A shakeup in Ukraine's SSSCIP, and turmoil at OpenAI.

Summary

By the CyberWire staff

At a glance.

OpenAI's continuing turmoil.
Konni campaign phishes with a Russian document as bait.
LockBit's third-party compromise of Canadian government personnel data.
Crypto firm sustains API attack.
Ukraine removes senior security officials under suspicion of graft.

OpenAI agonistes.

Seven-hundred-thirty-eight of OpenAI's seven-hundred-seventy employees--about ninety-six percent, as close to all of them as makes no difference--have now signed a letter demanding the restoration of ousted CEO Sam Altman and his co-founder Greg Brockman and the resignation of the board that fired them. WIRED reports that the letter includes a threat to quit the company (possibly to join a new venture headed by Altman). OpenAI was founded with the mission "to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity,” and Friday's dismissal, couched as a response to what the board characterized as Altman's lack of candor, suggests that the board believed Altman's leadership had drifted from that mission.

The organization's structure--a not-for-profit research institution self-consciously animated by an idealistic humanitarian vision that simultaneously oversaw a "capped" for-profit company characterized by the aggressive and fast-moving optimism typical of Silicon Valley startups--was probably unstable from the outset. The Atlantic has an account, based on discussions with insiders who spoke on condition of anonymity, that suggests OpenAI was riven by two rival futurist visions: one utopian, the other dystopian, but both in their own way representing an extreme picture of artificial intelligence's potentialities.

Shortly after firing Altman, OpenAI's board approached rival Anthropic about a possible merger, an approach, the Information says, that Anthropic quickly declined. Subsequent reports indicated that a number of OpenAI customers were considering moving to competitors, including Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google. For now, and pending further developments, Microsoft looks like the winner. Redmond hired both Altman and Brockman to run a "new, advanced AI research team," and the former OpenAI leaders seem likely to attract much of the talent that may defect from their old company. As recently as yesterday afternoon, however, the Verge was reporting that Altman's return to OpenAI remained an open possibility, and according to Bloomberg, that would be agreeable to Microsoft as well. “Irrespective of where Sam is, he’s working with Microsoft,” Microsoft CEO Nadella said.

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.

Konni campaign phishes with a Russian document as bait.

The operators behind the Konni RAT have been observed using a Russian-language document,"Western Assessments of the Progress of the Special Military Operation,” as phishbait. Researchers at Fortinet report that the malicious Word document contains a dropper that installs a remote-access Trojan (RAT) that serves as both an information stealer and a remote code execution threat. The researchers conclude that the threat involves "an advanced toolset employed by a sophisticated threat actor within a Word document using batch scripts and DLL files. The payload incorporates a UAC bypass and encrypted communication with a C2 server, enabling the threat actor to execute privileged commands." Fortinet doesn't speculate about targeting, but circumstantially the intended victims would appear to be Russian.

Fortinet also doesn't discuss attribution, but Malpedia connects Konni with APT37, a North Korean cybersepionage actor whose principal targets since the group's discovery in 2012 have been "South-Korean political organizations, as well as Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Nepal, China, India, Romania, Kuwait, and other parts of the Middle East." MITRE's ATT&CK associates APT37 with InkySquid, ScarCruft, Reaper, Group123, TEMP.Reaper, and Ricochet Chollima--as is usually the case with APTs, APT37's name is Legion.

LockBit's third-party compromise of Canadian government personnel data.

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat has disclosed a third-party data breach in which contractors handling information of members of the Canadian Armed Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and other Canadian government employees were compromised by LockBit.

The two affected contractors were Brookfield Global Relocation Services (BGRS) and SIRVA Canada. BleepingComputer says the compromised information goes back to 1999. While Canadian authorities didn't offer an attribution of the attack to any particular group, LockBit, the privateering and profit-motivated Russian ransomware gang, has claimed the SIRVA compromise and is probably responsible for the breach at BGRS as well. According to BleepingComputer, LockBit says it has 1.5TB of stolen documents, and that SIRVA declined to pay the ransom demanded. "Sirva.com says that all their information worth only $1m. We have over 1.5TB of documents leaked + 3 full backups of CRM for branches (eu, na and au)," the gang said on its leak site. For more on the implications of the LockBit compromise, see CyberWire Pro.

