Developing intelligence and deploying influence in two hybrid wars.

Summary

By the CyberWire staff

At a glance.

Hamas and Israel exchange accusations in hospital strike.
Hacktivist auxiliaries' operations tend to resemble one another.
Using hostages' devices to spread fear.
Using Gazan cell data to develop intelligence.
Attention Pompei: that eruption alert is bogus.
New cryptojacking campaign discovered: Qubitstrike.
Preparing for post-quantum security.
Private sector offers perspective on Ukrainian cyber defense in Russia's hybrid war.

Hamas and Israel exchange accusations in hospital strike.

A strike that yesterday hit the Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital, an Anglican-run medical center in Gaza, killed hundreds, with sources placing the death toll at between 200 and more than 500. Reuters summarizes the death toll, and notes that both sides in the war have accused the other of the atrocity. Hamas claims it was an Israeli airstrike; Israel says it was a failed rocket launch towards Israel by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The horror will figure prominently in influence operations for some time--the conflicting narratives are already well established.

Hacktivist auxiliaries' operations tend to resemble one another.

ComputerWeekly observes that pro-Hamas hacktivism has followed a pattern established during Russia's war against Ukraine, concentrating on website defacements. The piece also notes that during the war between Hamas and Israel hacktivism has been relatively one-sided, with very few cyberattacks against Palestinian sites. The attacks haven't for the most part risen above the level of a nuisance, and concentration on defacements seems more opportunistic than strategic, more a matter of capability than of imitation. A Cambridge University researcher who's studied the conduct of the war told ComputerWeekly, “Lots of people talk up the idea that hacktivists could make a big difference in combat. What we are seeing in both the Ukraine work and the work now in Hamas is that this is over-egged. You do see some civilian activism around war outbreaks but its so low grade as to be of no security concern."

Cyfirma has published an overview of cyber operations in the Hama-Israeli war to date.

There are some differences. The hacktivism on display in the Hamas-Israeli war is less disciplined, less susceptible to state control, than that observed in the hybrid war between Russia and Ukraine. Axios writes, "The war between Israel and Hamas is reminding governments just how difficult it is to control politically motivated hacking groups...Politically motivated hackers (also known as hacktivists) often target state-backed organizations and groups in an effort to complicate war efforts." Targeting is complicated, and freelancing makes it even moreso. To take just one example, an attack that takes, say, a government service offline, might inadvertently interfere with collection efforts underway against that service.

Real time cloud security powered by runtime insights. Secure every second.

In the cloud, every second counts. Attacks move at warp speed; security teams must protect the business without slowing it down. Sysdig stops cloud attacks in real time, instantly detecting changes in risk with runtime insights and open source Falco. We correlate signals across cloud workloads, identities, and services to uncover hidden attack paths and prioritize real risk. From prevention to defense, Sysdig helps enterprises focus on what matters: innovation. Visit our website to learn more.

Using hostages' devices to spread fear.

Hamas has been using, the New York Times reports, devices taken from hostages to take control of the hostages' social media accounts to "broadcast violent messages and wage psychological warfare." They're using the accounts to taunt hostages' families and friends, and to communicate violent threats. Hamas had earlier used social media to livestream its attacks, something Hamas has regarded as inspirational.

Using Gazan cell data to develop intelligence.

The New York Times reports that Israel services are using cellphone data to track the evacuation of north Gaza's inhabitants. The Israeli military gave the Times access to its tracking center with a view to showing how the Israeli Defense Forces were using the data to avoid targeting areas that still held large numbers of civilians. “It’s not a 100 percent perfect system — but it gives you the information you need to make a decision,” Brigadier General Udi Ben Muha, who oversees monitoring, told the Times. The data are displayed, color-coded, on what amounts to a fire support coordination map. “The colors say what you can and can’t do,” Ben Muha said.

CNAPP for Dummies

A clear, friendly guide to mastering the hot new category in cloud-native security that's taking the industry by storm. Wiz partnered with Wiley to create the Cloud Native Application Protection Platform (CNAPP) for Dummies eBook. This free 48-page PDF includes everything you *need* to know to secure the changing landscape of cloud-native applications and protect your cloud environment today. Get your free guide here.

Attention Pompei: that eruption alert is bogus.

The Trojanized RedAlert missile warning app isn't the only emergency service to be spoofed to install spyware. Italy's disaster warning system IT-Alert, used to warn of natural disasters like floods, volcanic eruptions, and wildfires, has also been spoofed, and a fake version has been found distributing SpyNote malware. BleepingComputer credits researchers at D3Lab with the discovery.

