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German cybersecurity officials are worried about a gathering storm of Exchange server breach-facilitated ransomware attacks on the business community, according to Federal News Network. At least 20 thousand domestic systems remain unpatched, and five-thousand patched systems remain backdoored. Officials are exhorting affected organizations to patch “immediately” or “go offline.”
Reuters reports British Prime Minister Johnson’s comments that “Cyber power is revolutionising the way we…fight our wars, just as air power did 100 years ago,” and bolstered cyberattack abilities are needed to meet the moment. Further details will be outlined in Tuesday’s forward-looking security presentation to Parliament. Among the Prime Minister’s recommendations is a new base for the National Cyber Force, formed in 2020, to be located in the northern region of the country.
Lawfare describes Holiday Bear’s supply chain hack as “highly targeted and even quite responsible,” comparing the operation to the 1970 CIA purchase of Bern firm Crypto AG, which was used for the next three decades to spy on foreign regimes. The essay argues for legal and diplomatic measures as the appropriate response to “the sort of cyberespionage campaign that the U.S. should be willing to acknowledge as acceptable under existing international norms.” (In contrast, the piece supports a vigorous response to China’s “exceptionally reckless” Exchange server hack.)
Noting that the chosen response will “set the tone for…cybersecurity strategy, policy, and operations” for the remainder of President Biden’s tenure, Breaking Defense presents alternative points of view from three cybersecurity experts. National Defense University College of Information and Cyberspace Director Joe Billingsley observes, “The menu of response options is long and…only limited by creativity and the laws of physics.” A.R. International Consulting CEO Adam Roosevelt suggests economic sanctions and strategically disruptive cyber operations. Stanford University Senior Research Scholar Herbert Lin says the response should be “sufficiently painful” without crossing the “use of force” threshold or inviting escalation. He added that Kremlin priorities should inform the calculus, while emphasizing that “no norms were violated.”
The commentators recommend President Biden collaborate with CIA, FBI, NSA, DHS, CYBERCOM, ODNI, and State Department officials on the decision, and warn that determinations of “proportionality” are complex and subjective. Security Week says the Administration has taken the novel step of including companies in security talks and is “close” to reaching a verdict on how to respond.
The National Interest breaks from the fold, arguing for a “massive cyberwarfare” operation that “sow[s] the most social confusion and disorder as possible” in order to disincentivize “Gray Zone” conflict. Observing that US “enemies rely on social control to keep their populations in check,” the author proposes targeting Russian social media (along with Beijing’s Great Firewall and Iranian censorship.)
Britain must boost cyber-attack capacity, PM Johnson says (Reuters) Britain needs to boost its capacity to conduct cyber attacks on foreign enemies, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said before the publication of a national security review next week.
German IT safety chief: act on Exchange hack or go offline (Federal News Network) The head of Germany’s cybersecurity agency has warned IT system administrators to swiftly patch known holes in Microsoft Exchange servers or take those systems offline amid concerns of an imminent…
China’s Dangerous Step Toward Cyber War (Diplomat) China is changing the cyber game in East-Asia – and increasing the potential for conflict across the Indo-Pacific.
Beware – Big Brother is on the rampage (Herald) “Big Brother” has escalated from “watching” to going on a paranoid rampage. In contrast to the bull-in- a-China-shop sledge hammer approach of the Indira emergency, there appears to be method in the madness this time, starting with selective justice.
The UK is secretly testing a controversial web snooping tool (WIRED UK) The Investigatory Powers Act, or Snooper’s Charter, was introduced in 2016. Now one of its most contentious surveillance tools is being secretly trialled by internet firms
China hacking concern revives India focus on Cybersecurity plan (ETTelecom.com) Authorities are investigating a series of recent suspected cyber intrusions which could have led to a power outage in Mumbai, crippled systems at bank..
Forestalling a cyber Pearl Harbour (The Hindu) It would be a grievous error if India were to underestimate the extent of the cyber threat it faces, especially from China
Country's cybersecurity critical for its growth: NCCC chief (The New Indian Express) He said at the national level, within the three services in the Ministry of Defence, cyber operations are being carried out today by nine agencies.
India likely to block China's Huawei over security fears: officials (Reuters) India is likely to block its mobile carriers from using telecom equipment made by China's Huawei, two government officials said, under procurement rules due to come into force in June.
