Palo Alto Networks reveals distinct clusters
Stealth Falcon preying over Middle Eastern skies with Deadglyph (We Live Security) ESET researchers have discovered Deadglyph, a sophisticated backdoor used by the infamous Stealth Falcon group for espionage in the Middle East
Deadglyph: Covertly preying over Middle Eastern skies (LABScon) The Middle East has been known for years to be a fertile land for APTs. During our routine monitoring of suspicious activities in government entities of the region, we stumbled upon a very sophisticated and unknown backdoor that we have named Deadglyph.
New stealthy and modular Deadglyph malware used in govt attacks (BleepingComputer) A novel and sophisticated backdoor malware named 'Deadglyph' was seen used in a cyberespionage attack against a government agency in the Middle East.
Deadglyph: New Advanced Backdoor with Distinctive Malware Tactics (The Hacker News) Researchers uncovered a new advanced backdoor, 'Deadglyph,' by Stealth Falcon hackers, which combines two languages for cyber espionage.
0-days exploited by commercial surveillance vendor in Egypt (Google) Last week Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG), in partnership with The Citizen Lab, discovered an in-the-wild 0-day exploit chain for iPhones.
PREDATOR IN THE WIRES: Ahmed Eltantawy Targeted with Predator Spyware After Announcing Presidential Ambitions (The Citizen Lab) Between May and September 2023, former Egyptian MP Ahmed Eltantawy was targeted with Cytrox's Predator spyware via links sent on SMS and WhatsApp after Eltantawy publicly stated his plans to run for President in the 2024 Egyptian elections. As Egypt is a known customer of Cytrox's Predator spyware, and the spyware was delivered via network injection from a device located physically inside Egypt, we attribute the attack to the Egyptian government with high confidence.
New Apple Zero-Days Exploited to Target Egyptian ex-MP with Predator Spyware (The Hacker News) iPhone spyware attack! Former Egyptian parliament member Ahmed Eltantawy targeted by Predator spyware using 3 recent zero-day vulnerabilities.
Egyptian presidential hopeful targeted by Predator spyware (Washington Post) Rare ‘zero-day’ exploit used in failed hacking attempt that researchers say was probably conducted by the Egyptian government
Unmasking a Sophisticated Phishing Campaign That Targets Hotel Guests (Akamai) Akamai researchers have identified an additional step in an infostealer campaign that targets hotels, booking sites, and travel agents. This second step targets the customers of the sites themselves.
Behind the Scenes of BBTok: Analyzing a Banker’s Server Side Components (Check Point Research) Introduction Check Point Research recently discovered an active campaign operating and deploying a new variant of the BBTok banker in Latin America. In the research, we highlight newly discovered infection chains that use a unique combination of Living off the Land Binaries (LOLBins). This resulting in low detection rates, even though BBTok banker operates at least since […]
New Variant of Banking Trojan BBTok Targets Over 40 Latin American Banks (The Hacker News) Beware Latin America! BBTok banking trojan strikes Brazil & Mexico. Crafty phishing emails, unique payloads, and a sneaky approach.
A mysterious new Chinese malware strain is targeting large firms across the globe (TechRadar) Hackers are targeting large corporations with ValleyRAT
GUEST ESSAY: Caring criminals — why some ransomware gangs now avoid targeting hospitals (The Last Watchdog) Ransomware is a significant threat to businesses worldwide. There are many gangs that work together to orchestrate increasingly damaging attacks. However, some of these groups follow codes of conduct that prevent them from purposefully targeting hospitals. Related: How Putin has weaponized ransomware In mid-March 2020, representatives from the cybersecurity website BleepingComputer contacted numerous ransomware gangs […]
MGM, Caesars casino hacks point to an alliance of teens and ransomware gangs (Washington Post) Cybersecurity experts say the combo unites English speakers with Russian hackers responsible for the Colonial Pipeline hack
Airbus Hacker Threatens to Sell US, Europe Military Intel on Dark Web (The Defense Post) The hacker behind the recent attack on Airbus has warned that he will sell US and European military intelligence on the dark web.
T-Mobile denies rumors of a breach affecting employee data (Record) T-Mobile attributed a leak, which didn't affect company data, to an April attack on an independent retailer.
