Cyber- / ExoWarfare Blog

To keep a record of relevant news for myself in these four categories,
Blockchain
Cyber/ExoWarfare HyperWarfare Quantum Computing
I am re-posting those here. Scroll down to access the Cyber/ExoWarfare posts.

Too many people ask me about technical and business insights to give them all a decent, in-depth answer: this way I can refer them here for a lot of that, giving them at least a start on the topic (and as a freebie). I do not offer these posts as e-Mail subscriptions. Of course, all sources are clearly marked and mentioned.

 

Cyber Terrorism Concept.

 

BMC (Baseboard Management Controller): Hackable Intel and Lenovo hardware that went undetected for 5 years won’t ever be fixed -- 17 Apr 2024 - from: Ars Technica on 11 APR 2024 by Dan Goodin Intel, Lenovo, and Supermicro. Hardware sold by Intel as recently as last year is affected. Multiple links in the supply chain failed for years to identify an unfixed vulnerability. Hardware sold for years by the likes of Intel and Lenovo… ... Read More
My 1st PCT Patent is published! -- 22 Sep 2023 - Happy to report my 1st PCT patent for 'Blockchain & Artificial Intelligence: Zero-Day Fraud Prevention in Blockchain Transaction Systems' was published yesterday: WO/2023/174683 (EN) COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED METHOD FOR DETECTING A MALICIOUS EVENT OCCURRING IN A BLOCKCHAIN DATA STRUCTURE, A COMPUTING DEVICE, A COMPUTER PROGRAM AND A COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT (FR) PROCÉDÉ MIS… ... Read More
Breaking RSA with a Quantum Computer -- 04 Jan 2023 - 03 JAN 2023 A group of Chinese researchers have just published a paper claiming that they can—although they have not yet done so—break 2048-bit RSA. This is something to take seriously. It might not be correct, but it’s not obviously wrong. We have long known from Shor’s algorithm that factoring with a… ... Read More
Cyber and Space Weapons: how Russia telegraphed invasion of Ukraine -- 16 Jun 2022 - Images from Maxar's satellites, like this one of damage at the Port City shopping mall and other stores in Mariupol, Ukraine, from March 9, 2022, can create questions for adversaries about how to treat their services. (Maxar Technologies) How Russia telegraphed invasion of Ukraine in space and online PARIS —… ... Read More
Lawmakers propose ‘Technology Competitiveness Council’ to champion US innovation -- 16 Jun 2022 - A soldier wears virtual reality glasses; a graphic depiction of a chess set sits in the foreground. WASHINGTON — House lawmakers proposed a bill that would establish a “Technology Competitiveness Council” to help drive innovation in national security, after an independent commission found the U.S. is at risk of falling… ... Read More
Aurora pays $6M bug bounty to ethical security hacker through Immunefi -- 08 Jun 2022 - Over $200 million worth of users' funds could have been at risk if the whitehat had chosen to exploit the vulnerability for personal gain instead of reporting it to developers. On Tuesday, Ethereum (ETH) bridging and scaling solution Aurora announced it had paid out a $6 million bounty to ethical… ... Read More
Recent Investments in Cyber Security Firms -- 08 Jun 2022 - Cybersecurity Market worth over $400 Bn by 2027 IBM to Acquire Randori for Attack Surface Management Tech Technology giant IBM has announced plans to acquire early-stage attack surface management startup Randori in a deal that signals a major expansion of Big Blue’s cybersecurity ambitions. Randori, a Boston area startup with… ... Read More
“We are actively working on the digital blockade of the Russian Federation.” -- 04 Jun 2022 - Palantir Technologies Inc. CEO Alex Karp, in the white shirt, speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, far right, and other officials June 2 in Kyiv. (Mykhailo Fedorov/Provided) Palantir’s Karp is first western CEO to visit Zelenskyy amid invasion WASHINGTON — The chief executive officer of Palantir Technologies Inc. quietly visited Ukraine this… ... Read More
Russia, Ukraine and the Danger of a Global Cyberwar -- 04 Jun 2022 - By Kevin Townsend on February 24, 2022 A conversation with Marcus Willett, former director of cyber at GCHQ On the morning of February 22, 2022, the world woke to the news that Russia had moved troops into two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine. At the time of writing, it is not yet… ... Read More
Russia-Ukraine: Threat of Local Cyber Operations Escalating Into Global Cyberwar -- 04 Jun 2022 - The war in Ukraine is not following its expected course. The Russian army has not simply marched across the country, and the invasion was not accompanied by a massive increase in cyber operations aimed against Ukrainian critical infrastructure. This could all change in a moment – but for now the Russia/Ukraine conflict… ... Read More
Deadly Secret: Electronic Warfare Shapes Russia-Ukraine War -- 04 Jun 2022 - By Associated Press on June 03, 2022 On Ukraine’s battlefields, the simple act of powering up a cellphone can beckon a rain of deathly skyfall. Artillery radar and remote controls for unmanned aerial vehicles may also invite fiery shrapnel showers. This is electronic warfare, a critical but largely invisible aspect of Russia’s… ... Read More
17 Malware Frameworks Target Air-Gapped Systems for Espionage -- 04 Dec 2021 - curated Cyber Security news - Security Week on 03 DEC 2021 An analysis of 17 espionage frameworks designed to target air-gapped networks shows that all of them leverage USB drives and all target Windows exclusively, ESET reports. The list was created over the course of 15 years, but the last… ... Read More
RPC Firewall Dubbed ‘Ransomware Kill Switch’ Released to Open Source -- 11 Nov 2021 - Kills ~86% of all RansomWare Today at Black Hat London, Zero Networks announced the release of its RPC firewall – also dubbed the ‘ransomware kill switch’ – into open source. The tool provides granular control over RPC, capable of blocking the use of lateral movement hacker tools and stopping almost… ... Read More
How long does it take the Bad Guy to break Your password? -- 22 Oct 2021 -   Also available in extremely high resolution: 4,500 x 4,500 pixels. "Open in new tab" to see it in full size, or right-click on the above link and "Save As ..."   Backed Up by these BaFin Recommendations (in German).       ... Read More
NSA TAO Chief on Disrupting Nation State Hackers -- 22 Oct 2021 - Rob Joyce, Chief, Tailored Access Operations, National Security Agency From his role as the Chief of NSA's Tailored Access Operation, home of the hackers at NSA, Mr. Joyce talks about the security practices and capabilities that most effectively frustrate people seeking to exploit networks. Rob Joyce began serving as the… ... Read More
MacOS Being Picked Apart by $49 XLoader Data Stealer -- 22 Jul 2021 - Cheap, easy and prolific, the new version of the old FormBook form-stealer and keylogger has added Mac users to its hit list, and it’s selling like hotcakes. There’s a new version of the old FormBook form-stealer and keylogger that’s added Mac users to its hit list, and it’s selling like… ... Read More
We Infiltrated a Counterfeit Check Ring! Now What? -- 12 Jul 2021 - A counterfeit check image [redacted] that was intended for a person helping this fraud gang print and mail phony checks tied to a raft of email-based scams. One fraud-fighting group is intercepting hundreds to thousands of these per day. By Brian Krebs - Krebs on Security Imagine waking up each… ... Read More
How a Bitcoin Trail Led to a Massive Dark Web Child-Porn Site Takedown -- 12 Jul 2021 - Federal investigators focused not on offensive hacking efforts or surveilling communications, but on the transactions using cryptocurrency. The Department of Justice said today that it has taken down the massive dark web child-porn site Welcome to Video. The site generated and distributed exploitative content, and had infrastructure in place that… ... Read More
How the ransomware business boomed — and where it goes next -- 12 Jul 2021 - Chainalysis CTO Gurvais Grigg on the rise in ransomware, and what companies should be doing to protect themselves. by David Pierce - June 16, 2021 After more than two decades at the FBI, Gurvais Grigg was looking for something to do post-retirement. So he picked … cryptocurrency and financial crimes.… ... Read More
How a Crew of Romanian Criminals Conquered the World of ATM Skimming -- 12 Jul 2021 - They weren’t the people you’d peg for success in the world of finance and technology: a group of young men from a small city in an agricultural region of Romania. But they were clever and they had grit — and a unique skill set. They learned everything they could about… ... Read More
Morphing computer chip repels hundreds of professional DARPA hackers -- 25 May 2021 - Trying to hack the "unhackable" Morpheus system is described as like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube that is constantly being rearranged [signature-free security!! -- TJACK]   By Michael Irving May 24, 2021 Engineers have designed a computer processor that thwarts hackers by randomly changing its microarchitecture every few milliseconds. Known… ... Read More
Der Aufstieg (und Abstieg?) der One Trick Ponys: Google & Facebook -- 14 May 2021 - iOS 14.5 könnte sich für Werbenetzwerke als der befürchtete Albtraum herausstellen. Die neueste Version des Apple-Betriebssystems erlaubt es iPhone-Nutzer_innen, den Zugriff auf die Werbe-ID ihres Gerätes zu verhindern. Aktuell lassen Daten von Flurry Analytics zufolge weltweit nur 15 Prozent der iOS 14.5-Nutzer_innen Werbetracking zu, in den USA sind es sogar… ... Read More
Chrome dominiert den Browsermarkt -- 13 Apr 2021 - 12 APR 2021 Der Internet Explorer war mal die unangefochtene Nummer 1 unter den Browsern. Das ist mittlerweile aber eine ganze Weile her. 2012 wurde der Microsoft-Browser laut StatCounter von Chrome auf den zweiten Platz verdrängt und fiel seitdem immer tiefer. Schon 2015 reagierte das Unternehmen und brachte mit Edge… ... Read More
EU Richtlinie: in nur 10 Tagen online eine GmbH gründen – bald soll es möglich sein -- 11 Feb 2021 - Bislang konnten Gründerinnen ihre Identität nur beim Notartermin vor Ort prüfen lassen, das soll nun auch digital gehen. [ Schade ... von einer Aktiengesellschafts-Anmeldung wie bei einer C-Corporation im US Bundesstaat Delaware für unter $180 online in 20 Minuten sind wir nach wie vor noch meilenweit entfernt -- das macht… ... Read More
Solarwind Attack, Cyber Hack of German Publishing House – when will we try to stop trying to plug the Swiss Cheese? -- 28 Dec 2020 - Waiting like a lame duck, until it is our turn to get compomised? Just before Christmas 2020 the German publishing house "Funke Gruppe" - which publishes multiple newspapers, magazines, ad-papers etc in print and digital formats - was hit with a ransomware attack, which has shut it down over the… ... Read More
Einrichtung einer weiteren “Cybersicherheitsagentur”: im Land Baden-Württemberg -- 09 Dec 2020 - [Nicht zu verwechseln mit der Cybersicherheitsagentur - ADIC - des Bundes mit Sitz in Halle/Leipzig - eine gemeinsame Initiative der Bundeswehr und des Innenministeriums. ... oder den vielen anderen Bestrebungen: Agentur für Sprunginnovationen BMBF, ZITIS, CIH, Forschungsinstitut Cyber Defence (CODE) Universität der Bundeswehr München, usw] Baden-Württemberg möchte Kräfte im Bereich… ... Read More