New cryptojacking campaign discovered: Qubitstrike.

Cado Security is tracking a cryptojacking campaign that’s targeting exposed Jupyter Notebooks using a strain of malware called “Qubitstrike.” The malware installs the XMRig miner, and searches for credential files for AWS and Google Cloud accounts: “One of the most notable aspects of Qubitstrike is the malware’s ability to hunt for credential files on the target host and exfiltrate these back to the attacker via the Telegram Bot API. Notably, the malware specifically searches for AWS and Google Cloud credential files, suggesting targeting of these Cloud Service Providers (CSPs) by the operators.”

The researchers add, “The payloads for the Qubitstrike campaign are all hosted on codeberg.org – an alternative Git hosting platform, providing much of the same functionality as Github. This is the first time Cado researchers have encountered this platform in an active malware campaign. It’s possible that Codeberg’s up-and-coming status makes it attractive as a hosting service for malware developers.”

Join the Lacework CISO book club!

Get a copy of the classic novel, The Phoenix Project, and join quarterly interactive discussions with cybersecurity leaders. Sign up here.

Preparing for post-quantum security.

Digicert has published a study conducted by Ponemon looking at security threats posed by quantum computing. The survey notes that readiness for post quantum computing (PQC) “is hard to achieve because of a lack of time, money, skilled personnel, and no clear ownership.”

The survey also found that most organizations already struggle to manage cryptographic keys: “Only slightly more than half of respondents (52 percent) say their organizations are taking an inventory of the types of cryptographic keys and their characteristics. This is followed by 44 percent of respondents saying they are taking steps to understand data retention requirements. Only 39 percent of respondents are determining if data and cryptographic assets are located on-premises or in the cloud.”

Private sector offers perspective on Ukrainian cyber defense in Russia's hybrid war.

At a conference this week a Mandiant executive characterized Ukrainian resistance to Russian cyber offensives in the early days of the war as "hand-to-hand combat." The cyberattacks occurred, and showed considerable capability, even though they fell short of achieving significant strategic or operational effects.

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.

Dateline: Russia's hybrid war against Ukraine.

Ukraine at D+601: ATACMS used against Russian military targets. (CyberWire) ATACMS's success is seen as an instance of Russian intelligence failure.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 602 (Al Jazeera) As the war enters its 602nd day, these are the main developments.

WSJ News Exclusive | Ukraine Fires ATACMS Missiles at Russian Forces for the First Time (Wall Street Journal) The U.S. missiles have been secretly sent to Ukraine in recent days. The move marked the first time that the U.S-provided weapons have been used in the conflict.

Ukraine uses US-provided long-range ATACMS missiles against Russian forces for the first time (AP News) The United States has quietly delivered the long-range ballistic missiles Ukraine said it urgently needed, and Ukraine has started using them on the battlefield against Russia.

Ukraine 'destroys Russian helicopters in Berdyansk and Luhansk' (BBC News) Special forces say they hit nine aircraft at bases in occupied Berdyansk and Luhansk.

US long-range ATACMS missiles 'fired for first time' at Russian helicopters (The Telegraph) Ukrainian forces used American-supplied ATACMS missiles for the first time on Tuesday in attacks against two air bases in Russian-occupied territory.

Ukraine announces it’s received, and fired, US long-range missiles (Defense News) Ukraine is now using long-range U.S. missiles, known as ATACMS, on the battlefield.

Ukraine receives potentially game-changing long-range US missiles (Atlantic Council) Ukraine has finally received long-range ATACMS missiles from the United States and has begun deploying them against Russian targets, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on October 17.

Inside Biden’s Reversal on Sending Long-Range Missiles to Ukraine (New York Times) The story is more complex than a caricature in Washington that President Biden is cautious to a fault, and says no until the pressure is insurmountable.

Inside Biden’s decision to secretly send longer-range U.S. missiles to Ukraine (POLITICO) Top officials were worried that Kyiv's offensive wasn't going well. So they had an idea.

Ukraine's special forces use daring raids and distraction tactics in bid to free Crimea (CNN) A swarm of Ukrainian jet skis races across the ocean under pitch black skies, visible only from the infra-red camera of a drone watching from above. They slow down as they approach the shore to avoid detection and hurry onto dry land.

The state of Russia's war on Ukraine as it nears 2024 (Atlantic Council) The current fighting season is still far from over in Ukraine, but it is already clear that the war unleashed by Putin in February 2022 will continue into the coming year, writes Mykola Bielieskov.