T-mobile exposes some customer data, but don't say breach (Register) PLUS: Trojan hidden in PoC; cyber insurance surge; pig butchering's new cuts; and the week's critical vulns
Russian ransomware LockBit threatens to leak internal data from The Weather Network on dark web (The Globe and Mail) LockBit’s domain suggests it intends to publish Weather Network parent Pelmorex Corp.’s data on Sept. 24
Hillsborough schools data breach exposed information on over 250 students (Tampa Bay Times) Affected families are encouraged to sign up for free cyber protection services.
Mountrail County Medical Center informs patients of third-party data breach (https://www.kfyrtv.com) According to the report, information impacted typically is limited to names, dates of birth, dates of service, physician names and exam types.
PhilHealth paralyzed by Medusa ransomware attack (Manila Bulletin) The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), the government's health insurance program for all Filipinos, was hit by a ransomware attack today, September 22, 2023. PhilHealth has millions of members as of September 2023.
National Student Clearinghouse data breach impacts 890 schools (BleepingComputer) U.S. educational nonprofit National Student Clearinghouse has disclosed a data breach affecting 890 schools using its services across the United States.
City of Fort Lauderdale loses $1.2 million in phishing scam, police in Florida say (CNN) The City of Fort Lauderdale was bilked out of $1.2 million dollars in what police in South Florida are saying was a phishing scam.
Personal data of 25,000 Hongkongers at risk after cyberattack against watchdog (South China Morning Post) People deemed as high risk in potential data leak include staff, former employees, subscribers of Choice magazine and voters who took part in past events.
Lateral Phishing: The Silent Threat to Your Small Business (Small Business Trends) Hackers have come up with a new and growing type of account takeover attack. It is called lateral phishing and here's what you need to know.
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
Apple Releases Security Updates for Multiple Products (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) Apple has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple products. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected device. CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following advisories and apply the necessary updates.
Trends
Boards Still Lack Cybersecurity Expertise (Wall Street Journal) Just 12% of S&P 500 companies have board directors with relevant cyber credentials, a new study says.
Death by a Billion Bots: The Accumulating Business Cost of Malicious Automation (Netacea) Automated customer interactions have underpinned digital business for as long as the Internet has existed.
VPN Demand Surges in Azerbaijan After Authorities Block TikTok Post Military Operations (vpnMentor) The demand for VPNs in Azerbaijan shot upward following a temporary TikTok ban enforced by the local government. The restriction came after the country launched military
JAPAN : THREAT LANDSCAPE - CYFIRMA (CYFIRMA) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report is a comprehensive analysis of the cybersecurity hurdles confronting Japan’s highly developed economy. Positioned as the...
UK pension schemes reveal 4,000% rise in cyber security breaches (Pensions Age Magazine) Pension scheme trustees have been urged to remain mindful of cybersecurity risks, after research from RPC revealed a 4000 per cent increase in data breach reports to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) in the year to June 2023
CYFIRMA Industry Report : REAL ESTATE & UTILITIES - CYFIRMA (CYFIRMA) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The CYFIRMA Industry Report delivers original cybersecurity insights and telemetry- driven statistics of global industries, covering one sector...
Marketplace
The Problem With Today's Cybersecurity Job Descriptions (N2K Networks) Could your cybersecurity job descriptions use an update? Here are six (and a half) common mistakes companies make on cyber JDs and five ways to fix them.
Cato Networks Raises $238M on $3B Valuation to Move Upmarket (Bank Info Security) A late-stage SASE startup led by a serial entrepreneur hauled in a massive equity investment to address the feature and capability needs of large enterprises. The
New Acquisition Powers AI-based Network Detection and Response and Open XDR Capabilities for WatchGuard (WatchGuard Technologies) Once integrated into the WatchGuard Unified Security Platform architecture, the CyGlass technology will deliver AI- and ML-based detection of network anomalies and accelerate Open XDR capabilities.
Palo Alto Networks in negotiations to acquire Talon Cyber Security in $600 million deal (CTech) Talon, which develops a secure enterprise browser, has raised a total of $126 million since it was founded in 2021
“Cisco and SentinelOne never engaged in due diligence concerning a potential acquisition” (CTech) SentinelOne says “Cisco and SentinelOne never engaged in due diligence concerning a potential acquisition. Nor did SentinelOne otherwise disclose confidential financial information to Cisco” - contrary to what was reported in Calcalist and CTech. According to SentinelOne, the notion that such diligence or disclosures “revealed problems with the company’s revenue reporting” is thus likewise false.
Briefing: Amazon Agrees to Invest up to $4 Billion in AI Startup Anthropic (The Information) Amazon has agreed to invest up to $4 billion in artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, as big tech’s race for generative AI heats up.