Optimize the value of your biggest investment – your cyber talent.

Gain actionable insights to continuously build and maintain high-performance teams, climb the knowledge curve, and stay ahead in a rapidly changing world. CyberVista’s Strategic Cyber Workforce Intelligence is a comprehensive solution designed to identify current capabilities and develop a data-driven framework to enrich hiring, upskilling, and career mobility efforts in your people strategy that evolves with ongoing organizational transformation. Learn more.

Crypto firm sustains API attack.

Taiwanese crypto trading firm Kronos Research has sustained a theft of approximately $26 million after an attacker gained unauthorized access to its API keys, Bitcoin.com reports. The company stated on Sunday, “[D]espite it being a sizable amount, Kronos remains in good standing. All losses will be covered internally, no partners will be affected.” Kronos halted its trading services on Saturday while it investigated the incident. For more on the attack on Kronos, including lesson learned, see CyberWire Pro.

Ukraine removes senior security officials under suspicion of graft.

Two Ukrainian senior cybersecurity officials were removed from office yesterday, resigning as they faced criminal corruption charges. The two officials, familiar to the cybersecurity and defense sectors, are Yurii Shchyhol, head of the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine (SSSCIP) and Victor Zhora, the SSSCIP's deputy head. They're suspected of establishing two shell companies to rig bids for software, the excess charges for which were skimmed off by the principals. So far the National Anticorruption Bureau believes six persons to be involved in the scheme:

"Head of State Special Communications and his deputy;
"general director and employee of a state-owned enterprise;
"the owner of a group of companies (scheme organizer) and one of his employees."

The amount alleged to have been stolen amounts to 62 million hyrvni, or a bit more than $1.7 million US. Both senior officials deny wrongdoing and say they look forward to vindication. Their former agency, the SSSCIP, issued the following statement:

"The SSSCIP has provided the law enforcement with all the necessary information and is up to providing such information onwards as the SSSCIP’s operation is based on the principles of openness and zero toleration of corruption.

"Since 2020, all the SSSCIP’s procurements have been in line with legislation in force. Procurements in the area of state registers protection are complex, their analysis requires training and grasp, and the SSSCIP is up to provide any clarifications necessary to the NABU detectives, in any format.

"We urge to abstain from accusations of certain officers or executives involved in organizing protection of Ukraine’s critical information infrastructure until the investigation is completed and the court provides its legal treatment of the investigation results.

"The SSSCIP keeps performing tasks vested in it. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has appointed Dmytro MAKOVSKYI as the acting Head of the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine."

Mr. Zhora worked closely with US officials and agencies, notably with CISA, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. CISA, TechCrunch reports, had no comments on the dismissals beyond reaffirming the US commitment to continue cooperating with Ukraine in cyberspace.

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 Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Gaza, Hungary, India, Israel, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Dateline: Hybrid wars in Ukraine, Russia, Israel, and Gaza.

Ukraine at D+635: Shakeup at SSSCIP. (CyberWire) Ukraine removes two senior cyber defense officials.

Israel-Gaza war latest: Truce deal could be agreed 'in coming hours', Hamas official says (The Telegraph) A truce agreement with Israel could be agreed “in the coming hours,” a senior Hamas official has claimed.

Opinion Evidence confirms Israel’s al-Shifa claims, so critics move the goal posts (Washington Post) For weeks, many mainstream media outlets and Israel’s harshest critics around the world have condemned Israel for fighting in and around the al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip. Doctors there denied there were terrorists present. They denied it was a legitimate military target. No hostages there, we were told. Now we know those assertions were flat wrong.

Why Israel Slept (Foreign Affairs) The war in Gaza and the search for security.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 636 (Al Jazeera) As the war enters its 636th day, these are the main developments.

‘Russia is weaponizing time,’ Ukraine tells NATO (Defense One) At Halifax conference, Western policy leaders struggled to meet a concatenation of crises.