White House Weighs New Cybersecurity Approach After Failure to Detect Hacks (New York Times) The intelligence agencies missed massive intrusions by Russia and China, forcing the administration and Congress to look for solutions, including closer partnership with private industry.
US Moves Closer to Retaliation Over Hacking as Cyber Woes Grow (SecurityWeek) The Biden administration is reportedly close to a decision on retaliation for state-sponsored hacking as fears grew over the fallout from the latest of two major cyberattacks.
Make Him Cry: Here’s Why America Must Go on the Offensive in Cyberspace (The National Interest) Cyberattacks from the U.S. and its allies must be intended to sow the most social confusion and disorder as possible in the targeted societies.
Retaliation Options: US Cyber Responses To SolarWinds, Exchange Hacks (Breaking Defense) Three experts gave us exclusive in-depth insights into the administration's potential menu of retaliatory options, along with U.S. cyber strategic, policy, and operations considerations.
How Should the U.S. Respond to the SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange Hacks? (Lawfare) If the SolarWinds/Holiday Bear campaign was a minimally-invasive arthroscopic incision into vulnerable networks, the Microsoft Exchange hack was a full-limb amputation: untargeted, reckless and extremely dangerous.
America isn't in a cyberwar with Russia and China — it's actually the most sophisticated spy game in human history. And the US is much stronger than it looks. (Business Insider) Welcome to the new Cold War, where three cybersecurity rivals hack into each other with the most sophisticated espionage tools in human history.
Biden administration mulls software security grades after SolarWinds (CyberScoop) The White House is contemplating the use of cybersecurity ratings and standards for U.S. software, a move akin to how New York City grades restaurants on sanitation or Singapore labels internet of things devices, a senior administration official told reporters on Friday.
As legislators push for mandatory disclosure of breaches, hurdles emerge (SC Media) Experts say the idea has merit – if only legislators can balance the promise with the potential liability and burden placed upon industry.
Huawei, 4 other Chinese firms designated as threats to US national security (South China Morning Post) ZTE, Hikvision, Hytera Communications and Dahua Technology were also listed by the Federal Communications Commission under a law to protect US communication networks.
Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Deemed Security Risk by FCC (Bloomberg Law) Telecommunications and video surveillance equipment made by five Chinese companies including Huawei Technologies “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security” and shouldn’t be used, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission says in notice.
Leahy introduces bill to enhance cybersecurityLeahy introduces bill to enhance cybersecurity (Vermont Biz) Bill Would Allow DHS to Work with Consortium to Train States, Local Governments on Cybersecurity
SANS ICS Security Summit Keynote: Anne Neuberger (SANS Institute) Last week’s ICS Security Summit brought together the industry’s top practitioners and leading experts from around the globe to share actionable ideas, methods, and techniques for safeguarding critical infrastructure.
Cyber Command works to address criticism over how it integrates tools — challenges remain (C4ISRNET) Cyber Command has created a pair of integration offices aimed at synchronizing systems and capabilities built across the services for cyber warriors.
Evolving Cybersecurity Takes More Than Money (The Cipher Brief) Hitesh Sheth is the president and CEO of Vectra. Previously, he was chief operating officer at Aruba Networks and before that, he was EVP/GM at Juniper Networks. PRIVATE SECTOR — The March 3 notice from the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity command was crisp and urgent. The headline: “Mitigate Microsoft Exchange On-Premises Product Vulnerabilities”. It … Continue reading "Evolving Cybersecurity Takes More Than Money"
It’s Time for Federal Agencies to Stop Malware for Good (Menlo Security) Agencies are under pressure to protect a newly-distributed workforce from evolving threats. Isolation is a proactive approach to stopping malware for good.
Democrats Are Getting Serious About Universal Broadband (Wired) After approving a $7 billion fund to help students get internet access, lawmakers on the left proposed a $94 billion package to deploy high-speed broadband nationwide.
How Do We Measure The New Administration’s Success in Cybersecurity? (Swimlane) What one security research engineer is hoping to see in the first 100 days.
Steven D. Rehn Takes on CTO Role at ARCYBER (Meritalk) Steven D. Rehn has taken on a new role as the U.S. Army Cyber Command’s (ARCYBER) chief technology officer (CTO) and will serve as director of the ARCYBER Technical Warfare Center.