Podcast: ‘Amnesia:33’ TCP/IP Flaws Affect Millions of IoT Devices -- 09 Dec 2020 - A new set of vulnerabilities has been discovered affecting millions of routers and IoT and OT devices from more than 150 vendors, new research warns. Researchers – as well as the U.S. Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) – are warning of a set of serious vulnerabilities affecting TCP/IP stacks. The… ... Read More
enisa: EU Cybersecurity Act – 1st Anniversary -- 12 Nov 2020 - The EU Cybersecurity Act’s first anniversary: one step closer to a cyber secure Europe The CSA has put the conversation of Cybersecurity into action through a stronger ENISA and the creation of the EU cybersecurity certification framework. On 27 June 2020, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) celebrates the… ... Read More
Video: CBS documentary on Silk Road throws spotlight on Ross Ulbricht -- 11 Nov 2020 - The Silk Road saga gets more airtime on the latest CBS News documentary Mainstream U.S. media outlet CBS aired a documentary on Nov 10th on the takedown of the Silk Road dark web marketplace. It features an interview with Julia Vie, former girlfriend of Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht who… ... Read More
PLATYPUS: Hackers Can Obtain Crypto Keys by Monitoring CPU Power Consumption -- 11 Nov 2020 - Researchers have disclosed the details of a new side-channel attack method that can be used to obtain sensitive information from a system by observing variations in the processor’s power consumption. The attack method has been dubbed PLATYPUS (Power Leakage Attacks: Targeting Your Protected User Secrets) due to the fact that… ... Read More
ICS/SCADA: Control Systems Cyber Conference 17 NOV 2020 -- 09 Nov 2020 - The Event We are hosting a Control Systems Cybersecurity Virtual Conference as a part of our Hack the Building event. At the conference businesses will present their solutions for addressing critical infrastructure cyber challenges. Hack the Building is a cyber exercise and technology showcase that includes a conglomerate of offensive… ... Read More
Anzahl der online-Aktivitäten, die pro Minute im Internet auf der jeweiligen Plattform getätigt werden -- 02 Nov 2020 -   from: Steingarts Morning Briefing <news@news.gaborsteingart.com> on 02 NOV 2020     ... Read More
All U.S. Voter Data Being Traded on Hacker Forums -- 23 Oct 2020 - A database with information on virtually the entire US voting population has been circulated on hacker forums, opening up the potential for disinformation and scams that could impact the November 3 election, security researchers say. A report released Wednesday by the security firm Trustwave said its researchers "discovered massive databases… ... Read More
Covid19 Victim: Austin Security Testing Company NSS Labs Ceases Operations -- 21 Oct 2020 - Austin, Texas-based security product testing company NSS Labs has announced that it ceased operations on October 15, 2020. “Due to Covid-related impacts, NSS Labs ceased operations on October 15th,” a message on the company’s website reads. On Monday, Jason Brvenik, CEO of NSS Labs, posted the same message on LinkedIn,… ... Read More
U.S. Charges Russian Intelligence Officers for NotPetya, Industroyer Attacks -- 21 Oct 2020 - The U.S. Department of Justice on Monday announced charges against six Russian intelligence officers for their alleged role in several major cyberattacks conducted over the past years. The defendants are Yuriy Sergeyevich Andrienko, aged 32, Sergey Vladimirovich Detistov, 35, Pavel Valeryevich Frolov, 28, Anatoliy Sergeyevich Kovalev, 29, Artem Valeryevich Ochichenko,… ... Read More
2020: Das passiert im Internet in einer Minute -- 17 Sep 2020 - 60 Sekunden vergehen schnell - aber in dieser Zeitspanne passiert im Internet eine Menge. Auf Basis von Schätzungen, die bei Visual Capitalist veröffentlicht worden sind, werden bei Instagram rund 347.000 neue Stories veröffentlicht, mit dem Messenger Whatsapp verschicken Nutzer 41,6 Mio. Nachrichten und per E-Commerce werden 1 Mio. US-Dollar Umsatz… ... Read More
Microsoft pulls underwater data center back to the surface to assess benefits of deep-sea cloud -- 16 Sep 2020 - Members of the Project Natick team power wash algae, barnacles and sea anemones off the Northern Isles underwater data center, which was retrieved from the seafloor off the Orkney Islands in Scotland. (Microsoft Photo / Jonathan Banks) Two years after deploying a shipping-container-size data center to the depths off Scotland’s… ... Read More
Python ist die populärste Programmiersprache -- 24 Aug 2020 - Die Code-Sprache Python ist die beliebteste aller Programmiersprachen - das besagt der PopularitY of Programming Language Index. Auf Basis von Google-Suchanfragen zu Tutorials zur jeweiligen Programmiersprache und Daten von Google Trends misst der Index die Popularität dieser. Wie die Statista-Grafik zeigt waren Python-Tutorials zuletzt Gegenstand von rund 32 Prozent aller… ... Read More
APT Group “Transparent Tribe” Mounts Ongoing Spy Campaign on Military, Government -- 21 Aug 2020 - The group has added a management console and a USB worming function to its main malware, Crimson RAT. The APT group Transparent Tribe is mounting an ongoing cyberespionage campaign, researchers said, which is aimed at military and diplomatic targets around the world. The effort features a worm that can propagate… ... Read More
IBM AI-Powered Data Management Software Subject to Simple Exploit -- 21 Aug 2020 - A low-privileged process on a vulnerable machine could allow data harvesting and DoS. The IBM’s next-gen data-management software suffers from a shared-memory vulnerability that researchers said could lead to other threats — as demonstrated by a new proof-of-concept exploit for the bug. The IBM Db2 is a family of hybrid… ... Read More
U.S. Details North Korean Malware Used in Attacks on Defense Organizations -- 21 Aug 2020 - The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have shared details on a piece of malware North Korean threat actors likely used in attacks targeting employees of defense organizations in Israel and other countries. Dubbed BLINDINGCAN, the malware was apparently used in “Dream Job,”… ... Read More
North Korea’s ‘Bureau 121’ Has an Army of 6000 Hackers -- 20 Aug 2020 - The U.S. Army has revealed that North Korea has a number of divisions dedicated to cryptocurrency and related cybercrimes. A report unveiled by the U.S. Army reveals that North Korea now has more than 6,000 hackers stationed in countries such as Belarus, China, India, Malaysia, Russia, among others. The operations… ... Read More
Microsoft Put Off Fixing Zero Day for 2 Years -- 17 Aug 2020 - A security flaw in the way Microsoft Windows guards users against malicious files was actively exploited in malware attacks for two years before last week, when Microsoft finally issued a software update to correct the problem. By Brian Krebs of Krebs on Security One of the 120 security holes Microsoft… ... Read More
US Medical Debt Collection Firm R1 RCM Hit in Ransomware Attack -- 15 Aug 2020 - "Medical Debt Collection" is a phenomena specific to the USA, a country without general health coverage By Brian Krebs of KrebsOnSecurity R1 RCM Inc. [NASDAQ:RCM], one of the nation’s largest medical debt collection companies, has been hit in a ransomware attack. Formerly known as Accretive Health Inc., Chicago-based R1 RCM… ... Read More
Drovorub: NSA, FBI Warn of Linux Malware Used in Espionage Attacks -- 15 Aug 2020 - A never before seen malware has been used for espionage purposes via Linux systems, warn the NSA and FBI in a joint advisory. UPDATED The U.S. government is warning of new malware, dubbed Drovorub, that targets Linux systems. It also claims the malware was developed for a Russian military unit… ... Read More
ReVoLTE Attack Allows Hackers to Listen in on Mobile Calls -- 14 Aug 2020 - Rare attack on cellular protocol exploits an encryption-implementation flaw at base stations to record voice calls. Researchers have discovered an attack on the Voice over LTE (VoLTE) mobile communications protocol that can break its encryption and allow attackers to listen in on phone calls. Dubbed ReVoLTE, the attack — detailed… ... Read More
Amazon Alexa ‘One-Click’ Attack Can Divulge Personal Data -- 14 Aug 2020 - Researchers disclosed flaws in Amazon Alexa that could allow attackers to access personal data and install skills on Echo devices. Vulnerabilities in Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant platform could allow attackers to access users’ banking data history or home addresses – simply by persuading them to click on a malicious link.… ... Read More
Das passiert in einer Minute im Internet -- 14 Aug 2020 - Unendliche Weiten, riesige Datenmengen. Könnt ihr euch vorstellen, was innerhalb von einer Minute im Internet passiert? Diese Infografik zeigt es euch. In einer Zeit, in der wir praktisch 24 Stunden am Tag online sind, geht es im Internet zu wie in einem Taubenschlag. Unzählige Whatsapp-Nachrichten werden verschickt, Hunderttausende Apps werden… ... Read More
Cyberagentur geht offiziell an den Start -- 13 Aug 2020 - Im Juli 2019 wurde am Flughafen Leipzig/Halle eine Absichtserklärung zur Errichtung der Cyberagentur unterzeichnet. Mit dabei waren Peter Tauber (von links, CDU), Parlamentarische Staatssekretär im Verteidigungsministerium, Bundesinnenminister Horst Seehofer (CSU), Sachsen-Anhalts Ministerpräsident Reiner Haseloff (CDU) und Sachsens Ministerpräsident Michael Kretschmer (CDU). von dpa - 12.08.2020 "Zur Sicherstellung digitaler Souveränität" soll… ... Read More
DEF CON 2020 Wrap-Up: Hacking Phones, Cars, and Satellites -- 12 Aug 2020 - see all DEFCON 2020 presentations: https://www.youtube.com/user/DEFCONConference/videos Tens of researchers showcased their work last week at the DEF CON 28 Safe Mode (virtual) hacking conference 2020. They presented research on hacking phones, cars, satellite communications, traffic lights, smart home devices, printers, and popular software services, among many others. Here is a… ... Read More
The New US Cyber Policy Has Serious Bite for Chinese Firms -- 12 Aug 2020 - Mike Pompeo’s announcement will hit Chinese internet companies at their most vulnerable spots. On August 5, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a major announcement regarding U.S. cyberspace. Depicting the Chinese Communist Party as a malign actor that aggressively intrudes on U.S. telecommunications and technology infrastructures, Pompeo said the… ... Read More
Vulnerabilities in Qualcomm Snapdragon Chips Expose Billions of Devices to Attacks -- 11 Aug 2020 - Security researchers have identified hundreds of vulnerabilities that expose devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon chips to attacks. During a presentation at DEF CON last week, Check Point security researcher Slava Makkaveev revealed how vulnerabilities in the compute digital-signal processor (DSP) – a subsystem that enables the processing of data with low… ... Read More
Host a Deep Web IRC Server using TOR for More Anonymous Chatting Online [Tutorial] -- 07 Aug 2020 - How to Set Up & Use an Anonymous IRC Server Over Tor Cyber Weapons Lab, Episode 180 IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a popular internet chat protocol. In this episode of Cyber Weapons Lab, w'll show you how to connect this technology to the Tor network in order to create… ... Read More