Ukraine’s neglected Danube region is a crucial front in the war with Russia (Atlantic Council) Ukraine's Danube ports are at the heart of efforts to bypass Russia's Black Sea naval blockade but years of neglect have left the Bessarabia region unprepared to play a key wartime role, writes Michael Druckman.

North Korea may be sending arms to Russia for Ukraine war, images suggest (Washington Post) Russian ships linked to military transport networks have collected cargo from North Korea and delivered it to an apparent Russian military port on multiple occasions over the past two months, according to new satellite images providing the clearest evidence yet that Pyongyang may be helping Moscow’s war effort.

Xi Jinping welcomes ‘dear friend’ Putin in Beijing (Telegraoh) The leaders have a shared vision for a new international order to counter the US and other democratic nations

Mutual praise, buzzwords plus a few walkouts: Xi and Putin meet in Beijing (the Guardian) Vladimir Putin lauded the success of ‘our Chinese friends’ at global forum, while Xi Jinping spoke out against international sanctions and ‘decoupling’

Russia-Ukraine war live: Moscow’s State Duma votes to revoke ratification of nuclear test ban treaty (the Guardian) Lower house of Russia’s parliament responds to push by Putin, but says it would not resume nuclear testing unless US does

Russia wants to isolate its internet, but experts warn it won’t be easy (Record) As Russia’s war with Ukraine drags on, the Kremlin has doubled down on its efforts to take control of the internet on its own turf.

Finland faces growing Russian online threat, Finnish security services say (the Guardian) Official at Finnish intelligence service says espionage attempts have increased since Ukraine invasion

Defending Ukraine from Russian cyber attacks was ‘hand-to-hand combat’: Mandiant exec. (Yahoo News) At Semafor’s Securing the Digital Future event, Mandiant's Sandra Joyce illustrated how cybersecurity experts defended Ukraine from relentless Russian cyber attacks in the early days of the invasion.

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

Hamas Hijacked Victims’ Social Media Accounts to Spread Terror (New York Times) The use of hostages’ Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts to livestream attacks and issue death threats is a new tactic, experts said.

Hacktivist attacks against Israeli websites mirror attacks following Russian invasion of Ukraine (ComputerWeekly.com) Hacktivists have launched hundreds web defacement attacks against targets in Israel following the devastating attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians on 7 October 2023. Over 100 hacktivists launched over 500 attacks on web sites in Israel in the week following Hamas’ attack on party-goers in Kibbutz Re’im close to the Gaza border. The Hamas incursion, which led to 1,300 deaths was followed by a wave of defacement attacks Israeli websites to show support for Gaza and Palestine, according to researchers at Cambridge University. The hacking spree followed a similar patt

Growing Concern Over Role of Hacktivism in Israel-Hamas Conflict (Infosecurity Magazine) Hacktivists claim DDoS attacks against Israeli websites as cybersecurity experts urge caution in believing these cyber-criminals’ claims

Israel-Hamas war illuminates trouble with political hacking groups (Axios) The war between Israel and Hamas is reminding governments just how difficult it is to control politically motivated hacking groups.

ISRAEL GAZA CONFLICT : THE CYBER PERSPECTIVE (CYFIRMA) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Various hacktivist groups have targeted critical infrastructure, government agencies, and organizations in both Israel and Palestine. The attacks...

Blast kills hundreds at Gaza hospital; Hamas and Israel trade blame, as Biden heads to Mideast (AP News) A massive blast hit a Gaza City hospital packed with wounded and other Palestinians seeking shelter, killing hundreds of people, the Hamas-run Health Ministry said.

In deadly day for Gaza, hospital strike kills hundreds (Reuters) Gaza's health ministry spokesman said an Israeli air strike on Tuesday killed hundreds of people at a hospital in the Palestinian enclave, but Israel said a Palestinian barrage had caused the blast.

What we know so far about the deadly strike on a Gaza hospital (Al Jazeera) Palestinian officials say at least 500 people were killed in an Israeli air raid on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza.

Bodies of civilians pile up outside hospital as blame game threatens stability in Middle East (The Telegraph) IDF has claimed that Palestine Islamic Jihad group was behind hospital attack as protesters storm the Israeli embassy in Jordanian capital

Israel-Hamas latest news: 'Direct your outrage’ at Hamas over hospital bombing, says Israeli PM (The Telegraph) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the “entire world” should feel “outrage” at Hamas over the bombing of a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds.

Gaza's doctors struggle to save hospital blast survivors as Middle East rage grows (AP News) Doctors in Gaza City have performed surgery on hospital floors often without anesthesia in a desperate bid to save badly wounded victims of a massive blast that killed civilians sheltering in a nearby hospital.

