Cyber Attacks, Threats, and Vulnerabilities
Chinese hacker group targets tech supply chain, report says (FCW) New evidence of a Chinese hacking group's links to Beijing could give U.S. investigators new ammunition to crack down on economic espionage and threats to the technology supply chain.
CrowdStrike verifies portions of report linking APT10 activity to Chinese government actors (SC Media US) Researchers with CrowdStrike yesterday partially confirmed reports from the mysterious APT-hunting group Intrusion Truth, verifying several findings that a
China’s Muslim Crackdown Extends to Those Living Abroad (Wall Street Journal) Chinese Uighurs living overseas have become a focus of one of government’s largest mass incarcerations in decades. Beijing is concerned that radical Islamic militants are behind a sporadically violent Uighur separatist movement in Xinjiang.
As elections approach, what is the risk of Russian meddling? (TheOaklandPress.com) Nearly a year after Russian government hackers meddled in the 2016 U.S. election, researchers at cybersecurity firm Trend Micro zeroed in on a new sign of trouble: a group of
Tech Giants Now Share Details on Political Ads. What Does That Mean For You? (New York Times) We tried out new tools from Facebook, Google and Twitter that let you look up campaign ads. Here’s what the databases can — and cannot — do.
Perspective | I’m teaching email security to Democratic campaigns. It’s as bad as 2016. (Washington Post) Someone — the government or Silicon Valley — needs to step in to help.
Hackers Are Exposing An Apple Mac Weakness In Middle East Espionage (Forbes) Apple Mac weakness affects all users, but has been used in limited attacks affecting the Middle East.
Spam campaigns leveraging .tk domains (Zscaler) Compromised sites leading to .tk campaign to spread Ads and fake alerts, .tk spam campaign, fake tech support
Spooky Theory on Ills of U.S. Diplomats in Cuba (New York Times) Doctors and scientists say microwave strikes may have caused sonic delusions and very real brain damage among embassy staff and family members.
I am invisible - Monero (XMR) Miner (Quick Heal Blog) From the last one year, Quick Heal Security Labs has been observing a boost in the number of mining malware. Nowadays malware authors are using mining as a replacement for Ransomware to make money. Recently Quick Heal Security Labs came across a malware which mines Monero(XMR). This miner has many...
The malware that conquered the world has reinvented itself (New York Post) The RIG Exploit kit that infected 1.3 million devices a few years ago is back and it’s up to no good again. The RIG Exploit kit was responsible for infecting computers globally at a rate, on averag…
Tech-Support Scams Prompt Google to Act (Wall Street Journal) Google is taking action to weed out scam artists who advertise on its platform aiming to defraud customers seeking technical support by masquerading as authorized service agents for companies such as Apple.
Fear mongers forced to eat shorts over spam swamping claims (Register) GDPR and no Whois hasn't caused catastrophe
Hacking The Hacker. Stopping a big botnet targeting USA, Canada and Italy (CP Blog) Today I’d like to share a full path analysis including a KickBack attack which took me to gain full access to an entire Ursniff/Gozi botnet. In other words: from a simple “Malware Sample” to “Pwn the Attacker Infrastructure”. NB: Federal Police have already been alerted on such a topic as well as National and International …
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Industrial group warns Congress of gas pipeline threat (Midland Reporter-Telegram) Lobbyists representing U.S. manufacturing and chemical companies are urging Congress to secure natural gas pipelines against physical and cyber attack. In letter sent to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, Industrial Energy Consumers of America President Paul Cicio said Congress should create mandatory security standards similar to those required of electric utilities.
Crypto Twitter Scams Strike Again as Fake Pope Francis Bitcoin Giveaways Populate the Platform (BitcoinExchangeGuide) Fake Pope Francis Twitter Account Promotes Bitcoin Giveaway, One More to List of Scams The next face of crypto scam on a social media platform is that of Pope Francis. As per CCN’s report, Duo Secu…
Meet ransomware which wears the face of former president Barack Obama (ZDNet) The peculiar malware asks victims for a "tip" in return for a decryption key.
This hard-to-spot online scam makes you think you’re getting free airline tickets (MarketWatch) Phishing scams are on the rise.
