Saturday, April 25, 2020


Now that’s how the pros do it!
New Report Reveals Chinese APT Groups May Have Been Entrenched in Some Servers for Nearly a Decade Using Little-Known Linux Exploits
The state-backed Chinese advanced persistent threat (APT) groups are among the world’s oldest, most skilled and most active agents of cyber espionage. As respected as these groups already are as threats, a new report from BlackBerry indicates that their reach and capability may be even greater than previously thought.
The report outlines a coordinated campaign by five of these groups that dates back at least eight years. The groups have been exploiting underlooked remote access vulnerabilities in Linux servers, using these as a launch point for malware attacks against Windows systems and Android devices. In some cases, the groups have been exploiting a general lack of interest in Linux security to quietly exfiltrate data from targets for years at a time.
The report, entitled “Decade of the RATs”, shows that five particular groups of civilian contractor hackers in China have been coordinating their efforts and sharing information in a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign directed at industries and government agencies all over the world. The common link among targets is the ability to exploit underlooked Linux servers as a doorway to the network.




This could be amusing, but probably will never make it to open court.
Facebook: Here’s Proof Israeli WhatsApp Hackers Ran Cyberweapons In America
Facebook lawyers have come out fighting in its lawsuit against Israeli spyware provider NSO Group by revealing details on how the latter’s iPhone hacking tools were being operated in America. It’s the first time the NSO attack infrastructure has been revealed and comes in spite of NSO’s repeated claims its tools don’t work in the U.S. And it raises more questions about how many Americans have been snooped on by NSO’s spy tools.
Back in 2019, as many as 1,400 WhatsApp users were hit with spyware that took control of their iPhone. The targets included human rights lawyers and journalists, according to WhatsApp’s analysis. The Facebook-owned messenger subsequently launched a lawsuit in October against NSO, claiming its tools were behind the attacks.
Since then, NSO has tried to have the case dismissed. One of the company’s key claims is that the jurisdiction was incorrect, as NSO wasn’t based in California and its government customers were based outside the U.S. The company had also previously told Forbes its tools had a killswitch that meant as soon as its Android and iPhone spyware launched on a U.S. device, it would not run.




Lots of countries with privacy laws…
Consumer Empowerment, Market Innovation, and Privacy Law
In Sep 2019, CEOs representing 51 companies from the Business Roundtable, including Amazon, IBM and Salesforce, signed a letter to congressional leaders pushing for a federal consumer data privacy law. In their words, a comprehensive policy that would ensure “strong, consistent protections for American consumers” and ensure “American companies continue to lead a globally competitive market.”
Currently, there are over 80 countries with national privacy laws, providing insights and lessons for the U.S. to draw upon as we create a model that fits the unique attributes of the world’s technology leader.




Covid panic vs Privacy.
Aryan Babele reports on public health surveillance in India and the lengths some areas have gone to:
In India local authorities of several states such as Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi, have published the lists of personal details, in online media and platforms, of those suspected or infected of COVID-19. The Karnataka government has taken this to an inordinate level by mandating all quarantined persons to send a selfie with geo-tags through an official app named ‘CoronaWatch’ every hour, except during sleeping time 10 PM to 7 AM. Now, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has also launched an app- ‘Aarogya Setu, which uses Bluetooth and GPS of user’s device to alert an individual if they come within six feet of a Covid-19 infected person.
Read his entire article on The Leaflet.




Closer to self-driving.
Tesla Achieved The Accuracy Of Lidar With Its Advanced Computer Vision Tech
Tesla’s camera-based approach is much cheaper and easier to implement on the hardware side, but requires an insanely complex computer system to translate raw camera inputs and vehicle telematics into intelligence. At a foundational level, the computer can identify lane markings, signs, and other vehicles from a series of sequential static images, also known as a video.




Perspective.
E-Commerce Stocks Soar With Pandemic Gains Seen as Long-Lasting
E-commerce companies have emerged as a favorite play on Wall Street during the coronavirus pandemic, amid a growing consensus that upcoming results will reveal a potentially permanent shift in consumer behavior toward online shopping.
While online sales have long been growing their market share as a percentage of overall retail spending, the trend has been accelerated as shutdowns force closures at brick-and-mortar rivals. Analysts have said that the higher demand is likely to outlast the pandemic, especially in categories like groceries, which previously had less traction online.
Amazon.com Inc. has been perhaps the most high-profile winner of the current environment, with the company hiring tens of thousands of workers to meet demand. As a result of that higher demand, Wall Street has been growing steadily more optimistic about its prospects.




Do the opposite – enjoy the lazy!
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