Kremlin: Putin to give Russian view on world situation at G20 virtual summit (Reuters) The Kremlin said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin will set out Russia's view of what it sees as the "deeply unstable world situation" when he addresses an upcoming virtual G20 summit.

German Defense Minister Visits Ukraine As Russia Launches Deadly Strike In Donetsk (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is in Ukraine on a surprise visit during which he is to reaffirm continued military aid to Ukraine's war effort by Berlin -- the second-largest contributor of defense assistance to Kyiv after the United States.

Biden Administration Announces New Security Assistance for Ukraine (U.S. Department of Defense) The DOD announced additional security assistance to meet Ukraine's critical security and defense needs.

Austin Reaffirms U.S. Support During Ukraine Visit (U.S. Department of Defense) Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to discuss Ukraine's current operations and near-term and midterm goals and

U.S. To Send $100 Million In Arms To Ukraine, As Pentagon Chief Pledges Support 'For Long Haul' (RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty) Washington announced a package of weapons and equipment to support Ukraine as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy that the United States was in "for the long haul" in its support for Ukraine as it continues to battle Russian troops.

10 years later, a war-weary Ukraine reflects on events that began its collision course with Russia (AP News) Ten years ago, Ukrainians took to the streets to protest a decision by their Moscow-friendly president to move the country away from the European Union and toward Russia.

Putin can’t keep his soldiers permanently on the front line forever (The Telegraph) Military wives make a rare Moscow protest against unending deployment

Ukraine sacks top cyber defence officials amid graft probe (Reuters) Ukraine sacked two senior cyber defence officials on Monday, a government official said, as prosecutors announced a probe into alleged embezzlement in the government's cyber security agency.

Two top Ukrainian cyber officials dismissed amid embezzlement probe (Record) Two high-ranking cybersecurity officials in Ukraine were dismissed on Monday, according to a senior government official, amid an investigation into suspected embezzlement of state funds.

Ukraine fires top cybersecurity officials (TechCrunch) Viktor Zhora, one of the most senior Ukrainian cybersecurity officials, told TechCrunch: "I will defend my name and reputation in a court."

Ukraine-Russia war: Ukraine sacks 'corrupt' cyber defence chiefs (The Telegraph) Ukraine has sacked two top cyber defence officials after they were charged with orchestrating a multi-million pound embezzlement scheme.

AI Helps Uncover Russian State-Sponsored Disinformation in Hungary (Dark Reading) Researchers used machine learning to analyze Hungarian media reports and found Russian narratives soured the nation's perspective on EU sanctions and arms deliveries months before the Ukraine invasion.

Gamaredon's LittleDrifter USB malware spreads beyond Ukraine (BleepingComputer) A recently discovered worm that researchers call LittleDrifter has been spreading over USB drives infecting systems in multiple countries as part of a campaign from the Gamaredon state-sponsored espionage group.

Ukrainian hacktivists fight back against Russia as cyber conflict deepens (Wisconsin Public Radio) Not long after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last February, Sergii Laba, an IT

Russia puts Ukrainian winner of Eurovision Song Contest on wanted list (AP News) Russia has placed a Ukrainian singer who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on its wanted list. State news agencies reported on Monday that an Interior Ministry database listed singer Susana Jamaladinova as being sought for violating a criminal law.

US sanctions ‘butcher of Bucha,’ Russian military official, over atrocities in Ukraine (The Hill) The Biden administration Monday issued sanctions against two officers in the Russian military for involvement in gross violations of human rights, including the alleged extrajudicial killing of una…

Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities

Mustang Panda Hackers Targets Philippines Government Amid South China Sea Tensions (The Hacker News) China-linked Mustang Panda cyber actor targets Philippines government entity amid South China Sea tensions.

Indian Hack-for-Hire Group Targeted U.S., China, and More for Over 10 Years (The Hacker News) Indian Hack-for-Hire Group targeted U.S., China, Pakistan, and more for over a decade.