Hackers favor using vulnerable Web apps to beat security perimeters (Health Data Management) About three-quarters of successful perimeter breaches in 2017 were achieved using vulnerable Web applications.
Security Patches, Mitigations, and Software Updates
0patch releases micropatch for Windows Task Scheduler zero-day (Help Net Security) 0patch has released a micropatch for the Windows Task Scheduler zero-day flaw, the PoC for which was released earlier this week by SandboxEscaper.
Phillips plugs security flaws in e-Alert tool (Help Net Security) Dutch tech company Phillips has fixed several serious security vulnerabilities in Philips e-Alert, a tool that helps MRI systems work as intended.
Firefox to start blocking ad-tracking by default (Naked Security) Mozilla has announced plans to tweak Firefox’s privacy controls so that advertising trackers will be blocked by default.
Chrome: Flash is almost, almost, almost dead (Naked Security) If you use Google’s Chrome browser, after 4 September, the latest update will make it even harder to use in-browser Adobe Flash.
Linux Kernel Developer Criticizes Intel for Meltdown, Spectre Response (eWEEK) At the Open Source Summit North America, Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman took issue with Intel's initial disclosure of the Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities.
Cyber Trends
While Data May Be Worth Trillions, It Is Not The New Oil (Forbes) The world faces a data conundrum where likening data to the new oil misses the many shortfalls of this comparison. The main one being that there is no universally accepted accounting method showing the enterprise value of data.
The State of IoT Security (Dark Cubed) It's Time for Action. And We've Proven It.
Data breach reports to Information Commissioner increase by 75% (Help Net Security) The number of reports of data security incidents received by the ICO has increased by 75% over the past two years, according to new analysis by Kroll.
Regulate to Liberate (Foreign Affairs) In an world increasingly driven by the ability of private companies and governments to collect vast amounts of personal data online, the European Union's ambitious new data rules enshrine data privacy as a fundamental right rather than a luxury.
Tech doesn't need regulation - it needs a conscience (Computing) There are better ways to control an industry that government intervention
The Tech Industry Knows It Has a Liberal-Bias Problem (Commentary Magazine) The social media and technology industry in Silicon Valley is treating its liberal bias problem like a public relations crisis, and it is.
Marketplace
Google quietly bought Mastercard credit and debit card records (Naked Security) The multimillion dollar data buy allows Google to link what we buy in brick-and-mortar stores to what ads we clicked online.
China's ZTE falls to worst ever loss after global security row (The Telegraph) ZTE, the Chinese telecoms giant that almost collapsed when it found itself at the centre of an international cybersecurity storm, suffered its worst ever financial loss in the first half of the year.
Infinite IO Closes $10.3 Million Funding Round (CRN) Infinite IO co-founder and CEO Mark Cree talks with CRN about the company’s technology, which transparently moves data to the cloud while increasing existing storage system performance.
Former LinkedIn, Yahoo, Cisco Execs Target Cloud Security at Avid (SDxCentral) Cloud security startup Avid Secure boasts a founding team of exec from LinkedIn, Yahoo, McAfee, Cisco, VMware, ForeScout, and Atlassian.
Column: Tool used in space race can help Augusta win cyber race (The Augusta Chronicle) Send a letter to the editor
The Army is ramping up its efforts to tap into cutting-edge technologies developed beyond Silicon Valley to thwart fast-moving
Resecurity names Ian Cook as Strategic Adviser (Markets Insider) Ian Cook is an internationally recognized industry veteran and respected leader in cybersecurity. A true innovato...
Products, Services, and Solutions
Sprint and Ericsson Reveal Ground Breaking IoT-Dedicated Core and Operating System (MarketWatch) Fully dedicated, distributed and virtualized IoT core network works in tandem with the operating system to turn sensor data into immediate intelligence at the network edge; 5G-ready and primed for AI, robotics and more
Elbit Systems of Australia to Help Train ADF Cyber Warriors (Global Security Mag Online) Elbit Systems of Australia has been selected by the Australian Defence Force to boost Australia’s Cyber Security capability.