Social Media Users Accuse Facebook and Instagram of Suppressing Pro-Palestinian Posts (New York Times) Meta has cautioned that some content might be temporarily suppressed or suspended as it sifts through millions of posts spreading across its platforms.

Hamas' social media following has skyrocketed since its attack. America is powerless to stop it (CNN) Hamas is barred from most social media platforms. But its following has surged on popular messaging app Telegram since its October 7 terror attack on Israel.

Community Notes and war crimes (Conspirador Norteño) X's community fact checking system has thus far been inadequate in multiple ways at addressing the flood of online misinformation regarding the Israel-Hamas war

Tracking Cellphone Data by Neighborhood, Israel Gauges Gaza Evacuation (New York Times) The Israeli military says the tracking and the call to evacuate are to preserve as many civilian lives as possible during an expected ground invasion, even as deadly airstrikes continue.

Chilean government warns of Black Basta ransomware attacks after customs incident (Record) The government of Chile warned of ransomware attacks by a notorious gang of hackers after its customs department dealt with an incident on Tuesday.

TV advertising sales giant affected by ransomware attack (Record) Ampersand — co-owned by Comcast Corporation, Charter Communications and Cox Communications — confirmed it had dealt with a ransomware incident but declined to say when the attack occurred or whether a ransom would be paid.

Qubitstrike - An Emerging Malware Campaign Targeting Jupyter Notebooks (Cado Security) Cado Security Labs researchers have discovered a new cryptojacking campaign targeting exposed Jupyter Notebooks.

D-Link breach exposes customer information (Computimg) Taiwanese networking equipment vendor D-Link has confirmed a data breach that exposed personal information of customers and employees. The breach apparently occurred after a phishing attack led to an employee granting the attacker access to D-Link's internal network.

Threat Spotlight: How bad bot traffic is changing (Barracuda) Once used primarily by search engines, bots now have a variety of uses — both good and bad. The good bots are primarily search engine crawlers and other similar bots used for aggregating or monitoring content.

SpyNote Android malware spreads via fake volcano eruption alerts (BleepingComputer) Android malware 'SpyNote' was seen in an Italy-focused campaign that uses a phony 'IT-alert' public alert service website to infect visitors.

‘Etherhiding’ Blockchain Technique Hides Malware in WordPress Sites (Dark Reading) The ClearFake campaign uses fake browser updates to lure victims and spread RedLine, Amadey, and Lumma stealers.

Critical Vulnerabilities Expose Weintek HMIs to Attacks (SecurityWeek) Weintek has patched critical and high-severity vulnerabilities found in its cMT series HMIs by industrial cybersecurity firm TXOne.

Phishing-as-a-Service Strox Lets Hackers Phish any Brand by Submitting its Logo (GBHackers on Security) The ever-evolving world of cybercrime has given birth to a disturbing phenomenon – Phishing-as-a-Service (PhaaS), sends shivers of cybersecurity experts is Strox.

AI Chatbots Can Guess Your Personal Information From What You Type (WIRED) The AI models behind chatbots like ChatGPT can accurately guess a user's personal information from innocuous chats. Researchers say the troubling ability could be used by scammers or to target ads.

Researchers warn of increased malware delivery via fake browser updates (Help Net Security) ClearFake is likely operated by the threat group behind the SocGholish "malware delivery via fake browser updates" campaigns.

Twitter glitch allows CIA informant channel to be hijacked (BBC News) US spies and informants could have been directed to hostile nations through a CIA mistake made on X.

Active Exploitation of Cisco IOS XE Zero-Day Vulnerability (Rapid7) On October 16, Cisco’s Talos group released a blog on an active threat campaign exploiting CVE-2023-20198, a zero-day vuln in Cisco IOS XE software.

Hackers Using Remote Admin Tools To Compromise Organizations With Ransomware (GBHackers on Security) Cybercriminals behind the AvosLocker ransomware attack employed a tactic of infecting organizations through Open-Source Remote Administration Tools.

Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates

Phosphorus Releases Mitigation Solutions for Critical Cisco IOS XE Zero-Day Vulnerability (GlobeNewswire News Room) Phosphorus is releasing new security features to help organizations discover, assess and mitigate any devices exposed to Cisco's IOS XE zero-day....

CISA Releases Two Industrial Control Systems Advisories (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency | CISA) Mitek (NASDAQ: MITK) is pleased to announce the appointment of Gillian Channer as the Vice President of Identity Product Management. With a distinguished career spanning product management, business operations, and technology thought leadership, Gillian brings a wealth of experience and industry insight to her new role.