Malicious Apps Disguised as Banks and Government Agencies Targeting Indian Android Users (The Hacker News) Alert: Android users in India, beware! Hackers are distributing fake banking and government apps to steal sensitive data like bank info and persona

The Ticking Supply Chain Attack Bomb of Exposed Kubernetes Secrets (Aquasec) Aqua Nautilus researchers found exposed Kubernetes secrets that pose a critical threat of supply chain attack to hundreds of organizations and OSS.

VX-Underground malware collective framed by Phobos ransomware (BleepingComputer) A new Phobos ransomware variant frames the popular VX-Underground malware-sharing collective, indicating the group is behind attacks using the encryptor.

Konni Campaign Distributed Via Malicious Document (Fortinet Blog) FortiGuard Labs exposes the KONNI campaign's distribution of using a counterfeit Russian military operation document. Read more on the details of the attack chain.…

Unveiling LummaC2 stealer’s novel Anti-Sandbox technique: Leveraging trigonometry for human behavior detection (Outpost24) Lumma stealer’s new Anti-Sandbox technique that forces the malware to wait until “human” behavior is detected.

New "Agent Tesla" Variant: Unusual "ZPAQ" Archive Format Delivers Malware (G Data) A new variant of Agent Tesla uses the uncommon compression format ZPAQ to steal information from approximately 40 web browsers and various email clients. But what exactly is this file compression format? What advantage does it provide to threat actors? And why it is assumed that the version of Agent Tesla is “new”?

New Agent Tesla Malware Variant Using ZPAQ Compression in Email Attacks (The Hacker News) New variant of Agent Tesla malware identified. It's a keylogger and remote access trojan (RAT) offered as part of a malware-as-a-service (MaaS) model.

Disaster fraud: you’ll never even know you were conned (Cybernews) Governments must build a “web of trust” to counter online fraudsters who exploit natural disasters using bogus help pages that con the public out of money, a cybersecurity expert is urging.

DarkGate and PikaBot Malware Resurrect QakBot's Tactics in New Phishing Attacks (The Hacker News) New high-volume phishing campaigns mimic tactics of defunct QakBot trojan, hijacking email threads and using unique URLs to deliver DarkGate & PikaBot

Argentina’s Libertarian President-Elect Confronts a Quiet Buzzsaw of Russian-Funded, Anti-American Disinformation on Latin American Social Media (The New York Sun) Javier Milei promises to buck Latin American opinion and back Ukraine, but can he kick his country’s addiction to Russian oil and fertilizer?

Canadian government discloses data breach after contractor hacks (BleepingComputer) The Canadian government says two of its contractors have been hacked, exposing sensitive information belonging to an undisclosed number of government employees.

Warning: Loopring (LRC) X Account Compromised by Phishing Attackers (BeInCrypto) The official X (Twitter) account of Loopring has been compromised by phishing hackers, trying to scam users through airdrop announcements.

Popular Dragon Touch Tablet for Kids Infected with Corejava Malware (Hackread) The budget tablet, advertised for kids on Amazon, is highly popular among children.

Kronos Research halts trading amid $25M API key hack investigation (Cointelegraph) “Potential losses are not a significant portion of our equity and we aim to resume trading as soon as possible,” said Kronos Research.

Kronos Research Loses $26 Million in Unauthorized API Access Incident (Bitcoin News) Kronos Research claimed the losses associated with the unauthorized API access do not constitute "a significant portion" of its equity.

Hacker Steals $25 Million from Kronos Research Through Compromised API Keys (Cryptonews) Kronos Research fell victim to a hack, resulting in a theft of $25 million by an unauthorized entity that accessed its compromised API keys.

[HEADS UP] FBI Warns About Callback Phishing (KnowBe4) In a recent official advisory, the FBI warned about the threat of callback phishing (among other threats). Below is the relevant excerpt.

Yamaha Motor confirms ransomware attack on Philippines subsidiary (BleepingComputer) Yamaha Motor's Philippines motorcycle manufacturing subsidiary was hit by a ransomware attack last month, resulting in the theft and leak of some employees' personal information.

Idaho National Laboratory experiences massive data breach; employee information leaked online (East Idaho News) The private information of thousands of Idaho National Labratory employees has been publicly posted on the internet by politically-motivated hackers.