Rund 9 von 10 PCs laufen mit Windows :( -- 30 Jul 2020 - Windows 10 feiert am 29. Juli 2020 seinen fünften Geburtstag. Das Betriebssystem ist mit einem Marktanteil von rund 59 Prozent die meistverbreitete Betriebssoftware weltweit vor seinem älteren “Bruder” Windows 7. Erst an dritter Stelle steht ein Konkurrent aus dem Hause Apple – die aktuellste OS-Version des Mac bringt es auf… ... Read More
Thinking of a Cybersecurity Career? Read This. -- 25 Jul 2020 - By Brian Krebs Thousands of people graduate from colleges and universities each year with cybersecurity or computer science degrees only to find employers are less than thrilled about their hands-on, foundational skills. Here’s a look at a recent survey that identified some of the bigger skills gaps, and some thoughts… ... Read More
More Than 1,000 People Could Access Twitter’s ‘God Mode’ -- 24 Jul 2020 - The admin panel used by hackers to access over one hundred accounts can be used by over 1,000 twitter employees — two former Twitter employees revealed. More than 1,000 Twitter employees and contractors had access to the internal admin panel that enabled last week’s Twitter hack of 130 high profile… ... Read More
Crack SSH Private Key Passwords with John the Ripper [Tutorial] -- 24 Jul 2020 - Cyber Weapons Lab, Episode 176 The Secure Shell network protocol, usually used to manage remote machines, is prone to password brute-forcing. That's why key-based authentication is used when security is paramount since private keys can be encrypted. But nothing is invincible, and these SSH private key passwords can still be… ... Read More
Bundeskriminalamt liest WhatsApp mit -- 22 Jul 2020 -   Published 22 JUL 2020 in Berliner Morgenpost.           ... Read More
How new prototyping dollars will help US Army network modernization -- 21 Jul 2020 - U.S. Army Cpl. Andrew Ramirez, assigned to Bravo Company, 44th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 2nd Theater Signal Brigade, talks on a radio during during exercise Stoney Run, April 24, 2018 in the Sennelager Training Area, Germany. Stoney Run is an annual U.S.-U.K. signal exercise designed to test and validate communications and… ... Read More
How to be anonymous on the web? Tor, Dark net, Whonix, Tails, Linux -- 19 Jul 2020 - Why should you become anonymous? And how can you even be anonymous on the web? Watch to learn how to use essential anonymity tools to become anonymous on the web. You will learn what it means to be anonymous on the web, how to use essential anonymity tools, and you’ll… ... Read More
Perform Aircraft OSINT Using Your Smartphone or Computer [Tutorial] -- 19 Jul 2020 - Cyber Weapons Lab, Episode 174 If you're not an avid plane spotter, it can be quite difficult to look up in the sky and identify an aircraft. In this episode of Cyber Weapons Labs, we're going to show you how to do it with your iPhone or Android and collect… ... Read More
Upcoming Webinar 21 JUL: Stuxnet and Beyond – The Age of Digital Warfare and the Future of Our Cities -- 16 Jul 2020 - In 2010, the discovery of Stuxnet, the sophisticated virus used by the U.S. and Israel to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program, ushered in a new era of warfare — in the digital realm. It also placed critical infrastructure around the world in the cross hairs by demonstrating how a remote digital… ... Read More
Critical SAP Bug Allows Full Enterprise System Takeover -- 16 Jul 2020 - Exploitation of the bug can allow an attacker to lift sensitive information, delete files, execute code, carry out sabotage and more. A critical vulnerability, carrying a severity score of 10 out of 10 on the CvSS bug-severity scale, has been disclosed for SAP customers. SAP’s widely deployed collection of enterprise… ... Read More
Credit-Card Skimmer Has Unlikely Target: Microsoft ASP.NET Sites -- 08 Jul 2020 - A campaign discovered by Malwarebytes Labs in mid-April has lifted credentials from a number of e-commerce portals. Researchers have identified a credit-card skimming campaign that’s been active since mid-April that has a rather specific and unusual target: ASP.NET-based websites running on Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) servers. New research from… ... Read More
AWS Facial Recognition Platform Misidentified Over 100 Politicians As Criminals -- 01 Jul 2020 - Comparitech’s Paul Bischoff found that Amazon’s facial recognition platform misidentified an alarming number of people, and was racially biased. Facial recognition technology is still misidentifying people at an alarming rate – even as it’s being used by police departments to make arrests. In fact, Paul Bischoff, consumer privacy expert with Comparitech,… ... Read More
Helmholtz: Wie sicher ist das Reisen während der Corona-Pandemie? -- 01 Jul 2020 - In dem bodengebundenen Forschungsflugzeug wird das Kabinenklima mit Messtechnik samt spezieller Dummies untersucht. Bild: DLR Zum Start der Sommerferien sind Reisen innerhalb Europas wieder möglich. Doch wie groß ist das Risiko, sich im Flugzeug oder Zug mit dem Coronavirus anzustecken? Forscher untersuchen, wie sich die Viren in der Kabine verteilen.… ... Read More
Chinese bank requires foreign firm to install app with covert backdoor -- 27 Jun 2020 - A multinational tech company gets schooled in the risks of doing business in China. A large, multinational technology company got a nasty surprise recently as it was expanding its operations to China. The software a local bank required the company to install so it could pay local taxes contained an… ... Read More
Cybercriminals Use the Blockchain to Relay Secret Messages -- 26 Jun 2020 - SophosLabs published a study that revealed hackers use the blockchain network to share secret messages. A group of researchers from SophosLabs state that hackers operating the cryptojacking malware, Glupteba, have been using the Bitcoin blockchain network to communicate in secret. According to the report published on June 24, cybercriminals rely… ... Read More
Macromedia / Adobe Flash officially dies 31 December 2020 – after 25 years -- 22 Jun 2020 - The original 1995 ShockWave Global Download Servers at Macromedia HQ San Francisco Back in 1995 Macromedia's influence on interactive media began with the launch of Shockwave, a technology that converted Macromedia Director presentations into a compressed format for web delivery: the first true animations on the Internet, which also allowed… ... Read More
‘BlueLeaks’ Exposes Files from Hundreds of US Police Departments – searchable by Badge Number -- 22 Jun 2020 - A partial screenshot of the BlueLeaks data cache. Hundreds of thousands of potentially sensitive files from US police departments across the United States were leaked online last week. The collection, dubbed “BlueLeaks” and made searchable online, stems from a security breach at Texas web design and hosting company Netsential that… ... Read More
Virtual Cyber Summit Power Hour DC Metro Edition -- 28 May 2020 - Senior Level Executives are invited to participate in the Virtual Cyber Summit Power Hour DC Metro Edition. During these unprecedented times, it is more important than ever for business leaders to have a clear and well thought-out cyber security battle plan. Join us and learn from Leading Industry Experts from… ... Read More
Zoom: “The installer package is of bad quality.” -- 27 May 2020 - Encountered this today: "The installation of a package which violates the quality standards isn't allowed. This could cause serious problems on your computer. Please contact the person or organisation who provided this package file and include the details beneath." #cybersecurity #notlinuxfriendly ... Read More
Ebay: Why is This Website Port Scanning me? -- 27 May 2020 - Recently, I was tipped off about certain sites performing localhost port scans against visitors, presumably as part of a user fingerprinting and tracking or bot detection. This didn't sit well with me, so I went about investigating the practice, and it seems many sites are port scanning visitors for dubious… ... Read More
Gitlab: Jeder Fünfte tappte in die Falle – Firma startet Phishing-Angriff auf eigene Angestellte -- 26 May 2020 - Phishing-Mails sind eine der beliebtesten Methoden, Zugang zu Firmenaccounts oder Privatkonten zu bekommen. Die Firma Gitlab wollte nun die eigene Sicherheit testen und war dabei erfolgreicher als erhofft. Es geht schneller, als viele Menschen sich eingestehen: Einmal einer falschen Mail vertraut und schon hat man Hackern oder Kriminellen die Türen… ... Read More
Scan your Linux security with Lynis -- 26 May 2020 - Image by : Internet Archive Book Images. Modified by Opensource.com. CC BY-SA 4.0 Check the security of your Linux box with this comprehensive open source security auditing tool. Have you ever thought about how secure your Linux machine really is? There are numerous Linux distros, each with its own default… ... Read More
‘The intelligence coup of the century’ – For decades, the CIA and German BND read the encrypted communications of allies and adversaries. -- 02 Mar 2020 - An investigative report by The Washington Post and ZDF - published 11 FEB 2020. For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret. The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a… ... Read More
Human Vs. Machine – Does Technology Require People at Battlefield? -- 28 Feb 2020 - This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew) More sensors mean more data. Today’s battlefield is networked with sensors at an unprecedented scale. It is the Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) that encompasses drone payloads, video cameras, signal and radio sensors, cyber sensors and scores of other devices. This  cohesive… ... Read More
You better understand what data you share all the time with Google (or Apple): -- 28 Feb 2020 - Oracle VP highlights what happens when data leaves your devices. No SIM card, no browser or app open, only the WiFi connection enabled: Android constantly transmits: GPS location, time & date, movement, temperature, atmospheric pressure, other smartphones and WiFi hotspots nearby -- all to Google, to the tune of 4… ... Read More
Battlefield Tech: What electronic warfare can learn from a wagon full of smartphones -- 07 Feb 2020 - Normally creating a traffic jam takes actual traffic, like the cars seen here. With a wagon full of smartphones, a traffic jam can be created without the need for a long line of cars. (EveryPicture, via Wikimedia Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0) A single red wagon, hand pulled down the middle of a… ... Read More
LoRaWAN Encryption Keys Easy to Crack, Jeopardizing Security of IoT Networks -- 29 Jan 2020 - New research from IOActive has found that “blindly” trusting the encryption of the widely adopted device protocol can lead to DDoS, sending of false data and other cyber attacks. The LoRaWAN protocol has become standard in the world of industrial IoT because of its support for low-power wireless devices over… ... Read More