Google Authenticator synchronization raises MFA concerns (Security | TechTarget) Google's Authenticator app was updated this year with a new synchronization feature for MFA codes, but experts warn of potential risks.

Trends

Cookies Study: 40% of Americans Blindly Accept Internet Cookies, But Most Don't Know What They Do (All About Cookies) Internet cookies are vital to the internet, but many people don't know what they do. We surveyed 1,000 U.S. adults to find out how much people know, and more.

Netskope Threat Labs: Highest Percentage of Cybercrime Activity Originates in Russia, While China is Most Geopolitically Motivated (Netskope) New research uncovers most popular techniques and motivators used by adversaries in 2023

Top Adversary Tactics and Techniques (Netskope) This edition of the Netskope Cloud and Threat Report focuses on the tactics and techniques that were most commonly used against Netskope customers in 2023.

Highest percentage of cybercrime activity originates in Russia: Netskope Report - ETCIO SEA (ETCIO.com) Netskope found that the top criminal adversary groups were based in Russia and Ukraine, and the top geopolitical threat groups were based in China.

2023 State of the Threat Report (Secureworks) Cyber threats have taken over 2023 and they show no sign of stopping. In this report, we explore some of the most recent, hard-hitting cyberattacks.

The State of Zero Trust Security 2023 | Okta (Okta) It’s official: Zero Trust has gone mainstream. In just two years, adoption of this modern security framework has more than doubled, with 61% of organizatio...

Looking into TUT’s tomb: the universe of threats in LATAM (Virus Bulletin) Like in the excavation of the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, a.k.a. King Tut, the threat landscape in Latin America is shrouded in mystery, mostly because the evolution of malicious campaigns in the region doesn’t get much attention.

2023 AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report: Focus on Manufacturing (AT&T Cybersecurity) Based on the 2023 AT&T Cybersecurity Insights Report: Edge Ecosystem, this report focuses on manufacturing companies worldwide. It explains how edge comput

The Righteous Moraliser - a new kind of insider threat (Computing) The risk of insider threats has long been high on the agenda of information security professionals.

Marketplace

Prove Identity Snags $40M Funding for ID Verification Tech (SecurityWeek) Startup with roots in the ecommerce mobile payments space raises $40 million for digital identity verification and authentication technology.

Darwinium Raises $18 Million to Accelerate Global Adoption of its Edge-based Digital Security and Fraud Prevention Platform (Business Wire) Led by U.S. Venture Partners, Darwinium’s Series A brings its total funding to $26 million, positioning it to capitalize on the demand for its disruptive approach to curbing online fraud

Anonybit Raises $3 Million for Biometric Authentication Platform (SecurityWeek) Anonybit has raised $3 million in seed funding extension for its biometric authentication and data protection solutions.

Tines Report Finds More than Half of Security Professionals Likely To Switch Jobs Next Year (PR Newswire) Tines, the trusted leader in smart, secure workflows, published the 2023 Voice of the SOC report, which examines job satisfaction and workloads...

Nozomi Networks Celebrates 10 Years of Innovation in OT and IoT Cybersecurity (Nozomi Networks) Extensive history of successful innovation continues to challenge the norm and drive better cybersecurity for industrial and critical infrastructure worldwide

ReliaQuest Founder and CEO Honored by Goldman Sachs for Entrepreneurship (Business Wire) Brian Murphy Among the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs at 2023 Builders and Innovators Summit

Mitek Appoints Technology Veteran Gillian Channer as Vice President of Identity Product Management (Business Wire) Mitek (NASDAQ: MITK) is pleased to announce the appointment of Gillian Channer as the Vice President of Identity Product Management. With a distinguished career spanning product management, business operations, and technology thought leadership, Gillian brings a wealth of experience and industry insight to her new role.

Illumio Names Ben Verghese as Chief Technology Officer (GlobeNewswire News Room) Promotion to CTO comes as the Zero Trust Segmentation market experiences exponential growth...

Cyware Appoints Boyar Naito as Senior Director of Partnerships and Business Development (Business Wire) Cyware, the leader in threat intelligence management, security collaboration, and orchestrated response, is pleased to announce the appointment of Boyar Naito as its new Senior Director of Partnerships and Business Development. Naito, with his extensive experience in the tech space, will provide invaluable guidance for Cyware’s business growth and partnerships.

