Andris Razans, Latvia's ambassador to the US, and Jarno Limnell, an alumnus of Finland's military (now directing cyber security for Intel Security) both offer Breaking Defense a neighbors perspective on Russian cyber operations. The immediate occasion of their remarks is ongoing operations against Ukraine and other targets in the near abroad. Limnell describes the phases one should expect: (1) state-directed patriotic hacktivism—denial-of-service, minor espionage, etc., (2) information operations—marketing in battledress, and (3) sophisticated malware "sleeping" in critical infrastructure. He also deprecates any distinction between cyberwar and war: activities in cyberspace, he observes, are among the "other means" of pursuing political ends Clausewitz defined as war.
The Syrian Electronic Army is back, telling CSO and IDG that their brushes with the Assad-supporting (and supported) cyber gang were unauthorized individual hacks, but that the media outlets' cold response has now made them legitimate targets.
OpenSSL has more problems, the latest revealed by AVG, which announces a CCS injection vulnerability. Users are again advised to patch.
Observers offer insight into cyber underground life. Anonymous, as many note, has undergone a long string of fizzles in its announced operations. Analysts wonder whether the collective is in irreversible decline or about to resurge. The World Cup may tell, but in the meantime, what is one to make of the two Anonymous Verified Badges that have appeared on Facebook? Former Silk Road staffers give the alleged Dread Pirate Roberts mixed reviews (but some love) as a boss.
Tomorrow is Patch Tuesday. Seven Microsoft bulletins are expected.