Investitionsstau in Deutschland -- 23 Jan 2020 - In Deutschland wird derzeit diskutiert, ob der Staat genug in Infrastruktur und Bildung investiert. Wie die Statista-Grafik auf Basis einer Auswertung des Handelsblatts zeigt, ist das Volumen nicht abgerufener Fördergelder beträchtlich. So sind die Gelder der beiden Fonds, mit denen besonders finanzschwache Kommunen gefördert werden sollen, bis Ende letzten Jahres… ... Read More
World’s Most Valuable Tech Companies -- 21 Jan 2020 - Die Digitalwirtschaft des Silicon Valley konnte ihre weltweite Vormachtstellung weiter ausbauen. Plattform-Unternehmen wie Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook oder Google, dessen Mutterkonzern Alphabet als vierter US-Konzern eine Börsenbewertung von mehr als einer Billion Dollar erreichte, dominieren die westliche Welt und treffen nur in Asien auf ebenbürtige Konkurrenten. Europa ist abgemeldet. ... Read More
This Linux smartphone is now shipping for $150 -- 20 Jan 2020 - Shipping at only $149, Brave Heart is a fully open-source smartphone running Linux.   Pine64's open source PinePhone runs Linux and is designed for developers and early-adopters. Computer and developer-board maker Pine64 has started shipping the first edition of its much-anticipated – at least in the open-source community – PinePhone,… ... Read More
Desktop Operating Systems as of DEC 2019 -- 13 Jan 2020 - Morgen stellt Microsoft den Support für Windows 7 ein. Das Betriebssystem ist derzeit laut NetMarkeShare mit einem Desktop-Marktanteil von 26,6 Prozent die Nummer zwei hinter Windows 10. Das heißt, dass ab Dienstag weltweit Dutzende Millionen Menschen keine Updates mehr für ihr Betriebssystem bekommen. Damit wird die 2010 erschienene Windows-Version für… ... Read More
2019 – Banner Year For Data Exposures: Top 10 Breaches and Leaky Server Screw Ups -- 27 Dec 2019 - [Motivation finally enough to walk away from 'black box systems' and secure everything with the original Blockchain? -- TJACK] Top 10 Breaches and Leaky Server Screw Ups of 2019 From massive credential spills on the Dark Web and hacked data to card-skimming and rich profiles exposed by way of cloud… ... Read More
The Great .ORG Heist: Internet Registry is Snatched Up By Private Equity Firm Ethos Capital for $1.1bn, Provoking Uproar -- 13 Dec 2019 - see also the previous article: https://www.bgp4.com/2019/11/26/internet-world-despairs-as-non-profit-org-tld-sold-by-isoc-for-to-private-equity-firm/ By Michael Hiltzik - LA Times Business Columnist  The old dream of an internet run in the public interest has long dissipated under pressure from huge corporations seeking to profit from what has become a worldwide information utility. But one corner of the web seemed… ... Read More
What is a brain-computer interface? Everything you need to know about BCIs, neural interfaces and the future of mind-reading computers -- 09 Dec 2019 - Systems that allow humans to control or communicate with technology using only the electrical signals in the brains or muscles are fast becoming mainstream. Here's what you need to know. What is a brain-computer interface? It can't be what it sounds like, surely? Yep, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are precisely what… ... Read More
One Of The Largest Data Centers In The US – CyrusOne, Texas – Hit by Ransomware Attack -- 06 Dec 2019 - Texas-based data center provider CyrusOne has reportedly fallen victim to an attack from REvil (Sodinokibi) ransomware, business tech-focused publication ZDNet reported on Dec. 5. One of the largest data centers in the United States, CyrusOne has reportedly been exposed to an attack by a variant of the REvil (Sodinokibi) ransomware,… ... Read More
Hilarious Phishing & Malware Attempts -- 06 Dec 2019 - Like everyone else (well, maybe more than everyone else)  I regularly get these phishing messages ("we try to make you click on the attachment, which of course is riddled with mal/ransomware"). Hilarious to me, when it is sent to an automated, harvested e-mail address, which is 32 years old now… ... Read More
Data on 1.2 Billion Users Found in Exposed AWS Elasticsearch Server -- 05 Dec 2019 - An exposed Elasticsearch server was found to contain data on more than 1.2 billion people, Data Viper security researchers report. The server was accessible without authentication and it contained 4 billion user accounts, spanning more than 4 terabytes of data, security researchers Bob Diachenko and Vinny Troia discovered last month.… ... Read More
Can hundreds of unrelated satellites create a GPS backup? -- 05 Dec 2019 - The Space Development Agency's head says that position and timing data from low-Earth orbit satellites can be used to verify or replace GPS in denied or degraded environments. (DARPA) The head of the Space Development Agency wants to use proliferated low-Earth orbit satellites for navigation when GPS is unavailable. As… ... Read More
Persistent broadband connection: Intellian’s 1.5 meter antenna can switch between LEO and GEO -- 05 Dec 2019 - The US Navy recently live tested a new antenna that can switch between satellites in low earth orbit and geostationary orbit, fulfilling a key need for the military moving forward. Using Intellian’s 1.5 meter antenna, the Navy was able to maintain a broadband connection while switching between Telesat’s satellites in… ... Read More
Cyborg warriors could be here by 2050, DoD study group says -- 05 Dec 2019 - A mockup of U.S. SOCOM's TALOS suit — a bold project, but one that ultimately brought less tech than initially hoped. (DoD) Ear, eye, brain and muscular enhancement is “technically feasible by 2050 or earlier,” according to a study released this month by the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command.… ... Read More
Insecure Microsoft Azure Database Exposes Millions of Private SMS Messages -- 05 Dec 2019 - Researchers discovered an unprotected TrueDialog database hosted by Microsoft Azure with diverse and business-related data from tens of millions of users. Tens of millions of SMS messages have been found on an unprotected database, putting the private data of hundreds of millions of people in the United States at risk… ... Read More
France to Test Its Central Bank Digital Euro Currency in Q1/2020 -- 05 Dec 2019 - The central bank of France plans to pilot a central bank digital currency (CBDC) for financial institutions in 2020. François Villeroy de Galhau, the governor of the Bank of France, announced that the bank will start testing the digital euro project by the end of the first quarter 2020, French… ... Read More
$100M Funding: can industry help US Air Force Research Lab develop new Cyber and SIGINT tech? -- 05 Dec 2019 - A notice is asking for industry's help in developing new and innovative cyber and signals intelligence technologies. (Greg Davis/U.S. Air Force/Getty Images) The Air Force is asking for industry’s help developing advanced cyber and signals intelligence technologies. Specifically, the Air Force Research Lab wants technologies that can improve extraction, identification,… ... Read More
DHS wants to expand airport face recognition scans to include US citizens -- 04 Dec 2019 - Homeland Security wants to expand facial recognition checks for travelers arriving to and departing from the U.S. to also include citizens, which had previously been exempt from the mandatory checks. In a filing, the department has proposed that all travelers, and not just foreign nationals or visitors, will have to… ... Read More
Ongoing Research Project Examines Application of AI to Cybersecurity -- 03 Dec 2019 - Project Blackfin: Multi-Year Research Project Aims to Unlock the Potential of Machine Intelligence in Cybersecurity Project Blackfin is ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) research challenging the current automatic assumption that deep-learning neural network principles are the best way to teach a system to detect anomalous behavior or malicious activity on a network.… ... Read More
Can open source intelligence combat Russian disinformation in the Baltics? -- 03 Dec 2019 - NATO will need to utilize social media and other publicly available information to combat Russian disinformation says a new report from the Atlantic Council. Utilizing open source intelligence will be essential to combating Russian disinformation in the Baltics, according to a new report published Nov. 14 by the Atlantic Council.… ... Read More
China’s Achilles’ heel when it comes to cyberspace -- 03 Dec 2019 - Despite being considered extremely vulnerable in cyberspace, the United States does pose some asymmetric advantages in the domain as compared to authoritarian regimes. (Andy Wong/AP) If “mutually assured cyber destruction" were to occur, one Marine Corps leader said, authoritarian nations such as China might have more to lose than the… ... Read More
Intel says Qualcomm’s business practices drove it out of the modem chip market -- 03 Dec 2019 - It’s not like this wasn’t among the reasons everywhere suspected when Apple suddenly announced it was buying Intel’s modem business, but now the chipmaker has filed a brief in support of the FTC in an ongoing appeal by Qualcomm of a decision made in May. That decision found in favor… ... Read More
5G hackers: These eight groups will try to break into the networks of tomorrow -- 02 Dec 2019 - Organised cybercrime, rogue insiders and nation-state-backed hackers are among the groups that could soon be targeting 5G networks. But there are a few surprises on the list, too. European computer security agency Enisa has listed the groups it thinks are most likely to attempt to hack into 5G networks, warning… ... Read More
Ransomware: Big paydays and little chance of getting caught means boom time for crooks -- 02 Dec 2019 - File-encrypting malware is proving to be extremely lucrative for cyber attackers, who can continue large-scale ransomware campaigns – making hundreds of thousands of dollars – almost risk-free. Ransomware will continue to plague organisations in 2020 because there's little risk of the cyber criminals behind the network-encrypting malware attacks getting caught;… ... Read More
RIPLACE: New Technique Allows Windows Ransomware to Operate Undetected -- 27 Nov 2019 - A recently discovered technique allows ransomware to encrypt files on Windows-based systems without being detected by existing anti-ransomware products, Nyotron security researchers warn. Dubbed RIPlace, the technique allows malware to bypass defenses using the legacy file system "rename" operation, and the security researchers say it is effective even against systems… ... Read More
Attack Simulation Firm Cymulate Raises $15 Million -- 26 Nov 2019 - Israel-based cybersecurity startup Cymulate announced on Tuesday that it has raised $15 million in a Series B funding round led by Vertex Growth Fund. Founded by Eyal Wachsman and Avihai Bar Yosef, the company offers a cloud-based Breach and Attack Simulation (BAS) platform that helps organizations test their security controls… ... Read More
Four Million Freshly-Hacked Debit And Credit Cards Are For Sale -- 26 Nov 2019 - An advertisement on the cybercrime store Joker’s Stash for a new batch of ~4 million credit/debit cards stolen from four different restaurant chains across the midwest and eastern United States. On Nov. 23, one of the cybercrime underground's largest bazaars for buying and selling stolen payment card data announced the… ... Read More