James Wallace Appointed Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel at Forcepoint G2CI (GovCon Wire) Looking for the latest GovCon News? Check out our story: James Wallace Appointed Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel at Forcepoint G2CI. Click to read more!

Iron Bow Names Don Cook as Vice President of Sales for SLED (Business Wire) Iron Bow Technologies, the leading technology solutions provider to government, education, commercial, and healthcare markets, today announced seasoned industry sales leader, Don Cook, as its new Vice President of Sales for state and local governments and educational institutions (SLED).

CrowdStrike hires Sophos’ Andrew Goodlace to lead A/NZ channel (ARN) Cyber security vendor CrowdStrike has hired Sophos’ regional director Andrew Goodlace to lead its Australia and New Zealand channel.

Tenable Names Cybersecurity Expert Meg O’Leary Chief Marketing Officer (Tenable®) Tenable®, the Exposure Management company, today announced the appointment of Meg O’Leary as chief marketing officer (CMO).

Products, Services, and Solutions

Prisma Cloud: Darwin Release Introduces Code-to-Cloud Intelligence (Palo Alto Networks Blog) Prisma Cloud delivers full cloud security to address risks throughout the application lifecycle and prevent breaches with innovations in the latest release.

Palo Alto Networks Revolutionizes Cloud Security With Industry-First Integrated Code to Cloud Intelligence (Palo Alto Networks) Prisma Cloud's "Darwin" release simplifies cloud security and improves productivity and collaboration across code, infrastructure and runtime security for developers, operations and security teams...

Kaspersky and TSplus partner to create cyber immune solutions for remote workers (ETCIO.com) Kaspersky and TSplus will also take the opportunity to demonstrate their collaborative success to representatives of enterprises, governments, and the academic community in order to raise awareness and establish the demand for Cyber Immune solutions.

Datadobi Accelerates Channel Momentum with StorageMAP, the Premier Platform for Unstructured Data Management (Datadobi) Newly Enhanced DatadobiDriven Program Achieves Milestone with Over 1,000 Certified. Appoints Ron Wagner, Director of Global Channel Strategy and Partner Business Development

Android and iOS Users Can Now Create and Save Passkeys With Dashlane (Dashlane) Google released the first Android 14 developer, which contains changes that enable third-party apps like Dashlane to manage passkeys.

Parallels Enhances Automation and Security Capabilities, Optimizes End-User Computing Solution for Enterprise Environments (GlobeNewswire News Room) Latest updates to Parallels RAS double down on easier deployments, workload provisioning and automation, security, and user experience — enabling cost...

Keeper Security Protects Against Supply Chain Attacks with New Open Source Project (PR Newswire) Keeper Security, the leading provider of zero-trust and zero-knowledge cybersecurity software protecting passwords, passkeys, privileged...

Guardforce AI Has Secured a Three-Year Contract with a Leading Japanese Retailer for its End-to-End Cash Management Solution Including Guardforce Digital Machine in Thailand (GlobeNewswire News Room) Guardforce AI Co., Limited (“Guardforce AI” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GFAI, GFAIW), an integrated...

AirPak taps ThetaRay to strengthen its AML programme (Paypers) Remittance services provider across Central America AirPak has partnered with Israel-based AI-driven transaction monitoring solution ThetaRay.

Optery Releases API Enabling Businesses to Embed Its Award-Winning Personal Data Removal Software Into Their Applications (GlobeNewswire News Room) Optery helps businesses provide automated, continuous data broker scanning and privacy opt outs to protect their customers from digital and physical...

Urban Outfitters Inc. Partners with Brivo to Enhance Employee and Visitor Security Across National Distribution Centers (EIN News) Company Integrates Brivo Cloud-Based Access Control to Remotely Secure Assets Across the Country

Nyriad Unveils Storage-as-a-Service (STaaS) Offering that Provides Game-Changing Simplicity and Flexibility (Nyriad) Nyriad today announced the launch of UltraIO-as-a-Service, an on-premise Storage-as-a-Service (STaaS) offering tailored to meet the ever-increasing data management demands of modern enterprises.

Checkmarx Announces Technology Partner Program to Enable the Industry's Most Extensible, Code-to-Cloud Enterprise AppSec Ecosystem (PR Newswire) Checkmarx, the industry leader in cloud-native application security for the enterprise, today announced its Checkmarx Technology Partner...

Technologies, Techniques, and Standards

The FAIR Institute Launches "HowMaterialisThatHack.org" to Help Risk Officers, Shareholders, and Insurance Carriers Assess "Materiality" for High-Profile Hacks (PR Newswire) Today, at its annual FAIR Conference, the FAIR Institute announced the launch of 'How Material Is that Hack', an online resource dedicated to...

