James Eng reports: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a private, nonprofit facility that does scientific research on the world’s oceans, says it was the target of an “aggressive” cyberattack it believes to have originated in China. The hackers gained access to Woods Hole data and email, WHOI President and Director Mark Abbott told staff in a…
Category: Of Note
Russian Hackers of Dow Jones Said to Have Sought Trading Tips (UPDATED with Denial from Dow Jones)
Update: Dow Jones is totally denying the story. The Register reports Dow Jones issued the following statement: “To the best of our knowledge, we have received no information from the authorities about any such alleged matter, and we are looking into whether there is any truth whatsoever to this report by a competitor news organization,” said Colleen…
US proposal aims to regulate car privacy, make hacks illegal
John Ribeiro reports: A subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives has proposed requiring vehicle manufacturers to state their privacy policies, besides providing for civil penalties of up to US$100,000 for the hacking of vehicles. The lawmakers have also proposed that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration set up an Automotive Cybersecurity Advisory Council to…
Lawful Hacking After the Encryption Debate
Marshall Erwin writes: The Obama administration has apparently decided not to support exceptional access proposals that would provide law enforcement with the means to access data on iPhones and other personal devices. As I argued previously on Just Security, instead of pursuing exceptional access, policymakers should seek to build a durable legal structure that would provide the FBI with the…
Feds charge Ardit Ferizi, a/k/a @Th3Dir3ctorY, with creating hit list of American military, govt employees for ISIS
Was a hack of a U.S. retailer used to develop an ISIL hit list of American military members and government employees? According to a federal complaint unsealed today, it appears it was. From the Department of Justice: Malaysian authorities have detained Kosovo citizen Ardit Ferizi in Malaysia on a U.S. provisional arrest warrant alleging that he provided…
Australian data breach notification laws will not be passed in 2015: Brandis
Yes, let’s enact mandatory data retention laws without any companion protections or data breach notification requirements. Way to go, Australia! Chris Duckett reports: Despite the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Intelligence and Security recommending that Australia have data breach notification laws in place before the end of 2015, Australian Attorney-General George Brandis told the Senate on Tuesday that…