Joseph Menn and Christopher Bing report: The suspected Russian hackers who used SolarWinds and Microsoft software to burrow into U.S. federal agencies emerged with information about counter-intelligence investigations, policy on sanctioning Russian individuals and the country’s response to COVID-19, people involved in the investigation told Reuters. The hacks were widely publicized after their discovery late…
Category: Of Note
Federal government announces two initiatives of note
In the news yesterday: Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco Announces National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco announced today the creation of a National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET), to tackle complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency, particularly crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and…
Today’s reminder that small breaches may have the biggest impact
While everyone understandably raises alarms about the possible impact of a ransomware attack, let us never forget that simple, stupid, careless, willful, or just human errors can create significant safety risks for people. A foster family in Missouri is raising concerns about what may be two separate breaches that pose safety risks to them and…
Anonymous releases data on Texas GOP in latest Epik hack dump
Mikael Thalen reports: Hackers operating under the banner of Anonymous have released more data from Epik, the controversial web hosting company known for offering refuge to the far-right. In a press release titled “You Lost The Game,” the hacktivist group announced on Monday part three of what it has dubbed “Operation EPIK FAIL.” The latest…
Hackers May Have Had Access to Billions of Texts for Years, Global Telecom Company Admit
Katherine Fung reports: A global telecommunications company has admitted that hackers may have had access to billions of text messages from potentially millions of cellphone users for years. Syniverse, which is part of the infrastructure used by AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Vodafone among others, revealed that an unknown “individual or organization gained unauthorized access to…
Two members of ransomware gang arrested in Ukraine with Europol’s support
On 28 September, a coordinated strike between the French National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale), the Ukrainian National Police (Національна поліція України) and the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), with the coordination of Europol and INTERPOL, has led to the arrest in Ukraine of two prolific ransomware operators known for their extortionate ransom demands (between…