Tag Archives: cyber security

The Internet is home to some extremely malevolent behavior. A range of bad actors is intent on stealing people’s money, information and identities, and on crippling essential services. Of the countless entities and individuals targeted, some of the more prominent are Saudi Aramco, Bangladesh Bank, Colonial Pipeline, the Democratic Party …

The Israeli government began deploying cellphone-monitoring technology against the coronavirus on Tuesday, and issued directives urging people not to leave home. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet approved emergency regulations that will enable the Shin Bet internal security service to tap into cellular data to retrace the movements of people infected …

Firefox browser maker Mozilla is blocking the United Arab Emirates’ government from serving as one of its internet security gatekeepers, citing Reuters reports on a UAE cyber espionage program. Mozilla said in a statement on Tuesday it was rejecting the UAE’s bid to become a globally recognized internet security watchdog, …

A veteran Republican operative and opposition researcher solicited and raised at least $100,000 from donors as part of an effort to obtain what he believed to be emails stolen from Hillary Clinton, activities that remain of intense interest to federal investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller’s office and on …

Russian spies have been accused of involvement in a series of cyber plots across the globe, leading the US to level charges against seven agents. The US Justice Department said targets included the global chemical weapons watchdog, anti-doping agencies and a US nuclear company. The allegations are part of an …

The rulers of the United Arab Emirates had been using Israeli spyware for more than a year, secretly turning the smartphones of dissidents at home or rivals abroad into surveillance devices. So when top Emirati officials were offered a pricey update of the spying technology, they wanted to make sure …

Microsoft said Tuesday it has uncovered new Russian hacking attempts targeting U.S. political groups ahead of the midterm elections. The company said that a hacking group tied to the Russian government created fake internet domains that appeared to spoof two American conservative organizations: the Hudson Institute and the International Republican …

Qatar’s BeIN says it has “irrefutable evidence” that a pirate channel illegally showing hundreds of live European football matches is being carried on the Saudi-based satellite provider Arabsat Qatari broadcaster BeIN said Thursday it has “irrefutable evidence” that a pirate channel illegally showing hundreds of live European football matches is …

Filip Liu, a 31-year-old software developer from Beijing, was traveling in the far western Chinese region of Xinjiang when he was pulled to one side by police as he got off a bus. The officers took Liu’s iPhone, hooked it up to a handheld device that looked like a laptop …

President Donald Trump’s proposed Space Force would be the first new branch of the U.S. military in more than 70 years — if Congress approves and if it can get off the ground. Vice President Mike Pence outlined the potential new service on Thursday in a speech at the Pentagon, …

The UAE and Kuwait are among the most vulnerable for cyberattacks among the Gulf Cooperation Council Council countries in the first quarter, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Trend Micro. Both these countries are rated first and second in ransomware and malware attacks, URL victims and URLs detected. The …

The Democratic National Committee opened a new legal assault on President Trump on Friday by filing a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the organization was the victim of a conspiracy by Russian officials, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks to damage Hillary Clinton’s presidential run. The 66-page lawsuit, filed in …

The founder and CEO of Cambridge Analytica’s parent company compared Donald Trump’s campaign methods to those of Adolf Hitler, newly-released audio has shown. Nigel Oakes, who heads SCL Group, told a media researcher last November that Trump deliberately demonised Muslims and stoked fears about ISIS to appease his base, as …

This week in the Russia investigations: Mueller sends the feds to meet some international arrivees; new sanctions on some powerful, wealthy Russians; and Mr. Zuckerberg goes to Washington. Fade in: A gleaming new Gulfstream 650 — or maybe it’s a Sukhoi business jet — sweeps in for a landing at …

A number of Israeli websites were hacked Tuesday to display pro-Palestinian messages in what experts said was the start of the annual cyberattack by the hacker collective known as “Anonymous.” Homepages for the municipality websites for Kfar Saba, Eilat, Herzliya and Acre were changed to display the message: “Jerusalem is the …

The UK government will direct Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google, Twitter Inc and other tech companies to simplify their data management policies for consumers after disclosures about recent breaches, the Sunday Times reported. Matt Hancock, the UK digital, culture and media secretary, told the newspaper that the digital powerhouses were …

Cambridge Analytica conducted data research for one of the leading Brexit campaign groups — and then misled the public and MPs over the work the company had undertaken, according to a former employee who has spoken to the Guardian. In an exclusive interview, Brittany Kaiser, Cambridge Analytica’s business development director …

The Trump administration alleged Friday that Iranian government-linked hackers conducted a “massive and brazen” hacking scheme, breaking into the accounts of roughly 8,000 professors at hundreds of US and foreign universities, as well as private companies and government entities, to steal huge amounts of data and intellectual property. The indictment …

Cybersecurity breaches in the Middle East are widespread and frequently undetected, with 30 per cent of the region’s attacks on the oil and gas sector targeting operational technology (OT), according to a new study by Siemens and the Ponemon Institute. IT systems refer to storage systems, computing technology, business applications …