NGA breaks ground on new St. Louis campus -- 26 Nov 2019 - Rendering of the future National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency facilities in St. Louis. (McCarthy HITT image) The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's new facility will host a range of features virtually unheard of in the intelligence community, from wireless technology to spaces that can switch between classified and unclassified environments. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency… ... Read More
Russian Media Video shows food, books, and drinks left behind at US base in Syria -- 26 Nov 2019 - Video footage from Russian news agency Anna News shows the inside of an abandoned US army base in Syria, where items such as half-eaten food, beds, and footballs appear to have been left behind. According to the text below the video Fadel Nasrala, a correspondent at Anna News visited the… ... Read More
Internet world despairs as non-profit .org TLD sold by ISOC for $$$$ to private equity firm -- 26 Nov 2019 - Sale comes within months of DNS overseer pushing through controversial contract change The sale of one of the internet’s most popular registries to a private equity firm has revived concerns over how the domain name system is governed. At the end of last week, the Internet Society (ISOC) announced that… ... Read More
More than 1 million T-Mobile customers exposed by breach -- 25 Nov 2019 - T-Mobile has confirmed a data breach affecting more than a million of its customers, whose personal data (but no financial or password data) was exposed to a malicious actor. The company alerted the affected customers but did not provide many details in its official account of the hack. The company… ... Read More
Beyond 3nm: The END of Silicon & The Future of Computing -- 22 Nov 2019 - We are finally getting to the end of progression in silicon technology. What will replace silicon? This video covers some of the potentials of future computing architecture. Liquid Transistor (Gallium & Iridium) Nanomagenetics (Vortex Domain Wall Structures) Light (Optical) Computing - Surface Plamons Quantum Computing (Superposition Calculations) Alternative Materials to… ... Read More
ENISA threat landscape for 5G Networks -- 22 Nov 2019 - This report draws an initial threat landscape and presents an overview of the challenges in the security of 5G networks. Its added value lays with the creation of a comprehensive 5G architecture, the identification of important assets (asset diagram), the assessment of threats affecting 5G (threat taxonomy), the identification of… ... Read More
Study Finds ‘Fake News’ Has Real Cost: $78 Billion -- 22 Nov 2019 - Cybersecurity company CHEQ conducted research with the University of Baltimore, which found that the epidemic of online fake news now costs the global economy $78 billion annually. The report, which analyzes the direct economic cost from fake news, also estimates fake news has contributed a loss in stock market value… ... Read More
Informatiker dringend gesucht -- 21 Nov 2019 - von Frauke Suhr - 20 NOV 2019 Der deutschen Wirtschaft fehlen weiterhin qualifizierte Fachkräfte. Im Oktober 2019 waren laut einer aktuellen Auswertung des IW Köln bundesweit rund 263.000 Stellen im MINT-Bereich unbesetzt. Seit 2014 hat sich diese Zahl fast verdoppelt, wie die Statista-Grafik zeigt. Vor allem gut ausgebildete Informatiker werden… ... Read More
Ransomware Attack Hits Louisiana State Servers -- 20 Nov 2019 - One click on a phishing email can be enough to stop the government Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards on Monday revealed that a ransomware attack hit state servers, prompting a response from the state’s cyber-security team. The incident appears to have affected only some of the state’s servers, but the… ... Read More
US, Montenegro Plot Cyber Warfare Ahead of 2020 Elections -- 20 Nov 2019 - A guard stands at the entrance of the Montenegrin Defense Ministry in Montenegro's capital Podgorica Nov. 11. Deployed inside the sprawling communist-era army command headquarters in Montenegro's capital, a group of elite U.S. military cyberexperts are plotting strategy in a fight against potential Russian and other cyberattacks ahead of the… ... Read More
eCommerce ‘Pipka’ Card Skimmer Removes Itself After Infecting Sites -- 19 Nov 2019 - [a Blockchain-based payment solution does not have those kind of hacking issues ... TJACK] The web skimmer has been spotted on at least 17 popular eCommerce websites, a new Visa alert warns. A new JavaScript payment card skimmer, dubbed Pipka, has been identified on at least seventeen merchant websites attempting… ... Read More
Tianfu Cup Round-Up: Safari, Chrome, D-Link Routers and Office 365 Successfully Hacked -- 19 Nov 2019 - White-hat hackers using never-before-seen zero days against popular applications and devices - they competed at a two-day gathering in Chengdu. Hackers over the weekend successfully compromised widely used software and hardware–including browsers Safari and Chrome, D-Link routers and the Office 365 suite–using zero-day vulnerabilities at the annual Tianfu Cup gathering.… ... Read More
Americans are increasingly fearful of monitoring their online and offline activities -- 16 Nov 2019 - Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control Over Their Personal Information Executive Summary: Americans are increasingly fearful of monitoring of their online and offline activities, both by governments and private companies, a survey showed Friday. The Pew Research Center report said more than 60 percent of US… ... Read More
Over 100,000 Fake Domains With Valid TLS Certificates Target Major Retailers -- 16 Nov 2019 - Venafi, a company that helps organizations secure cryptographic keys and digital certificates, says it has uncovered over 100,000 typosquatted domains with valid TLS certificates that appear to target major retailers. With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, Venafi has conducted an analysis of lookalike domains targeting 20 major… ... Read More
Cyberagentur kommt – mit strengen Auflagen -- 15 Nov 2019 - von Lina Rusch - veröffentlicht am 15.11.2019 Nach monatelangem Streit gibt es nun grünes Licht für die Cyberagentur. Die Auflagen für diese besondere GmbH sind allerdings streng. Und die Führungsfrage ist weiter offen – doch es zeichnet sich eine Personalie ab. Im Haushaltsausschuss ging gestern Abend der monatelange Streit zwischen… ... Read More
Iranian APT33 Hackers Use Special Botnets for High-Value Targets in U.S. -- 14 Nov 2019 - An Iran-linked cyberespionage group tracked as APT33 has used obfuscated botnets as part of attacks aimed at high-value targets located in the United States, the Middle East and Asia, Trend Micro reported on Thursday. APT33, which some experts believe has been active since at least 2013, is also known as… ... Read More
John Carmack steps down at Oculus to pursue AI passion project ‘before I get too old’ -- 14 Nov 2019 - His plan is to pursue it from home, “Victorian Gentleman Scientist” style Legendary coder John Carmack is leaving Facebook’s Oculus after six years to focus on a personal project — no less than the creation of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), or “Strong AI.” He’ll remain attached to the company in… ... Read More
Programming languages: Python overtakes Java on GitHub as Google Dart use soars -- 14 Nov 2019 - Developers love Python, Microsoft's GitHub says, also revealing the site's biggest open-source projects. The hit programming language Python has climbed over once-dominant Java to become the second most popular language on Microsoft-owned open-source code-sharing site GitHub. Python now outranks Java based on the number of repository contributors, and by that… ... Read More
Google reveals ‘Project Nightingale’ after being accused of secretly gathering personal health records -- 14 Nov 2019 - By Mary Beth Griggs - Nov 11, 2019 Google secretly gathered millions of patient records across 21 states on behalf of a health care provider, in an effort dubbed “Project Nightingale,” reports The Wall Street Journal. Neither the provider’s doctors nor patients were made aware of the effort, according to… ... Read More
Here’s how US Cyber Command is using ‘defend forward’ -- 13 Nov 2019 - U.S. Cyber Command is using new authorities to gain insights and access to foreign networks to help better inform defense. (U.S. Cyber Command Public Affairs) U.S. Cyber Command is gaining important insights into malware and adversarial actors by working with partner nations to help secure their systems, according to a… ... Read More
BKA verzeichnet Anstieg der Cyberkriminalität -- 11 Nov 2019 - Jeder zweite Befragte zu Beginn des Jahres veröffentlichten Bitkom-Umfrage gab an, in den letzten zwölf Monaten Opfer von Internetkriminalität geworden zu sein. Deutschlandweit registrierte das Bundeskriminalamt allein durch Computerbetrug und missbräuchliche Nutzung von Telekommunikationsdiensten Schäden in Höhe von 61,4 Millionen Euro - dabei dürfte es sich aber nur um einen… ... Read More
Wie Geheimdienste Cyberattacken durchführen -- 11 Nov 2019 - Symbolbild, echte Geheimagenten tragen natürlich Schlapphüte. Ein Ex-FBI-Agent spricht über staatliche und nichtstaatliche Cyberangriffe, deren Zuschreibung und den Sony-Pictures-Hack. Von Sylvester Tremmel Wie gehen Geheimdienste gegen Cyber-Attacken vor und wie führen sie selber solche Angriffe durch? Auf dem Web Summit in Lissabon hat Andre McGregor (LinkedIn) darüber etwas aus dem… ... Read More
Weaponizing Blockchain — Vast Potential, but Projects Are Kept Secret -- 09 Nov 2019 - When Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said that blockchain and artificial intelligence would “revolutionize war,” as Cointelegraph reported on Nov. 4, did he take things a bit too far? Jet engines have revolutionized warfare, and so have missiles and nuclear weapons — but shared digital ledgers? Former NATO Secretary General… ... Read More
Cybersecurity Workforce Gap: 145% Growth Needed to Meet Global Demand -- 08 Nov 2019 - 805,000 Cybersecurity Professionals Are Currently Estimated to be Working in the U.S., Study Finds The biggest surprise about the cybersecurity skills gap is that it exists at all. The job description painted by the latest (ISC)2 workforce study, based on responses from 3,237 existing cybersecurity professionals, is attractive. The pay… ... Read More
Kepler achieves a world-first for satellite broadband with 100Mbps connection to the Arctic -- 08 Nov 2019 - Small-satellite startup Kepler has done something never before accomplished with satellite-based broadband connectivity: providing a high-bandwidth to the Arctic. Kepler’s nanosatellites have successfully demonstrated achieving over 100Mbps of network speed to a German icebreaker sea vessel that acts as a mobile lab for the MOSAiC research expedition. This is the… ... Read More
South African Naspers retains a 31% stake in Tencent that is valued at around $100 billion -- 08 Nov 2019 - Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk - his other new holding company for tech investments, Prosus NV, is currently valued at $114 billion after going public. South African internet company Naspers isn’t a particularly well-known name in the startup community. And yet, the company made an early investment in a small… ... Read More