Detailed data on employees of U.S. national security lab leak online (CyberScoop) The hacking group SiegedSed released personal data on thousands of employees at the Idaho National Laboratory, the nuclear research lab.

Employee data leaked during British Library cyber attack (The Independent) A ransomware group has said it is auctioning off access to the data files.

St Helens Council cyber attack caused substantial disruption (Computing) A data breach at a local council has disrupted work, but the ICO and government are satisfied with the remediation measures.

This Holiday Shopping Season, Your Attack Surface is Open for Business (CyCognito) Cyber Monday is right around the corner and millions of consumers will flock to ecommerce websites in search of the best deals. But can shoppers be assured that the sites they do business with are secure and compliant? Before and during the holiday shopping season, retailers need to ensure that ecommerce websites with missing WAFs, cryptographic vulnerabilities, or easily exploited critical issues.

Phishing Trends Examined by the SANS Institute (Tripwire) SANS Institute's blog post on emerging phishing trends is a valuable resource for identifying and rebuffing phishing attacks. We will cover the key findings from the report.

Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates

Tor Project removes relays because of for-profit, risky activity (BleepingComputer) The Tor Project has explained its recent decision to remove multiple network relays that represented a threat to the safety and security of all Tor network users.

Trends

Huntress Unveils Inaugural SMB Threat Report, Observes a Large Spike in Business Email Compromise (GlobeNewswire News Room) Inside look at hacker trends impacting small to medium-sized businesses and the MSPs who defend them...

Cyber budgets fail to meet expectations with only 1% increase on previous year in the U.S., finds S-RM (Yahoo Finance) · In 2023, the average cyber budget for large organizations grew by 3.1% YOY globally to USD 27.10 million — but only by 1% YOY in the U.S.

Marketplace

AT&T looks to shed cybersecurity unit, creating a new company in the new year (Verdict) Given AT&T’s speckled past in security and the fairly active discussion around a possible sale, the decision to jettison its cybersecurity unit is hardly surprising.

WSJ News Exclusive | Ex-CEO of NSO Group Raises $33.6 Million for Israeli Cyber Startup (Wall Street Journal) Tel Aviv-based Dream Security signed the deal near the Gaza border.

Amentum to merge with Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions and Cyber and Intelligence businesses (Intelligence Community News) Amentum announced a definitive agreement to merge with Dallas, TX-based Jacobs’ Critical Mission Solutions (CMS) and Cyber and Intelligence (C&I) businesses, creating a new leader in systems integration and technology solutions trusted by the United States and its allies to modernize their most complex missions around the world.

Lasso Security emerges from stealth and raises $6 million (Help Net Security) Lasso Security emerges from stealth to set the standard for LLM cybersecurity, safeguarding every LLM touchpoint.

Intruder Ranked 38th Fastest Growing Technology Company in the UK in the 2023 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 (Intruder) Intruder has come 38th in Deloitte's Fast 50, which ranks the UK's 50 fastest growing tech companies.

MSSP Alert Names CISO Global to 2023 Top 250 Managed Security Services Providers List (GlobeNewswire News Room) CISO Global (NASDAQCM: CISO) has been designated a Top 25 Managed Security Services Provider by...

The Sam Altman drama points to a deeper split in the tech world (The Economist) Doomers and boomers are fighting for AI dominance

Company that created ChatGPT is thrown into turmoil after Microsoft hires its ousted CEO (AP News) The company that created ChatGPT is in turmoil after Microsoft hired its ousted CEO and many more employees threatened to follow him in a conflict that centered in part oin part on how to build artificial intelligence that’s smarter than humans.

The Doomed Mission Behind Sam Altman’s Shock Ouster From OpenAI (Bloomberg) The company couldn’t balance nonprofit goals with an expensive business and billions in commercial ties

Briefing: OpenAI Execs to Continue Discussions With Altman, Board: Memo (The Information) OpenAI executives plan to continue discussions with ousted CEO Sam Altman, interim CEO Emmett Shear and the startup’s board of directors on Tuesday morning as they work to “reunify” the company, OpenAI vice president of global affairs Anna Makanju told employees in a memo on Monday night, according to people with knowledge of the situation. Makanju added that executives had a plan they were

OpenAI in ‘Intense Discussions’ to Quell Potential Staff Mutiny (Bloomberg) Staff told startup is negotiating with Sam Altman and board. No imminent leadership decision expected as talks drag out.