The investment is part of a broader deal between Amazon and Anthropic, according to a statement by the companies. As part of the agreement, Anthropic will choose Amazon Web Services as its primary cloud provider, and use AWS’ Trainium and Inferentia chips to
Air Force cancels $5.3B cyber contract after overwhelming response (Washington Technology) With more than 250 proposals received, the Air Force said that was too many for a manageable evaluation process.
Veridas Joins Security Industry Association (SIA) to Drive Continued Collaboration within Security Industry • Veridas (Veridas) Veridas Joins Security Industry Association (SIA) to Drive Continued Collaboration within Security Industry Veridas looks to serve as a valuable resource for SIA members seeking to understand and implement biometric technologies Veridas, a technology company specializing in digital identity and biometrics, today announces its new membership in the Security Industry Association (SIA), a leading trade […]
How a $2.4 trillion corporation fails so badly, so often (Cybernews) After exposing some US government emails to Chinese threat actors, Microsoft then leaked internal emails by its own top-level executives for anyone to scavenge. It’s left us wondering why the second-largest corporation on Earth fails so badly and so often.
Quorum Cyber Dramatically Rises on MSSP Alert’s List of Top 250 MSSP Providers (Quorum Cyber) Ranked #59 on MSSP Alert’s list of Top 250 MSSP Providers and one of only four UK-headquartered companies to appear in the Top 60.
Cybereason Announces Strategic Executive Hires and Successful Funding Round to Drive Global Growth (PR Newswire) Cybereason, the leader in future-ready attack protection, announced today the strategic appointments of Manish Narula as Chief Financial...
Optiv Co-Founder Dan Burns Joins Balance Theory Board of Directors (Yahoo Finance) Balance Theory, the leading cybersecurity ecosystem management platform, today welcomes Dan Burns, co-founder and former CEO of Optiv, to the Balance Theory board of directors.
Delinea appoints new chief information officer (CRN) David Koenig will be in charge of leading Delinea’s IT strategy and operations
Zero Trust Creator John Kindervag Joins Illumio to Accelerate Adoption of Zero Trust Segmentation (GlobeNewswire News Room) Former practitioner, analyst, and Palo Alto Networks executive on a mission to protect organizations by bringing microsegmentation to every Zero Trust...
Rootly Hires Ex-Google Sales Leader to Accelerate Growth Into Enterprise IT Organizations (Investors Observer) Rahul Parmar brings over a decade of enterprise sales experience to fast-growing tech startup
Products, Services, and Solutions
Uptycs Demonstrates 100% Technique Level Detection at Every Stage in MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK® Evaluations of Enterprise Cybersecurity Solutions (GlobeNewswire News Room) Uptycs Unified CNAPP and XDR Platform Shown to Detect and Protect Against Potential Adversary Behavior in Turla Emulations...
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
CISA Releases Hardware Bill of Materials Framework (HBOM) for Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released the new Hardware Bill of Materials Framework (HBOM) for Supply Chain Risk Management product from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Supply Chain Risk Management (SCRM) Task Force.
Hardware Bill of Materials (HBOM) Framework for Supply Chain Risk Management (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA) The Hardware Bill of Materials (HBOM) Framework for Supply Chain Risk Management product provides a framework that includes a consistent naming methodology for attributes of components, a format for identifying and providing information about the different types of components, and guidance of what HBOM information is appropriate depending on the purpose for which the HBOM will be used.
Zero trust is breaking things at the DIA, and 'that's good': CIO (Breaking Defense) The Defense Intelligence Agency's CIO says "comply-to-connect" protocols can mean "things just stop working," pulling troublesome "shadow IT" into the light.
Companies struggle to stop social-engineering attacks (Axios) Companies need to rethink their cyber defense strategies as cybercriminals fine-tune their social-engineering tactics to target vulnerable employees, experts told Axios.
Reimagining the SCIF Life (INSA) The consulting firm Gartner predicts by the end of 2023, more than half of U.S. workers will work remotely at least part of the time.
Why more security doesn’t mean more effective compliance (Help Net Security) Financial institutions, heavily regulated, face more compliance requirements than most other industries and are prime targets for attacks.
SMBs face growing cybersecurity threats, but basic measures can lower risks (ZDNET) Small and midsize businesses are targets of cybercriminals and might not have expandable resources, but they can take heart in having a smaller attack surface to safeguard.