How the US Air Force plans to find ‘Defense Unicorns’ -- 07 Nov 2019 - Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, said he wants to "start making defense unicorns." (Alan Lessig/Staff) Dozens of space companies descended on San Francisco, California Nov. 5 for a unique opportunity: the chance to walk away with a same day contract with… ... Read More
Alike DARPA: Schumer proposes $100B US-tech ‘Moon Shot Agency’ versus China -- 06 Nov 2019 - Sen. Chuck Schumer is calling for a new, deep-pocketed agency to fund cutting-edge tech development. WASHINGTON ― With an eye on China, the U.S. Senate’s top Democrat is floating plans for a new, deep-pocketed agency to invest $100 billion into cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, robotics and fifth-generation… ... Read More
“Flock 93” is Russia’s dream of a 100-strong drone swarm for war -- 06 Nov 2019 - We do not yet know what VTOL flying wing will be the basis for the Flock-93 swarm. The Takhion, seen here, can be hand-launched. (Ministry of Defence) At a security exposition in Moscow in late October, researchers from Russia’s oldest Air Force academy presented a vision of the future of… ... Read More
So finden Sie ganz leicht den Besitzer einer unbekannten Handynummer heraus -- 06 Nov 2019 - Wer regelmäßig unbekannte Anrufer hat, sollte im Netz recherchieren, wer dahinter steckt   Schon wieder ein unbekannter Anrufer auf dem Smartphone? Das kann ganz schön nerven: Ist es vielleicht ein Freund mit einer neuen Nummer – oder doch nur wieder der lästige Hotline-Mitarbeiter des Mobilfunkanbieters, der einen neuen Vertrag anpreisen… ... Read More
Alexa, Siri, Google Smart Speakers Hacked Via Laser Beam -- 05 Nov 2019 - Smart voice assistants can be hijacked by attackers using lasers to send them remote, inaudible commands. Researchers have discovered a new way to hack Alexa and Siri smart speakers merely by using a laser light beam. No physical access of the victims’ device, or owner interaction, is needed to launch… ... Read More
So what problems does the US DoD JEDI Cloud solve, really? -- 31 Oct 2019 - The DoD wants the JEDI cloud to consolidate data for use by the warfighter at the tactical edge. Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program In the months leading up to the Department of Defense awarding Microsoft a multibillion-dollar cloud computing contract, the Pentagon’s senior leaders described pent up demand for a… ... Read More
The hidden value in the US Department of Defense’s Comply-to-Connect program -- 31 Oct 2019 - As DoD moves forward with adopting the framework to implement a C2C solution, it should also take into account a goldmine that offers a trove of value for defense agencies. (Jackie Niam/Getty Images) By Bill Wright The increased attack surface born from the digital age has caused the security threat… ... Read More
Murky Details Surround Bed, Bath and Beyond Breach -- 31 Oct 2019 - The housewares giant disclosed a breach with few details – but security researchers have some theories. Housewares and home furnishings purveyor Bed, Bath and Beyond has disclosed a data-thieving cyber attack that allowed the adversaries to access customers’ online accounts. According to a Tuesday SEC filing, the company “discovered that… ... Read More
Breaches at NetworkSolutions, Register.com, and Web.com -- 31 Oct 2019 - A notice to customers at notice.web.com Top domain name registrars NetworkSolutions.com, Register.com and Web.com are asking customers to reset their passwords after discovering an intrusion in August 2019 in which customer account information was accessed. “On October 16, 2019, Web.com determined that a third-party gained unauthorized access to a limited… ... Read More
Cybercriminals Impersonate Russian APT ‘Fancy Bear’ to Launch DDoS Attacks -- 29 Oct 2019 - Attacks are targeting international companies in the financial sector, demanding that victims pay ransom in Bitcoin. Cybercriminals posing as the Russian APT group Fancy Bear have been launching DDoS attacks against companies in the financial sector and demanding ransom payments, according to a new report. The large-scale, multi-vector DDoS attacks… ... Read More
CACI SkyTracker: a drone killer US troops have taken overseas -- 29 Oct 2019 - An ISIS unmanned aerial vehicle captured by Iraqi federal police rests on a table at an intelligence-sharing key leader engagement at the Joint Operations Center, at Qayyarah West Airfield, Iraq. (Jason Hull/Army) Videos from battlefields in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine have shown the potential havoc that small drones can bring… ... Read More
Analysts predict counterdrone market will top $2B -- 28 Oct 2019 - Drone mitigated using a Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) (Jack C. Howell / Marine Corps) The three biggest obstacles facing the counterdrone market are the law, the nature of the threat, and the technology itself. In fairness, those are obstacles to the adoption of most any national security technology.… ... Read More
SSRF: Is AWS Liable in the 100-Million-Customer 2019 Capital One Breach? -- 26 Oct 2019 - "Everything has been hacked and will continue to get hacked - except the Bitcoin PoW Blockchain." - TJACK "And: instead of pointing fingers between Amazon AWS and Capital One, would it not be better to have a system which cannot be compromised in the first place?" - TJACK Senators penned… ... Read More
Immer mehr Kleinsatelliten im All -- 25 Oct 2019 - Im Weltall wird es immer voller: Neben den herkömmlichen Satelliten werden immer mehr Kleinsatelliten ins All geschickt. Nun hat SpaceX-Chef Elon Musk angekündigt, weitere 30.000 Satelliten entsenden zu wollen, um eine lückenlose Internetversorgung weltweit zu erreichen - zusätzlich zu den bereits 12.000 genehmigten Satelliten für das Telekommunikationsnetzwerk Starlink. Astronomen zeigten… ... Read More
Stealthy no more? A German radar vendor says it tracked the F-35 jet in 2018 — from a pony farm -- 30 Sep 2019 - COLOGNE, Germany — In the illustrious history of the F-35 fighter jet, add a pony farm outside Berlin as the place where one company claims the plane’s stealth cover was blown. The story that follows is a snapshot in the cat-and-mouse game between combat aircraft — designed to be undetectable… ... Read More
Apple-Update verursacht Datenrekord: 7,1 Terabit pro Sekunde -- 23 Sep 2019 - Die Veröffentlichung des iPhone-Betriebssystems iOS 13 am Donnerstagabend hat beim weltweit größten Internetknoten DE-CIX in Frankfurt am Main offenbar zu einem Datenrekord geführt. Mehr als 7,1 Terabit pro Sekunde liefen zeitweise durch die Leitungen. Das entspricht mehr als 2,1 Millionen Updates pro Stunde. Wie Apple den Daten-Weltrekord pulverisierte Einblick. Seit… ... Read More
US Army Seeks Blockchain Experts Who Can Trace Bitcoin in Real-Time -- 18 Sep 2019 - The United States Army Contracting Command (ACC) of New Jersey has issued a pre-solicitation notice for cryptocurrency investigation service providers.  As a pre-solicitation, posted on July 25, the notice and the ACC’s responses do not bind ACC to solicit or award a contract. For use in criminal investigations According to… ... Read More
ARAMCO: 500 Milliarden Dollar in einer Nacht verloren -- 17 Sep 2019 - Person der Woche: Amin Nasser, Vorstandvorsitzender Aramco Der Raketenangriff auf Ölanlagen trifft Saudi-Arabien nicht nur militärisch. Der wirtschaftliche Schaden ist größer als geahnt, denn der Ölkonzern Aramco steht kurz vor dem Börsengang. Nun ist das teuerste Unternehmen der Welt plötzlich drastisch weniger wert. Amin Nasser ist der Vorstandsvorsitzende von Saudi… ... Read More
1 Billion Mobile Users Vulnerable to Ongoing ‘SimJacker’ Surveillance Attack -- 14 Sep 2019 - More than one billion mobile users are at risk from a SIM card flaw being currently exploited by threat actors, researchers warn. A vulnerability discovered in mobile SIM cards is being actively exploited to track phone owners’ locations, intercept calls and more – all merely by sending an SMS message… ... Read More
China’s APT3 Pilfers Cyberweapons from the NSA -- 08 Sep 2019 - Large portions of APT3’s remote code-execution package were likely reverse-engineered from prior attack artifacts. The advanced persistent threat (APT) group known as APT3, which researchers across the board link to the Chinese government, has built a full in-house battery of exploits and cybertools collectively dubbed “UPSynergy.” An analysis of the… ... Read More
Wie US-Militär und Unternehmen um Hacker buhlen -- 06 Sep 2019 - Patrick Kiley von der IT-Sicherheitsfirma Rapid7 Die US-Luftwaffe karrte einen F35-Simulator zur DEF CON, BMW hielt gemeinsam mit chinesischen Security-Forschern einen Vortrag auf der Black Hat. Andere Organisationen und Unternehmen fremdelten noch. "Hi, ich bin Will. Ich arbeite für die US Air Force“. Der bebrillte Mann im 80er-Jahre-Star-Wars-T-Shirt stand inmitten… ... Read More
Thieves Used Audio Deepfake of a CEO to Steal $243,000 -- 06 Sep 2019 - The heist is just a preview of how unprepared we are for AI-powered cybercrime. In what may be the world’s first AI-powered heist, synthetic audio was used to imitate a chief executive's voice and trick his subordinate into transferring over $240,000 into a secret account, The Wall Street Journal reported… ... Read More
Uno-Bericht: 7 Plattformen beherrschen den Weltmarkt -- 06 Sep 2019 - GAFA, Microsoft, Tencent, Alibaba. Laut dem erstmals erstellten „Digital Economy Report 2019“ der Uno dominieren sieben Plattformen aus den USA und China den weltweiten Markt, darunter Microsoft, Amazon und Alibaba. Die weltweite Digitalwirtschaft wird von sieben Internet- und Tech-Konzernen aus den USA und China sowie deren Plattformen dominiert. Das hat… ... Read More
CCTV: die bestüberwachten Städte Europas -- 05 Sep 2019 - von Mathias Brandt on 05.09.2019 Berlin wird laut einer Erhebung von Comparitech durch fast 40.000 Kameras überwacht - das sind etwa 11,2 Kameras pro 1.000 Einwohner. Damit liegt die Bundeshauptstadt auf Platz 2 im Ranking der bestüberwachten Städte Europas; weltweit liegt Deutschlands größte Stadt auf Platz 19. Im Vergleich mit London… ... Read More
Die 10 innovativsten Volkswirtschaften der Welt -- 05 Sep 2019 - von Frauke Suhr am 05.09.2019 Krebsforschung, Fleischersatzprodukte und Smart-Home-Technologien zählen zu den großen Entwicklungen unserer Zeit. Doch welche Länder sind weltweit führend bei Forschung und Entwicklung? Ein aktuelles Bloomberg-Ranking zeigt die innovativsten Länder nach Indexwert. Darin steht Deutschland auf dem zweiten Platz. In dem Ranking wurden Faktoren wie die Forschungs- und… ... Read More
Youth Myth: Founders of Successful Tech Companies Are Mostly Middle-Aged -- 04 Sep 2019 - Tony Fadell started Nest in 2010, after leading the engineering team that created the iPod and playing a crucial role in the development of the iPhone. Like many entrepreneurs, he was then over 40. Aug. 29, 2019 It took an entrepreneur to reimagine the mundane home thermostat as an object… ... Read More
Google Project Zero: iPhones konnten jahrelang gehackt werden -- 31 Aug 2019 - Um ein iPhone zu infizieren, genügte es, eine manipulierte Webseite zu besuchen. Freitag, 30. August 2019 Unbemerkt beim Surfen Googles Sicherheitsforscher finden heraus, dass iPhones jahrelang über manipulierte Webseiten gehackt und ausspioniert werden konnten. Die Angreifer hatten dabei praktisch volle Kontrolle über die Geräte und konnten nach Belieben Dateien, Fotos,… ... Read More