Microsoft Wants to Work With Altman, No Matter What, Says CEO (Bloomberg) Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella signaled that he’d be open to Sam Altman going back to OpenAI, rather than joining his company as part of a surprise move announced over the weekend.

Briefing: Microsoft CEO Nadella Says Altman Could End Up at Microsoft or OpenAI; Board Governance Should Change (The Information) Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said he would be glad to see Sam Altman and Greg Brockman return to OpenAI if their negotiations with the board are successful, and that they’ll otherwise be offered jobs at Microsoft, in an interview with CNBC on Monday. Microsoft said on Sunday it had hired Altman and Brockman, after talks between Altman and the board broke down and OpenAI said it had hired former

Ilya Sutskever: The OpenAI Genius Who Told Sam Altman He Was Fired (Wall Street Journal) The company’s chief scientist led a board coup against one of the most prominent figures in Silicon Valley.

Sam Altman's AI 'mission continues' at Microsoft, future of OpenAI and ChatGPT uncertain (ZDNET) In a rollercoaster ride of a weekend for generative AI darling OpenAI, co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman are now at Microsoft and OpenAI is grappling with how to move forward.

OpenAI’s Customers Consider Defecting to Anthropic, Microsoft, Google (The Information) Questions about the future of OpenAI intensified on Monday, after board member and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever expressed regret for his participation in the firing of CEO Sam Altman. Meanwhile, OpenAI customers are looking for the exits, signaling a possible exodus of business that could ...

OpenAI’s Board Approached Anthropic About Merger (The Information) OpenAI’s board of directors approached Dario Amodei, the co-founder and CEO of rival large-language model developer Anthropic, about a potential merger of the two companies, said a person with direct knowledge. The approach came after OpenAI’s board had fired CEO Sam Altman on Friday and was ...

The Vast Majority of OpenAI Employees Ask the Board to Resign (The Information) More than 710 of OpenAI’s 770 employees have signed a letter to the company’s board asking members to resign and to reinstate former CEO Sam Altman and former President Greg Brockman. If Altman and Brockman are not reinstated, the employees say theywill join the duo at Microsoft, according to ...

Former GitHub Chief Nat Friedman Declined OpenAI Interim CEO Role (The Information) Nat Friedman, the former CEO of Microsoft-owned GitHub and a prolific investor in artificial intelligence startups, was asked by an OpenAI board member to take over as the Interim CEO of OpenAI on Sunday but he declined the offer, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The ...

Meta Platforms breaks up its Responsible Artificial Intelligence, shifts positions to other AI needs (Silicon Valley Business Journal) Meta Platforms Inc. is redistributing the Responsible AI staff throughout the social media giant.

Salesforce CEO offers jobs to any OpenAI researcher who has quit (ET CIO) Enterprise software major Salesforce's Chair and CEO Marc Benioff on Tuesday offered jobs to any OpenAI researcher who has tendered resignation and their immigration is impacted, as more than 500 OpenAI staffers threaten to quit after Microsoft hired former CEO Sam Altman and ex-president Greg Brockman.

US firm awarded £330m national data contract (Health Service Journal) Palantir, the controversial US firm, has been awarded the £330m-plus contract to provide a the national federated data platform to the NHS for up to seven years.

Celebrating Computing Security Excellence at theTCG Annual Awards (Trusted Computing Group) Remarkable achievements, innovations and contributions from experts across the cybersecurity industry have been recognized at the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) Annual Member Meeting Awards ceremony. This year the ceremony was … Continue reading "Celebrating Computing Security Excellence at theTCG Annual Awards"

Tenable appoints Forcepoint’s Talib Yousry to lead APJ channel (Reseller News) Tenable has appointed channel and telecommunications veteran Talib Yousry to lead its Asia Pacific and Japan partner ecosystem.