NSA Publishes ICS/OT Intrusion Detection Signatures and Analytics (SecurityWeek) NSA has released Elitewolf, a repository of intrusion detection signatures and analytics for OT environments.

NIST to issue cyber updates, introduce new security controls (Nextgov.com) The changes, which are open to public comment, focus on user identity management and protecting cryptographic keys, among other security protocols.

CISA Updates Toolkit to Promote Public Safety Communications and Cyber Resiliency (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency | CISA) The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) collaborates with public safety, national security, and emergency preparedness communities to enhance seamless and secure communications to keep America safe, secure, and resilient. Any interruption in communications can have a cascading effect, impacting a public safety agency’s ability to deliver critical lifesaving services to the community.

CISA ramps up efforts to shift cybersecurity responsibilities onto software developers (Nextgov.com) The nation’s cyber defense agency released new guidance alongside 17 domestic and international partners.

The Pentagon is running out of time to get zero trust right (C4ISRNet) A successful zero trust transition demands more than technological prowess—it requires a reorientation of mindset and strategy.

New Research from ESG and Mend.io Reveals Key Best Practices for Application Security Effectiveness (Mend) New research sponsored by Mend.io and conducted by TechTarget’s Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) found application security programs struggle to scale to meet the demand brought about by rapid development.

Former NSA Director: AI is ‘double-edged sword’ for cybersecurity (The Hill) Mike Rogers, former director at the National Security Agency, said during a Tuesday event that artificial intelligence is a “double-edged sword” from the government cybersecurity perspective, bring…

ISA MLM-38A ‘Identifying Control System Cyber Incidents’ has been issued (Control Loop) The International Society of Automation has approved MLM 38A, “Identifying Control System Cyber Incidents”–why is this important?

Design and Innovation

DigiCert Global Study: Preparing for a Safe Post-Quantum Computing Future (DigiCert) DigiCert released the results of a global study exploring how organizations are addressing the post-quantum computing threat and preparing for a safe post-quantum computing future. Key findings reveal that while IT leaders are concerned about their ability to prepare in the timeframes needed, they are hampered by obstacles which include lack of clear ownership, budget and executive support.

Preparing For A Quantum-Safe Future (DigiCert) Quantum computing poses an unprecedented threat to data security. Organizations must overcome several barriers on the path to preparing for a safe post-quantum computing future.

A ‘Godfather of AI’ Calls for an Organization to Defend Humanity (WIRED) Yoshua Bengio’s pioneering research helped bring about ChatGPT and the current AI boom. Now he’s worried AI could harm civilization and says the future needs a humanity defense organization.

Research and Development

New Tech and Cyber Threats Drive Sweeping $9 Billion JADC2 Development Effort (Defense Security Monitor) Over $9 billion will be spent into the next decade on the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) program, a sweeping R&D effort of the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy. While there are man…

DatChat Receives Notice of Allowance for its Patent Application "Technology Platform for Providing Secure Group-Based Digital Access to Sets of Digital Assets" (GlobeNewswire News Room) Technology will Power Its New Interactive

Academia

Augusta University recognized for cybersecurity efforts with the prestigious CSO50 Award (Jagwire) Augusta University was recently recognized with the 2023 CSO50 Award, given to organizations and individuals for their exceptional cybersecurity and thought leadership contributions to the field.

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

Interoperability and rule of law underline government strategies in tackling cyber threats (Gov Insider) High-level panels at Singapore International Cyber Week (SICW) 2023 highlighted the need to build greater synergy across different systems and establish rules and norms to instill greater confidence among citizens of an inclusive digital transformation.

They Supported Air Strike Victims. Then They Were Doxed and Arrested (WIRED) Myanmar’s military junta is increasing surveillance and violating basic human rights. The combination of physical and digital surveillance is reaching dangerous new levels.

Pro-SAC Digital Offensive (Myanmar Witness) Doxxing and arrests against social media users following the deadly Kanbalu airstrikes

The US Just Escalated Its AI Chip War With China (WIRED) The American government has tightened its restrictions on exports of chips and chipmaking equipment, closing loopholes that let Chinese companies access advanced technology.

Five Eyes intelligence chiefs warn of ‘sharp rise’ in commercial espionage (Record) Speaking on the same stage for the first time, the agency heads presented five principles they wanted businesses to adopt to keep staff and information secure.

Allied Spy Chiefs Warn of Chinese Espionage Targeting Tech Firms (New York Times) F.B.I. officials say more than half of Chinese spying efforts aimed at stealing technology occurs in Silicon Valley.