'I run a team of hackers': A look inside IBM Cybersecurity HQ in Austin (KVUE) "Companies hire us to break into systems and tell them how we did it. The key is that we're hired to break into those systems before criminals have a chance to," said Charles Henderson, the head of X Force Red, a special cybersecurity team within IBM.
What Happens When Facebook Mistakenly Blocks Local News Stories (WIRED) The social network says stories from The Winchester Star, a daily newspaper in Virginia, were erroneously censored and that a fix has now been issued.
Resecurity will introduce next-generation endpoint protection and cyber threat intelligence solutions at Beijing's ISC 2018 (PRNewswire) Headquartered in US, California, Resecurity is set to introduce the launch of its next-generation Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) and CONTEXT™ a Cyber Threat Intelligence solution into China and Asia-Pacific markets at the Internet Security Conference (ISC) 2018 in Beijing on September 4th 2018.
Technologies, Techniques, and Standards
Cracking ransomware: RansomWarrior victims can now retrieve files for free (ZDNet) Researchers at Check Point examined this recent form of ransomware and found it relatively easy to crack.
Japanese Police Adopt Cybersecurity Software to Trace Bitcoin Transactions (CryptoSlate) Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) revealed it would launch a crypto-tracking software to trace digital currency transactions in the country.
FBI Takes Measures to Protect the U.S. Elections and Public From Foreign Influence (The Scope Weekly magazine) FBI's two webpages aim to educate the public about foreign influence, disinformation campaigns, cyber attacks, and stolen identity with videos and news updates.
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A cyber attack could force you to close your business. Here’s how to prevent it. (Lexington Herald Leader) What you can’t see can hurt your business.
Design and Innovation
Customer Reports: "GSuite Makes Phishing Training Unnecessarily Hard..." (KnowBe4) Customers report to KnowBe4 that they have issues with gmail and their security awareness training program. I am stepping onto my soapbox here, because this is an industry-wide problem, not just with KnowBe4 customers.
Just like a hull breach, a cyberattack should take seconds to detect (Fifth Domain) Like shipboard damage control the cybersecurity continuum is broken into three main objectives representing before during and after an incident.
Research and Development
German Cabinet approves new cybersecurity agency (Fifth Domain) Officials in Berlin hope that a new organization devoted to all things cyber can make up for years of neglecting a growing threat.
DARPA seeks transparency in cyber battle (Jane's 360) Key Points
DARPA's Transparent Computing programme aims to detect cyber threats through linking together a system's activities
It is particularly difficult to spot 'Advanced Persistent Threats', where adversaries can appear to be legitimate users
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Academia
Belfast-based unit aims to reduce vulnerability to cyber threats (The Irish Times) New unit at Queen’s University aims to improve internet-connected hardware security
Applications now being accepted for the CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program (The University of Alabama in Huntsville) UAH, a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education, is requesting student applications for full scholarships to study cybersecurity through its renewed five-year, $5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) CyberCorpsⓇ Scholarships for Service (SFS) program.
Legislation, Policy, and Regulation
Korea right to be cautious about Huawei as security threat: experts (Korea Times) The United States, Britain, Australia and now Japan. Huawei, a Chinese telecoms equipment maker, is facing severe restrictions over its ties to the Chinese government.
Rules on reporting cyber attacks, IT glitches out soon: BSP (BusinessMirror) A circular that will require banks to report as soon as possible any cyber attack and other information technology (IT)-related incidents in their systems is expected to be released in September, a ranking Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) official said.BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier told r
Europe should counter Iran’s cyber espionage, infiltration, terrorism (euractiv.com) The more discord persists in the West over the means of responding to Iranian covert operations, the more impact these operations will have, writes Alejo Vidal-Quadras.
Cyber Civil-Military Relations: Balancing Interests on the Digital Frontier (War on the Rocks) In an era of persistent cyber conflict, how can the United States respond to cyber-attacks in a manner that ensures sufficient civilian oversight to
Mark Warner on securing elections, combating disinformation: "We're not there yet" (CBS News) On "Intelligence Matters" this week, the Senate Intelligence Committee's top Democrat, Sen. Mark Warner, said the executive branch is still not up to the task of protecting the country from information operations
Free Speech Is Not the Same As Free Reach (WIRED) Bad faith politicking about the way search algorithms work makes it harder for tech companies to solve the real problems.