Do Something About It? Unternehmen leiden massiv unter Hackern -- 21 Aug 2019 - Besonders Großkonzerne sind im Visier von Hackern. Die Angriffsdichte nimmt seit Jahren zu, heißt es in einer Studie. Studie zu Cyber-Attacken Das Internet ist ein zunehmend gefährlicher Raum. Eine Studie kommt zu dem Ergebnis, dass die Gefahren für die deutsche Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Politik durch Angriffe aus dem Cyber-Space weiter… ... Read More
2019 – What Happens In One (1) Internet Minute -- 21 Aug 2019 -   found on LinkedIn       ... Read More
140.000 Deutsche direkt vom Brexit betroffen -- 20 Aug 2019 - Nach einem harten Brexit will die britische Regierung die Freizügigkeit für Neuankömmlinge aus der Europäischen Union abschaffen. Wer bereits im Land lebt, darf aber bleiben. Dafür müssen sich im Land lebenden EU-Bürger bei den Behörden registrieren. Das haben indes bislang nur rund eine Million der insgesamt mehr als 3,5 Millionen… ... Read More
US Defense Department to Develop Blockchain Cybersecurity Shield -- 14 Aug 2019 - The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is looking to forge a blockchain cybersecurity shield. In a report published on July 12 titled Digital Modernization Strategy, the DoD outlined several ways to advance the nation’s digital defenses. This includes the integration of cloud and quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and improved communications… ... Read More
DEF CON 2019: Researchers Demo Hacking Google Home -- 09 Aug 2019 - Researchers show how they hacked Google Home smart speakers using the Megellan vulnerability. LAS VEGAS – The Tencent Blade Team of researchers demonstrated several ways they have developed to hack and run remote code on Google Home smart speakers. The hacks center around what is known as a Magellan vulnerability,… ... Read More
Black Hat USA 2019: Researchers Bypass Apple FaceID Using Biometrics ‘Achilles Heel’ -- 09 Aug 2019 - “X-Glasses” made by Tencent researchers to bypass FaceID biometrics detection Researchers were able to bypass Apple’s FaceID using a pair of glasses with tape on the lenses. LAS VEGAS – Vulnerabilities have been uncovered in the authentication process of biometrics technology that could allow bad actors to bypass various facial… ... Read More
Global Top 10 best cities to live and work in: 3 of those are in Germany -- 08 Aug 2019 - von Frauke Suhr Gleich drei Städte in Deutschland zählen zu den Top zehn der lebenswertesten Städten der Welt. - In einem aktuellen Ranking hat das Unternehmen Kisi Metropolen weltweit nach der besten Work-Life-Balance bewertet. Zu den Faktoren zählten sowohl harte Daten wie die Arbeitslosenquote, die Anzahl der wöchentlichen Arbeitsstunden, die… ... Read More
BMVg: Ministerium zahlte 155 Millionen Euro für Berater im 1. HJ 2019 -- 08 Aug 2019 - Das Verteidigungsministerium gibt offenkundig von allen Ministerien am meisten Geld für externe Berater aus. Donnerstag, 08. August 2019 Berater für Verteidigungsressort Ministerium zahlte 155 Millionen Euro Seit mehreren Tagen ist bekannt, dass 13 Ministerien im ersten Halbjahr insgesamt 178 Millionen Euro für externe Beratungen ausgegeben haben. Darin ist das Budget… ... Read More
Cyber Warfare: UK Army Deploys New ‘Social Media Warfare’ Division To Fight Russia -- 02 Aug 2019 - by Zak Doffman Forbes Contributor Cybersecurity - I write about security and surveillance (LinkedIn). "We need to develop our asymmetric edge and bring focus to the orchestration of intelligence, information operations, cyber, electronic warfare and unconventional warfare,” Lieutenant General Ivan Jones, the commander of Britain's field army, said as he… ... Read More
The Cyber Kill Chain is dead. Long live the Cognitive Attack Loop. -- 01 Aug 2019 - Cyber Kill Chain Reimagined: Industry Veteran Proposes "Cognitive Attack Loop" The Cyber Kill Chain is dead. Long live the Cognitive Attack Loop. This is the thesis of Tom Kellermann's (Chief Security Officer at Carbon Black and former cyber commissioner for President Obama) new paper, 'Cognitions of a Cybercriminal'. The problem… ... Read More
Former AWS Engineer Arrested as Capital One Admits Massive 100m Data Breach -- 31 Jul 2019 - More than 100 million customers have had their data compromised by a hacker after a cloud misconfiguration at Capital One. A massive breach of Capital One customer data has hit more than 100 million people in the U.S. and 6 million in Canada. Thanks to a cloud misconfiguration, a hacker… ... Read More
Buying a Linux-ready laptop made easy by Tuxedo Germany -- 30 Jul 2019 - Tuxedo makes it easy to buy an out-of-the-box "penguin-ready" laptop. 19 Jul 2019 - by Ricardo Berlass - OpenSource.com Recently, I bought and started using a Tuxedo Book BC1507, a Linux laptop computer. Ten years ago, if someone had told me that, by the end of the decade, I could… ... Read More
Mozilla’s DNS-over-HTTPS makes surfing safer, and improves performance -- 06 Jul 2019 - Internet group brands Mozilla ‘internet villain’ for supporting DNS privacy feature by Zack Whittaker An industry group of internet service providers has branded Firefox browser maker Mozilla an “internet villain” for supporting a DNS security standard. The U.K.’s Internet Services Providers’ Association (ISPA), the trade group for U.K. internet service… ... Read More
Agentur für Cyberwaffen (ADIC): SPD bremst von der Leyens Prestigeprojekt aus -- 06 Jul 2019 - Freitag, 05. Juli 2019 - von Thomas Schmoll Von der Leyens Berateraffäre "Versagen befördert die Karriere" Von der Leyen will nach Brüssel, doch ihre Vergangenheit könnte sie einholen. Viele Mitglieder im Untersuchungsausschuss zur Berateraffäre beharren auf einer Aussage: "Schließlich soll die europäische Öffentlichkeit erleben, wen die Kanzlerin nach Brüssel geschickt… ... Read More
Berlin Ecosystem Launch Report: the most complete and detailed picture of Berlin’s tech ecosystem -- 05 Jul 2019 - Overview: Overview of Berlin’s startup landscape Update on Berlin’s unicorns and future unicorns Update on investment: is Berlin keeping up with Europe? Local PDF copy: https://www.bgp4.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Berlin-Launch-2019-FINAL.pdf Original web PDF copy: https://blog.dealroom.co/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Berlin-Launch-2019-FINAL.pdf       ... Read More
‘Jetson’ is a Pentagon laser that can identify people by heartbeat -- 01 Jul 2019 - Lookin' for a heartbeat... Forward-looking: Biometrics is advancing and evolving at a rapid rate. It seems like just yesterday we were unlocking our phones with our fingerprint — now it’s our face. What’s it going to be tomorrow — our heartbeat? Well, maybe. MIT Technology Review reports that the Pentagon now… ... Read More
Der chinesisch-amerikanische Anteil am weltweiten Handel beträgt nur 3,1 Prozent -- 28 Jun 2019 - Fünf Gründe sprechen dagegen, dass Trump und sein Handelskrieg die Welt erschüttern werden: ► Erstens: China und Amerika sind zwar die größten Wirtschaftsmächte der Gegenwart. Aber beide produzieren im Wesentlichen für ihre riesigen Binnenmärkte. Hier gibt es keine Zölle und daher auch keinen Zollkrieg. ► Zweitens: Der chinesisch-amerikanische Anteil am… ... Read More
Mobile Apps für Apple sind lukrativer -- 25 Jun 2019 - Android dominiert den Smartphone-Markt und ist auch darüber hinaus das mit Abstand am weitesten verbreitete mobile Betriebssystem. Trotzdem ist Apple für App Publisher immer noch die deutlich lukrativere Adresse, wie ein aktueller Report von Sensor Tower zeigt. Demnach erzielten die 100 größten iOS-App-Publisher im ersten Quartal 2019 durchschnittlich 84 Millionen… ... Read More
Facebook’s Libra: “It would make the early 20th century Morgans or Rockefellers seem downright competitive.” -- 25 Jun 2019 - Standard Oil depicted as an Octopus in a 1904 political cartoon (image via Wikimedia Commons). Facebook’s Libra Cryptocurrency: Bad for Privacy, Bad for Competition Author Scott A. Shay is co-founder and chairman of Signature Bank of New York and also the author of "In Good Faith: Questioning Religion and Atheism"… ... Read More
Der Preis (in $$) der persönlichen Daten in USA -- 20 Jun 2019 - Daten gegen kostenlose Nutzung. Das ist kurz zusammengefasst der Deal auf den sich NutzerInnen sozialer Netzwerke einlassen. Laut einer Umfrage von NBC News/Wall Street Journal aus dem März 2019 finden 74 Prozent der US-Amerikaner, dass das kein fairer Handel ist. Auch in Deutschland dürfte eine entsprechende Umfrage ähnlich ausfallen. Aber… ... Read More
Polizei will bei Alexa mithören -- 05 Jun 2019 - BERLINER KURIER, Mittwoch, 5. Juni 2019     ... Read More
No Patch: Hackers Can Bypass Windows Lockscreen on Remote Desktop Sessions -- 05 Jun 2019 - The Network Level Authentication (NLA) feature of Windows Remote Desktop Services (RDS) can allow a hacker to bypass the lockscreen on remote sessions, and there is no patch from Microsoft, the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University warned on Tuesday. NLA provides better protection for Remote Desktop (RD) sessions… ... Read More
There is no cloud – it’s just someone else’s computer. -- 30 May 2019 - P.S. you can get the sticker here: https://www.redbubble.com/de/people/tamagothings/works/28066602-there-is-no-cloud?p=sticker 2,67 € for small 7,43 € for medium 11,13 € for large size (prices include Euro VAT -- I am not associated with sticker sales, just saving you the search)   People often argue "you get the elasticity" and the "extra bandwidth at spikes", and… ... Read More
ExoWarfare done lousy: Facebook löscht Milliarden Fake Accounts -- 24 May 2019 - (if you can identify them - its done badly)   24 MAY 2019 2,4 Milliarden monatlich aktive Nutzer hat Facebook im Geschäftsbericht für das erste Quartal 2019 gemeldet. Im selben Zeitraum löschte das Unternehmen 2,2 Milliarden Fake-Accounts. Das geht aus dem gestern veröffentlichten Community Standards Enforcement Report hervor. Und dabei… ... Read More
“Bestmixer.io” – EU Authorities Shut Down Bitcoin Transaction Mixer -- 23 May 2019 - 22 MAY 2019 The Dutch Financial Criminal Investigative Service has seized the website of a bitcoin transaction mixer in a crackdown involving Europol and other authorities. Calling it the the “first law enforcement action of its kind against such a cryptocurrency mixer service,” Europol said in a statement Wednesday that… ... Read More
USMC: Marines want their phones and tablets to handle classified data -- 23 May 2019 - The Marine Common Handheld program will provide secure mobile computing at the tactical edge. (Lance Cpl. Harrison C. Rakhshani/Marine Corps)   The Marine Corps has selected several companies to bid on task orders that will allow warfighters to transmit secure on-the-move command-and-control and situational awareness data, including sending classified information… ... Read More
The Gravity of Space-X’s 12,000 Satellites in 3 Layers -- 22 May 2019 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho36aufooAU   24 MAY 2019 Backgrounder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTDwXooAvgk   Blast-Off: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-tC7njLArs   Deployed:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KujiMxKomZ0   Spotted: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytUygPqjXEc   Landing of the rocket (3rd use) afterwards: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2wbTRw3zUo       ... Read More