Products, Services, and Solutions

Baltimore, it's time to vote: Meet your 25 Technical.ly Awards nominees for 2023 (Technical.ly Baltimore) There will only be one winner for each of our five categories: Invention, Tech Community Leader, CTO, Tech Company and Culture Builder of the Year. You have a say in who, so cast your vote through Nov. 30.

Persistent Launches First-of-its-Kind Open-Source Maintenance Service (PR Newswire) Persistent Systems (BSE: PERSISTENT) and (NSE: PERSISTENT), a global Digital Engineering and Enterprise Modernization leader, today launched a...

Rapid7's AI-Driven Cloud Anomaly Detection (Rapid7) New innovations in cloud threat detection give SOC teams the edge to pinpoint suspicious activity across their attack surface

Telstra International Expands Netskope Partnership to Power its Global Managed Security Solutions (Netskope) Partnership will underpin Telstra’s managed services offering for security and network transformation SANTA CLARA, Calif. – November 20, 2023 – Netskope,

Adaptive Shield and Kompingo Join Forces to Elevate UK Organizations’ SaaS Security (Business Wire) Adaptive Shield, the leading SaaS security company, today announced a strategic partnership with Kompingo, a renowned UK distributor. The collaboration will help meet the growing demand for SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) throughout the UK as Adaptive Shield extends its network of partners and enhances its platform's accessibility and local support.

ESET launches all-in-one protection, including VPN, identity protection, and a new look for consumer offering (PR Newswire) ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, today announced the launch of its new innovative and streamlined offering for consumers. With more than...

Technologies, Techniques, and Standards

Why the DOD's Replicator should be a model for cybersecurity (CSO Online) The Replicator program adopts the mosaic warfare concept that favors simple, low-cost options designed to overwhelm and disrupt an adversary.

Bumble, Grindr, and Hinge Moderators Struggle to Keep Users—and Themselves—Safe (WIRED) An investigation revealed that workers dealing with user reports on dating apps struggle with “unattainable” expectations and traumatic content.

New Educational Guidelines Developed to Bring Trusted Computing to Billions of Devices (Trusted Computing Group) Implementing protection for connected devices and critical data will soon be made quicker and easier through new educational guidelines created by the Trusted Computing Group (TCG). Hosted on the TCG … Continue reading "New Educational Guidelines Developed to Bring Trusted Computing to Billions of Devices"

EU cybersecurity exercise: foster cooperation, secure free and fair EU elections (Parlamento Europeu) To evaluate and strengthen current working methods ahead of the 2024 elections, EU institutions have organised a cybersecurity exercise today.

Operationalize cyber risk quantification for smart security (Security Intelligence) Cyber risk quantification offers a new edge for organizations striving to maximize their cyber risk management programs.

CybeReady Unveils Five Key Actions to Combat Black Friday Cyber Threats (WWLP) Company Promotes Safe Shopping Practices for Employees, to Protect Personal and Corporate Data SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, November 20, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- CybeReady, a global leader in security awareness training, today highlighted businesses and consumers gearing up for one of the busiest shopping seasons of the year, and the cyber threats that rise in this timeframe. This period is widely recognized to mark an increased risk of cyber threats that puts organizations as ...

Legislation, Policy, and Regulation

Small businesses to receive cyber security boost (Treasury Ministers) The Albanese Government will empower small businesses to bolster their cyber security resilience and ability to bounce back quickly from a cyber attack.

Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement

Cyber Scam Organization Disrupted Through Seizure of Nearly $9M in Crypto (US Department of Justice) The Justice Department announced today the seizure of nearly $9 million worth of Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. These seized funds were traced to cryptocurrency addresses allegedly associated with an organization that exploited over 70 victims through romance scams and cryptocurrency confidence scams, which are widely known as “pig butchering.”

SEC Sues Crypto Exchange Kraken, Alleges It Is Unregistered Broker (Wall Street Journal) The Securities and Exchange Commission sued Kraken on Monday, alleging that it violated investor protection laws that require it to comply with the same rules stock exchanges face. The SEC also alleged that Kraken commingled customers’ crypto assets and fiat currencies with its own, creating what i

Elon Musk Sues Media Matters for Misrepresenting How Much Antisemitic Content's on X (TheWrap) Elon Musk sued watchdog organization Media Matters, claiming the outlet "knowingly and maliciously" misrepresented X's antisemitic content.