From headquarters to combat, Air Force looks to restructure cyber forces (FederalNewsRadio.com) Air Force chief says the service is likely to restructure its Pentagon offices and numbered forces to combine cyber, ISR and electronic warfare.
Our back-to-school cheat sheet for federal cyber (Fifth Domain) Here is a cheat sheet of three things to make you cyber smart this fall.
Infographic: A Look At Data Breach Laws By State (Benzinga) A data breach is “the unauthorized acquisition of covered information that compromises security, integrity or confidentiality," according to software company Digital...
Litigation, Investigation, and Law Enforcement
Lawmakers Are Set to Start Tech Industry Hearings (Wall Street Journal) Executives from Facebook, Twitter and Google are likely to face questions about political content, antitrust concerns and consumer privacy at hearings that begin Wednesday.
Inside Twitter’s Long, Slow Struggle to Police Bad Actors (Wall Street Journal) When Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey testifies before Congress this week, he’ll likely be asked about an issue that has been hovering over the company: Just who decides whether a user gets kicked off the site?
Facebook’s Private Groups Offer Refuge to Fringe Figures (New York Times) Many private groups reviewed by The Times contained content and behavior that appeared to violate Facebook rules, like those against hate speech.
Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: Privacy advocates are back in court fighting NSA surveillance. It's an uphill battle. (Washington Post) The government has prevailed in every other case so far.
Insurer Premera Accused Of Wiping Evidence In Breach Case (Law360) Health insurer Premera Blue Cross has been accused in Oregon federal court of destroying a key computer and software logs that may have shown evidence of a 2015 data breach that affected 11 million people.
Hacking a Prince, an Emir and a Journalist to Impress a Client (New York Times) The NSO Group, a spyware maker, targeted the phones of powerful figures to show off its product, emails show. It’s now accused of illegal spying in lawsuits.
UAE used Israeli spyware to gather intel on Qatari royals, lawsuits claim (Haaretz) Lawsuits filed against the Israeli-based NSO Group allege its software was used to spy on political agitators locally and overseas and that the Emirates asked to track Lebanon's PM and a Saudi prince, the New York Times reports
The SEC charged a cloud executive with insider trading after he allegedly saved his brothers from $600,000 in losses (Business Insider) The SEC says that Qualys executive Amer Deeba allegedly tipped his family off to poor financial results at the company.
NSA leaker asks Trump for pardon (Niagara Gazette) An ex-National Security Agency contractor sentenced to five years and three months in prison for leaking classified information will ask President Donald Trump to pardon her in
Democrats accuse Republicans of leaking sensitive communications that could put confidential source at risk (Washington Post) The material in question involves emails and texts between Justice Department official Bruce Ohr and British ex-spy Christopher Steele.
Roger Stone, former Trump adviser, claims DNC contractor more likely behind hack than Russians (The Washington Times) President Trump’s former campaign adviser Roger Stone pushed back Wednesday against a key finding reached by federal law enforcement and intelligence officials investigating Russian involvement in the 2016 general election, casting doubt on the origin of Guccifer 2.0, the suspected state-sponsored internet persona he admittedly communicated with during Moscow’s alleged multi-pronged interference campaign.
Lucy McHugh murder suspect jailed for refusing to reveal Facebook password to police (The Telegraph) The man suspected of murdering schoolgirl Lucy McHugh has been jailed for refusing to provide his Facebook password to police investigating her death.
Mother of murdered schoolgirl Lucy McHugh urges Facebook to release murder suspects password (The Telegraph) The mother of schoolgirl Lucy McHugh has urged Facebook to give police access to an account belonging to the man suspected of murdering the 13-year-old.
‘Sick sadist’ admits to trolling dead people on social media (Naked Security) He was intoxicated while posting about high-profile tragedies involving the death of young people, adding torment to families’ grief.
Hollywood accuses itself of piracy (Naked Security) As the EFF puts it, the makers of buggy bots (there are two so far) are poster children for the failure of automated takedown processes.