Mandia: China replaces Russia as top cyber threat (CyberScoop) Beijing's growing sophistication in cyberspace is making China an increasingly potent adversary, according to Kevin Mandia.

Lone senator stymies cyber legislation in Senate (Washington Post) For much of the last few years, Congress has delivered a bevy of bipartisan cybersecurity bills to the president’s desk.

Federal Cyber Chief Tells Agencies to Tap Brakes on AI (Wall Street Journal) Federal agencies have pitched more than 1,000 use cases for generative artificial intelligence, but the U.S. government’s cybersecurity chief wants risks associated with the technology properly addressed before they can press ahead.

Federal Report Proposes Harmonization of Divergent Cyber Incident Reporting Regimes (JD Supra) On September 20, 2023, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a report outlining the varied and sometimes conflicting reporting...

Cyber experts applaud White House cybersecurity plan (Security Intelligence) The Biden Administration has released its plan for implementing the new national cybersecurity strategy.

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

Sovereign Immunity Is Alive and Well, Even After a Cyberattack (JD Supra) As highlighted in the Data Security Incident Response Report, government entities such as universities, medical centers, public utilities and...

Delete-your-data laws have a perennial problem: Data brokers who fail to register (Record) Laws requiring data brokers to register with state governments are not protecting the public the way they should, experts say, because enforcement has been inadequate.

Colorado Court OKs Use of Google Search Data in Murder Case (Bloomberg) Ruling is first test of legality of keyword search warrants. Suspect had been found to Google the address 14 times.

Tech CEO Sentenced to 5 Years in IP Address Scheme (KrebsOnSecurity) Amir Golestan, the 40-year-old CEO of the Charleston, S.C. based technology company Micfo LLC, has been sentenced to five years in prison for wire fraud. Golestan's sentencing comes nearly two years after he pleaded guilty to using an elaborate network…

Industry Events

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

Events

2nd Annual Small Business Cyber Summit (Virtual, Oct 4 - 25, 2023) The Summit, sponsored by the US Small Business Administration, will meet each Wednesday in October. Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and voice for America's 33 million small businesses in President Biden's Cabinet, announced that the agency will host a free, virtual National Cyber Summit held throughout October 2023. This second annual cybersecurity forum will help introduce American small businesses to tools, tips, and resources to bolster their cybersecurity infrastructure in addition to exploring new trends and challenges entrepreneurs are increasingly facing.

Join us for the 2023 Gone Phishing Tournament. (Virtual, Oct 9 - 27, 2023) The annual Gone Phishing TournamentTM allows you to benchmark your organization's phishing resilience against true global standards. It's not just an exciting event but also a proven way to build a robust cyber-aware culture within your organization.

RhythmWorld (Denver, Colorado, USA, Oct 16 - 18, 2023) RhythmWorld is the premier cybersecurity conference for the latest security insights, perspectives on emerging threats, and support in achieving your security goals. This year, we are happy to announce that we will return to the Mile High City for two full days of interactive peer-to-peer learning, networking, and an unforgettable experience. RhythmWorld attendees gain access to best practices, comprehensive training sessions featuring cybersecurity leaders from across the industry, connections to technical LogRhythm experts, and the chance to compete in a LogWars Capture the Flag (CTF) event.

Authenticate 2023 (Carlsbad, and virtual, California, USA, Oct 16 - 18, 2023) It’s time to modernize your authentication! Organizations around the globe are embracing a new way to authenticate with FIDO standards, moving past passwords and legacy forms of multifactor authentication to provide users with passkeys for phishing-resistant sign-ins. Their results? Strong security, lessened data breach risk, improved user experiences, faster sign-in rates, and reduced costs. Join these industry leaders as they come together at Authenticate 2023, and get the latest tools and insights to get your organization on the path to strong, modern passwordless authentication. Hosted by the FIDO Alliance, Authenticate is the industry’s only conference dedicated to all aspects of user authentication – including a focus on FIDO-based sign-ins. It is the place for CISOs, business leaders, product managers, security strategists and identity architects to get all of the education, tools and best practices to roll out modern authentication across web, enterprise and government applications.

Certified CMMC Professional (CCP) 2.0 Exam Prep (Virtual, Oct 16 - 20, 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.

Sponsor & Support

Grow your brand, generate leads, and fill your funnel.

With the industry’s largest B2B podcast network, popular newsletters, and influential readers and listeners all over the world, companies trust the CyberWire to get the message out. Learn more.