In rare show of force, senators enlist U.S. marshals to subpoena tech CEOs (Washington Post) Senators subpoena CEOs of Snap, Musk’s X in an attempt to force tech executives to testify as part of a probe into children’s sexual exploitation online

Europol Busts Major Online CSAM Racket in Western Balkans (Hackread) The initiative was carried out under the banner of Operation MOZAIK 2023.

Evaluation of the Control and Accountability of DoD Biometric Data Collection Technologies (Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense) The objective of this evaluation was to determine whether the DoD ensured adequate control and accountability over technologies used to collect, store, and transmit biometric data to higher‑level databases in overseas operations.

USA v. Singla (US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division) Change of plea hearing held. Defendant pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to count 1 of the indictment and the Court adjudged defendant guilty. Defendant remains out of custody on the previously-set conditions of bond.

Ex-infosec COO pleads guilty to nightmarish sales strategy (Register) Admits to taking phones used for 'code blue' emergencies offline and more

Dallas County IT experts warned of data vulnerabilities months before ransomware attack (KERA News) Officials raised concerns about computer system security at Dallas County IT Executive Governance Committee meetings months before an Oct. 19 "cybersecurity incident."

Industry Events

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

Newly Noted Events

Online safety and digital content oversight (Washington (and virtual), DC, USA, Nov 30, 2023) As the United States wrestles with the impact of online content — from children’s safety to AI deepfakes — the United Kingdom has passed a sweeping Online Safety Bill, delegating implementation to the Office of Communications (Ofcom). On November 9, Ofcom released the draft of its approach to balancing protections with free speech rights. It is the most comprehensive effort undertaken by any Western government to date. On November 30, join the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings for an event with Ofcom Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes to discuss the challenges faced by liberal democracies in dealing with online content.

Defending the Defense Industrial Base - CyberQuest Leaders Breakfast Forum (Arlington, Virginia, USA, Dec 12, 2023) Be part of interactive discussions on DoD’s CS Program, and key considerations and ideation for sustainable success of the supply chain.

State and Local Government Cybersecurity Summit (Washington, DC, USA, Mar 19 - 20, 2024) Convening the Senior-Most Cyber Leaders to Enhance Cybersecurity at the State and Local Level. State and local governments and the critical infrastructure they support are facing significant cyber attacks. In the last year, the state of Illinois, the city of Dallas, and the Los Angeles Unified School District have experienced cyber attacks that impacted their day-to-day operations over multiple weeks. Yet these same governments are often massively under-resourced to protect themselves.

Events

CIISEC Live (Manchester, England, UK, Nov 22, 2023) In today's digital age, safeguarding sensitive information and maintaining a strong cybersecurity posture is paramount. CIISEC Live is designed to provide you with the latest insights, strategies, and tools to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats, as well as the opportunity to hear from the professional body for Information and Cybersecurity. Whether you're an IT professional, a business leader, or simply someone interested in cybersecurity, this conference has something for everyone!

itag Cyber Research Conference Ireland (Letterkenny, Ireland, Nov 24, 2023) itag’s Cyber Research Conference Ireland (CRCI) acts as a meeting point where researchers from academia, industry, research groups/centres, companies and public authorities working in the field of cybersecurity and related areas can exchange knowledge and experience with the shared goal of strengthening research in the field across the island of Ireland.

AWS re:Invent 2023 (Las Vegas and Virtual, Nevada, USA, Nov 27 - Dec 1, 2023) Come together with cloud enthusiasts from around the world to hear the latest cloud industry innovations, meet with AWS experts, have fun, and build connections. You’ll gain skills and expertise that would take weeks or months to learn at home.

SANS Austin Fall 2023 (Austin, Texas, USA, Nov 27 - Dec 2, 2023) At SANS Austin Fall 2023, choose from 41 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!

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.

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.