Cambridge Analytica has suspended its CEO, Alexander Nix. The London-based company, which is accused of using data from 50 million Facebook users to influence the 2016 presidential campaign, announced the move Tuesday afternoon — one day after the release of a video that appears to show Nix acknowledging the firm’s …

Facebook suspended Cambridge Analytica, a data-analysis firm that worked for President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, over allegations that it held onto improperly obtained user data after telling Facebook it had deleted the information. The social network issued a blog post explaining its decision, although the tale is convoluted. Years ago, …

Imagine if, after 9/11, the president had said that the World Trade Center and Pentagon could have been attacked by “China” or “lots of other people.” Imagine if he had dismissed claims of al-Qaeda’s responsibility as a “hoax” and said that he “really” believed Osama bin Laden’s denials. Imagine if he saw …

Jeanette Manfra, head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security, said that several states’ voter registration rolls were “successfully penetrated” by Russians ahead of the 2016 election. “We saw a targeting of 21 states and an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated,” Manfra told NBC News, adding …

President Trump was only vaguely aware of a controversial, classified memo about the FBI’s Russia investigation when two House conservatives brought it to his attention in a Jan. 18 phone call. The conversation piqued Trump’s interest. Over the next two weeks, according to interviews with eight senior administration officials and …

CIA Director Mike Pompeo says he has “every expectation” that Russia will try to disrupt midterm elections in November after U.S. intelligence uncovered interference in 2016. In an interview with the BBC, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency was asked about concerns that the Kremlin might try again to influence …

Ant Financial’s plan to acquire U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International Inc (MGI.O) collapsed on Tuesday after a U.S. government panel rejected it over national security concerns, the most high-profile Chinese deal to be torpedoed under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The $1.2 billion deal’s failure represents a …

In the latest bout of malicious software, UAE authorities are now warning residents to be vigilant when it comes to opening anonymous files on WhatsApp. The Telecommunications Regulations Authority (TRA) alerted residents of PDF malware files sent anonymously to emails or WhatsApp accounts, which can cause heavy damage on electronic …

Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] paid hackers $100,000 to keep secret a massive breach last year that exposed the personal information of about 57 million accounts of the ride-service provider, the company said on Tuesday. Discovery of the U.S. company’s cover-up of the incident resulted in the firing of two employees …

Saudi Arabia has set up a new authority for cyber security and named its minister of state Musaed al-Aiban its chairman, strengthening security in the world’s largest oil exporter, a royal decree said. The National Authority for Cyber Security will be made up of the head of state security, the …

In 2015, Israeli government hackers saw something suspicious in the computers of a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm: hacking tools that could only have come from the National Security Agency. Israel notified the NSA, where alarmed officials immediately began a hunt for the breach, according to people familiar with the matter, who …

A trove of classified military documents, including the joint South Korea-US wartime operational plans for conflict with Pyongyang, were stolen by North Korean hackers, a lawmaker in Seoul said. Lee Cheol-hee, a member of the ruling Democratic party, on Tuesday said hackers had broken into a defence data centre in …

Russian government-backed hackers stole highly classified U.S. cyber secrets in 2015 from the National Security Agency after a contractor put information on his home computer, two newspapers reported on Thursday. As reported first by The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, the theft included information on penetrating foreign computer networks …

French President Emmanuel Macron laid out his vision for reform of the European Union on Tuesday, detailing a desire for a major overhaul of the single currency bloc and ideas on deeper defence and immigration cooperation. Macron was setting out his ideas before German Chancellor Angela Merkel begins the task …

Global accounting firm Deloitte [DLTE.UL] said on Monday it was the victim of a cyber attack that affected the data of a small number of clients, providing few details on the breach. Deloitte said in a statement that attackers accessed data from the company’s email platform, confirming some details in a report by the Guardian …

The Department of Homeland Security contacted election officials in 21 states Friday to notify them that they had been targeted by Russian government hackers during the 2016 election campaign. Three months ago, DHS officials said that people connected to the Russian government tried to hack voter registration files or public …

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the country’s top Wall Street regulator, announced Wednesday that hackers breached its system for storing documents filed by publicly traded companies last year, potentially accessing data that allowed the intruders to make an illegal profit.The agency detected the breach last year, but didn’t learn until last …

The Trump administration on Wednesday told U.S. government agencies to remove Kaspersky Lab products from their networks, saying it was concerned the Moscow-based cyber security firm was vulnerable to Kremlin influence and that using its anti-virus software could jeopardize national security. The decision represents a sharp response to what U.S. …

Lenovo Inc, a major laptop maker, has agreed to pay $3.5 million and make changes in how it sells laptops in order to settle allegations it sold devices with pre-loaded software that compromised users’ security protections. The agreement with Connecticut, the Federal Trade Commission and 31 other states was announced …

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday plans to introduce legislation seeking to address vulnerabilities in computing devices embedded in everyday objects – known in the tech industry as the “internet of things” – which experts have long warned poses a threat to global cyber security. The new bill …