NFL, CISA Look to Intercept Cyber Threats to Super Bowl LVIII (Dark Reading) The league is working with more than 100 partners to workshop responses to a host of hypothetical cyberattacks on the upcoming Big Game in Las Vegas.
CSA holds Cyber Crisis Management Exercise to test critical sector’s response to cyberattacks (ETCIO.com) Csa: This year’s exercise tested cross-sector incident management and emergency response plans for a wider range of attack scenarios on critical sectors using operational technology (OT) systems that have cyber-physical impact on essential service delivery.
This government tool will identify and remove bugs for free, know how you can use it (Gearrice) Tech News Desk - The Indian government is constantly trying to find solutions to avoid this problem. Continuing this trend, the Indian government recently
How to Fix the Dearth of US Cyber Professionals Impacting National Security (The Defense Post) The shortage of cybersecurity professionals in the United States is a pressing concern with far-reaching national security implications.
Design and Innovation
A Tricky New Way to Sneak Past Repressive Internet Censorship (WIRED) With the number of internet blackouts on the rise, cybersecurity firm eQualitie figured out how to hide censored online news in satellite TV signals.
Nic Carter doubles down on theory Bitcoin was invented by NSA (Cointelegraph) Castle Island Ventures partner Nic Carter has again added his weight to the theory that Bitcoin was a result of a “lab leak” by the NSA.
Academia
NY college forced to invest $3.5 million in cybersecurity after breach affecting 200,000 (Record) Attorney General Letitia James and Marymount Manhattan College announced the agreement, which is part of the response to a 2021 incident.
New Zealand university operating despite cyberattack (Record) The Monti ransomware gang took credit for the attack, claiming to have stolen 60 gigabytes of data from the university and giving them a deadline of October 9 to pay an undisclosed ransom.
Penn College to host cybersecurity training camp for teachers (NorthcentralPA.com) Williamsport, Pa. — Penn College will be offering a free training camp to secondary school teachers this June using federal grant funds.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
China won't stand by idly in case of German 5G restrictions - embassy (Reuters) China will not stand by idly if the German government decides to restrict the use of components from Chinese firms such as Huawei [RIC:RIC:HWT.UL] and ZTE 000063.SZ in its 5G network, the Chinese embassy in Berlin said on Thursday.
National security ‘guardrails’ issued for US semiconductor funding (Record) The Commerce Department released regulations intended to keep funds authorized under the CHIPS law from helping foreign adversaries.
Don’t Fall for the Intelligence Community’s Monster of the Week Justifications (Electronic Frontier Foundation) In the beloved episodic television shows of yesteryear, the antagonists were often “monsters of the week”: villains who would show up for one episode and get vanquished by the heroes just in time for them to fight the new monster in the following episode. Keeping up with the Intelligence Community...
What Happens When Tech Bros Run National Security (Time) Putting U.S. tech companies in charge of national security is a very risky bet.
How Ohio Became an Unexpected Model for Election Security (The Messenger) Secretary of State Frank LaRose is doing what many counterparts have resisted: forcing local election officials to take cybersecurity more seriously
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Misinformation research is buckling under GOP legal attacks (Washington Post) An escalating campaign, led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other Republicans, has cast a pall over programs that study political disinformation and the quality of medical information online
GOP legal attacks create a chilling effect on misinformation research (Washington Post) Misinformation and disinformation researchers are scaling back or ending programs amid GOP pressure
The Supreme Court showdown over social media "censorship," explained (Vox) A rogue federal court effectively put the Republican Party in charge of social media, and now the justices have to deal with this mess.
The government is colluding with social media platforms to censor Americans (Restoring America ) In 2021, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a military research agency under the Pentagon, sought proposals for “real-time, comprehensive tools that establish ground truth for how countries are conducting domestic information control.”
Germany’s Federal Criminal Police explains why it cannot talk about using Pegasus spyware (Meduza) The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (Bundeskriminalamt, abbreviated BKA) has declined to answer Meduza’s questions about its use of the Pegasus surveillance spyware, developed by the Israeli cyber-arms company NSO Group and purportedly only licensed to state clients.
Feds snatch back $45m back from cyber scammers (The New Daily) Australian police have managed to hit back at cyber scammers targeting Australian businesses by recouping some $45 million
TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab facing lawsuits over data breach in March (Lincoln Journal-Star) Omaha-based TD Ameritrade Inc. and Charles Schwab have been sued in federal court over a data breach of customer information earlier this year.
