Friday, April 10, 2020


Another ‘low hanging fruit’ identified. Should not come as a surprise.
China's Secret Out: BlackBerry Says Govt Hackers Stole World's Sensitive Data For 10 Years
BlackBerry Ltd. has come up with a sensational report that indicates that Chinese state sponsored hackers have been stealing data from computers across the globe for almost around a decade. A major reason for this unnoticed attack is its target, Linux operating systems.
Blackberry makes the claim in a new 44-page long report. It claims advanced hackers from China camouflaged their software tools posing a low level security risk in the form of advertisements. The approach made it possible for them to extract information out of their targeted systems.




Not a new record.
115 million Pakistani mobile users data found up for sale on dark web
Rewterz, a pioneer of specialized cybersecurity services in Pakistan, has discovered a data dump of 115 million Pakistani mobile users data that have shown up for sale on the dark web today. The cyber criminal behind this data breach is demanding 300 BTC ($2.1 million USD) for the data.
This indicates that financially motivated threat actors are active in Pakistan and organizations are becoming a victim of these cyber attacks.
Read more on Rewterz.




Travelex paid $2.3M in Bitcoin to get its systems back from hackers
Hackers controled its networks for more than a month
Travelex paid hackers $2.3 million worth of Bitcoin to regain access to its computer systems after a devastating ransomware attack on New Year’s Eve, reports the Wall Street Journal.




Seems light to me.
U.S. SEC settles with two traders over EDGAR filing system hack
The traders were among several defendants charged by the agency last year for a 2016 hack that the Securities and Exchange Commission said reaped $4.1 million from illegal trades, and that exposed a security weakness in test filings sent to the system’s servers.
The two traders, David Kwon and Igor Sabodakha, have consented to final judgments and to disgorge their profits as well as pay prejudgment interest in a settlement yet to be approved by a court, the SEC




I wonder if Boeing et al. were involved in this decision?
Ransomware scumbags leak Boeing, Lockheed Martin, SpaceX documents after contractor refuses to pay
The data was pilfered and dumped on the internet by the criminals behind the DoppelPaymer Windows ransomware, in retaliation for an unpaid extortion demand. The sensitive documents include details of Lockheed-Martin-designed military equipment – such as the specifications for an antenna in an anti-mortar defense system – according to a Register source who alerted us to the blueprints.
Other documents in the cache include billing and payment forms, supplier information, data analysis reports, and legal paperwork. There are also documents outlining SpaceX's manufacturing partner program.
The files were siphoned from Visser Precision by the DoppelPaymer crew, which infected the contractor's PCs and scrambled its files. When the company failed to pay the ransom by their March deadline, the gang – which tends to demand hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars to restore encrypted files – uploaded a selection of the documents [Suggesting there is more? Bob] to a website that remains online and publicly accessible.




Watch the words you use.
A Hacker’s Scheme is “Forthright;” Thus, No Computer Fraud Coverage for Ransomware Attacks
A computer hacker may engage in malicious and criminal conduct, but that doesn’t mean that the conduct is “fraudulent.” In G&G Oil Company v. Continental Western Ins. Co., 2020 Ind. App. LEXIS 126 (Ind. Ct. App. Mr. 31, 2020), the Court of Appeals of Indiana addressed the launch of a ransomware attack on an insured and whether the resulting loss fits within computer fraud coverage. (Hint: it doesn’t.)
[From the article:
The insurer denied coverage in part because the loss had not resulted directly from the use of a computer to “fraudulently cause” the transfer of G&G’s funds, as required under the computer fraud provisions




Yes, it could happen here.
Drones Take Italians' Temperature and Issue Fines
The hovering drone emits a mechanical buzz reminiscent of a wasp and shouts down instructions in a tinny voice.
"Attention! You are in a prohibited area. Get out immediately," commands the drone, about the size of a loaf of bread.
A heat sensor takes the offender's temperature and sends the information to a drone operator, who stares at a thermal map on his hand-held screen -- shining orange and purple blobs.
"Violations of the regulations result in administrative and criminal penalties," the drone says.
Italy's coronavirus epicentre in the northern province of Bergamo, in Lombardy region, has had enough of people spreading COVID-19.
"Once a person's temperature is read by the drone, you must still stop that person and measure their temperature with a normal thermometer," Matteo Copia, police commander in Treviolo, near Bergamo, told AFP.
"But drones are useful for controlling the territory."




Were any facts involved?
Lawsuit Against Fox News Over Coronavirus Coverage: Can It Succeed? Should It?
Fox News is nervous. This is what Gabriel Sherman, author of a New York Times-bestselling book about the cable news giant, recently told MSNBC. Sherman said Fox News insiders are expressing concern that the network’s “early downplaying” of COVID-19 might open it up to “legal action by viewers who maybe were misled and actually have died from this.”
Days later, the possibility of a lawsuit was realized. On April 2, a nonprofit called the Washington League for Increased Transparency and Ethics sued Fox News in Washington state court. The suit contains claims for violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act and the tort of “outrage” (otherwise known as “intentional infliction of emotional distress”). It alleges that the country’s most-watched cable news network “knowingly disseminated false, erroneous, and incomplete information” to the public about COVID-19. By labeling the virus a “hoax” and “conspiracy,” the suit says, Fox News hurt efforts to contain it and to “forestall mass death.”




Worth reading.
How Machine Learning Impacts National Security




Perspective. Consider the strategy that enabled (guaranteed?) this.
The pandemic is playing to almost every one of Amazon's strengths
As the coronavirus pandemic has forced people to stay inside, few companies have proven themselves as essential as Amazon. From groceries to cleaning supplies, shipments from Amazon have become lifelines for many who are steering clear of supermarkets and other physical retail stores. Company executives have likened the surge in demand to the annual holiday shopping crush.
But e-commerce isn't the only sector where Amazon is booming. Analysts say its cloud business, Amazon Web Services, faces higher demand as people turn to some of its biggest clients – from Zoom to Netflix -- for work and play. Amazon sells access to audiobooks and original television programs that are helping to entertain reluctant shut-ins. And with more people staying home, that's more time they have to engage with Amazon's AI-powered smart speakers.
The breadth of Amazon's sprawling business interests, and its increasingly central place in America's fragile supply chain, underscores the company's hold on consumers — and its potential to solidify its dominance in the coming months. The longer this crisis goes on, the more formidable Amazon will become, according to James Bailey, a management professor at George Washington University's business school.




News apps & websites.
Cord-cutters have more free TV news options than ever
TechHive: “…In 2020, there are more ways than ever to watch the news wtihout paying for a bloated TV bundle. While you’ll still need a big pay TV package to watch cable news channels such as CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, there are plenty of free alternatives. Here are all the ways you can stay informed even after you’ve cut the cable TV cord…”



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