Reality Mining: How Mass Surveillance Works in Xinjiang, China -- 21 May 2019 - (Articles below updated last: 05 JUN 2019) ‘Reverse Engineering’ Police App Reveals Profiling and Monitoring Strategies (Synapsis; full report further below) New York, May 2, 2019 Chinese authorities are using a mobile app to carry out illegal mass surveillance and arbitrary detention of Muslims in China’s western Xinjiang region. The… ... Read More
Dependency on Centralized Services: Massive Outage at SalesForce.com -- 21 May 2019 - Salesforce Woes Linger as Admins Clean Up After Service Outage An accidental permissions snafu caused a massive outage for all Salesforce customers that continues to affect some businesses. After a massive service outage on Friday, software-as-a-service giant Salesforce restored partial access to its affected customers over the weekend, while admins… ... Read More
Power Point presentations should be forbidden at meetings – tell a story instead -- 17 May 2019 - ethos, logos, and pathos the three key elements to persuade Jeff Bezos is prohibited from using Power Point presentations at meetings, as he considers them a waste of time. However, the alternative method by which he has replaced them is most useful and effective. Do you want to know what… ... Read More
Intel MDS Vulnerabilities: ZombieLoad, RIDL (Rogue In-Flight Data Load), Fallout, and Store-to-Leak Forwarding – affect almost every Intel chip since 2011 -- 15 May 2019 - Tech giants have published security advisories and blog posts in response to the Microarchitectural Data Sampling (MDS) vulnerabilities affecting most Intel processors made in the last decade. Remedy? The microcode updates, like previous patches, would have an impact on processor performance. The vulnerabilities are related to speculative execution and they… ... Read More
North Korea: Bitten by Bitcoin Bug – New Dimension Lazarus Hacking -- 09 May 2019 - A report from ProofPoint by Darien Huss   Executive Summary With activity dating at least to 2009, the Lazarus Group has consistently ranked among the most disruptive, successful, and far-reaching state-sponsored actors. Law enforcement agencies suspect that the group has amassed nearly $100 million worth of cryptocurrencies based on their… ... Read More
Large-Scale “BOLD5000” MRI Dataset Bridges Human Vision And Machine Learning -- 09 May 2019 - Improving computer vision was an important part of the BOLD5000 project from its onset. Senior author Elissa Aminoff, then a post-doctoral fellow in CMU’s Psychology Department and now an assistant professor of psychology at Fordham, initiated this research direction with co-author Abhinav Gupta, an associate professor in the Robotics Institute.… ... Read More
Alibaba-backed, Chinese Gov-supporting facial recognition AI startup Megvii raises $750 million -- 09 May 2019 - One of China’s most ambitious artificial intelligence startups, Megvii, more commonly known for its facial recognition brand Face++, announced Wednesday that it has raised $750 million in a Series E funding round. Founded by three graduates from the prestigious Tsinghua University in China, the eight-year-old company specializes in applying its… ... Read More
Russia-linked Threat Group Turla Uses Sophisticated Backdoor ‘LightNeuron’ to Hijack Exchange Mail Servers -- 07 May 2019 - The Russia-linked threat group known as Turla has been using a sophisticated backdoor to hijack Microsoft Exchange mail servers, ESET reported on Tuesday. The malware, dubbed LightNeuron, allows the attackers to read and modify any email passing through the compromised mail server, create and send new emails, and block emails… ... Read More
Chinese Hackers Used NSA Tool a Year Before Shadow Brokers Leak -- 07 May 2019 - A Chinese threat actor was spotted using a tool attributed to the NSA-linked Equation Group more than one year prior to it being leaked by the mysterious Shadow Brokers, Symantec revealed on Monday. The Chinese cyber espionage group is tracked as Buckeye, APT3, UPS Team, Gothic Panda, and TG-0110, and… ... Read More
New report explains how China thinks about information warfare -- 07 May 2019 - The Chinese military has established a Network Systems Department, responsible for information warfare.   The Department of Defense’s annual report on China’s military and security developments provides new details about how China’s military organizes its information warfare enterprise, an area that has been of particular interest to U.S. military leaders.… ... Read More
A World First: Israel Retaliates To A Cyber-Attack With Immediate Physical Action – Wipes Out Hamas Cyber HQ (Incl Personnel) -- 06 May 2019 - GAZA, PALESTINE - 2019/05/05: Smoke rising after an Israeli air raid on homes in Gaza City during the conflict between the Palestinians and the Israeli army that began two days ago.   The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has launched a physical attack on Hamas in immediate response to an alleged… ... Read More
Summary: US Feds, Europol, and German BKA Bust Up Dark Web “Wall Street Market” -- 06 May 2019 - The now-defunct Wall Street Market (WSM). Image: Dark Web Reviews. Criminal complaint and arrest warrants for: TIBO LOUSEE, 22, from Kleve, also known as (“aka”) “coder420,” aka “codexx420” JONATHAN KALLA, 31, from Bad Vilbel, aka “Kronos” KLAUS-MARTIN FROST, 29, from Stuttgart, aka “TheOne,” aka “The_One,” aka “dudebuy” (collectively known as… ... Read More
[not classified] New documents provide details on NSA relationship with Cyber Command -- 06 May 2019 - Documents obtained via FOIA provide some details regarding how involved NSA was with the build out of Cyber Command's cyber force. (Patrick Semansky/AP) The close-knit relationship between the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command is well known in the defense community, but documents from a series of Freedom of… ... Read More
Hacker Finds He Can Remotely Kill Car Engines After Breaking Into GPS Tracking Apps -- 03 May 2019 - “I can absolutely make a big traffic problem all over the world,” the hacker said. A hacker broke into thousands of accounts belonging to users of two GPS tracker apps, giving him the ability to monitor the locations of tens of thousands of vehicles and even turn off the engines… ... Read More
11.177 DDoS-Attacken im DACH Raum im 1. Quartal 2019 – 3,8 Gbps Durchschnitt -- 02 May 2019 - 11.177 registrierte und abgewehrte DDoS-Attacken auf Webseiten und Server in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz (DACH), die durch Link11 geschützt sind, hat das gleichnamige Unternehmen im ersten Quartal 2019 gezählt. Aber nicht allein die Anzahl der Attacken bereitet den Analysten Sorge, sondern auch die zunehmende Bandbreite und Komplexität der Angriffe.… ... Read More
“Amazing” AI Generates Entire Bodies of People Who Don’t Exist -- 01 May 2019 - (I am amused ... 11 years after the fact it hits the mainstream :yahoo: ) The algorithm whips up photorealistic models and outfits from scratch. Embodied AI A new deep learning algorithm can generate high-resolution, photorealistic images of people — faces, hair, outfits, and all — from scratch. The AI-generated… ... Read More
Malware Infests Popular Pirate Streaming Hardware -- 30 Apr 2019 - Seems hard to feel bad for buyers & users of such devices ... Hardware that supports pirated video streaming content comes packed with malware. You get what you pay for when you pirate content. That’s the takeaway from the latest report by Digital Citizens Alliance. It found that pirating hardware,… ... Read More
Qualcomm Critical Flaw Exposes Private Keys For Android Devices -- 26 Apr 2019 - A side-channel attack in Qualcomm technology, which is used by most modern Android devices, could allow an attacker to snatch private keys. Researchers have uncovered a side-channel attack that enables a bad actor to extract sensitive data from Qualcomm’s secure keystore.  The critical flaw impacts most modern Android devices that… ... Read More
U.S. citizens realize that facial recognition is present in real-life applications without consent -- 24 Apr 2019 - Facial Recognition is Here: But Are We Ready? As U.S. citizens realize that facial recognition is present in real-life applications, more questions are arising about consent, how data is shared – and what regulation exists. When MacKenzie Fegan was boarding her morning flight to Mexico City last Wednesday, she noticed… ... Read More
Tax Burden For Employees Around The World -- 18 Apr 2019 - Steuern und Abgaben in Deutschland besonders hoch Deutsche alleinstehende Arbeitnehmer ohne Kinder tragen im OECD-Vergleich die zweitgrößte Steuer- und Abgabenlast. 39,7 Prozent des Brutto-Einkommens kommen nicht bei den Arbeitnehmern an. Mehr ist es mit 39,8 Prozent nur in Belgien, wie die Grafik von Statista zeigt. Das geht aus einem jährlich… ... Read More
Bad Bots Account for a Fifth of All Web Traffic, FinServ Hit the Worst -- 18 Apr 2019 - The financial services industry sees nearly half of all website traffic coming from malicious bots. About a fifth of all web traffic (20.4 percent) comes from bad bots, which continue to attack daily in automated offensives on websites, mobile apps and APIs. That’s worse for some verticals, like the banking… ... Read More
State-Sponsored DNS Hijacking Infiltrates 40 Firms Globally -- 18 Apr 2019 - An ongoing campaign, active since 2017, has been stealing credentials via global DNS hijacking attacks. A newly-discovered state-sponsored campaign is targeting national security organizations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) – and elsewhere – with domain name system (DNS) hijacking attacks, used to scoop up credentials. The campaign,… ... Read More
So viel Speicherplatz verbraucht das Zettabyte-Zeitalter -- 17 Apr 2019 - 33 Zettabytes Daten hat die Menschheit 2018 generiert. Hinter dieser unscheinbaren Zahl verbirgt sich eine kaum vorstellbare Datenmenge. Ein Zettabyte sind 1.000.000.000.000.000 Megabyte. Damit ließen sich Beispielsweise 660 Milliarden Standard-Blu-rays füllen oder 33 Millionen menschliche Gehirne. Und damit steht die Menschheit datenvolumentechnisch noch ziemlich am Anfang, wie ein Blick in… ... Read More
Could artificial intelligence save the Pentagon $15 billion a year? -- 17 Apr 2019 - U.S. Air Force aircraft maintainers perform post-flight maintenance on an E-3 Sentry AWACS. (Senior Master Sgt. Roger Parsons/U.S. Air National Guard) "The average aircraft in the US Air Force is about 28 years old and on any given day about 30 percent of the aircraft cannot deploy. The service wants… ... Read More
Where Hackers Attack – Q4 2018 -- 17 Apr 2019 - 2016 zielten laut Kaspersky nur 16 Prozent aller Cyberattacken auf Microsoft Office. Zwei Jahre später hat sich der Anteil der Angriffe auf 70 Prozent vervielfacht. Verantwortlich für den Anstieg sollen eine Vielzahl sogenannter Zero Day Exploits sein. Das sind Sicherheitslücken, die am selben Tag erfolgen, an dem die hierbei ausgenutzte… ... Read More
GAFA: Tech-Riesen erhöhen das Lobby-Budget (in USA) -- 15 Apr 2019 - 54,7 Millionen US-Dollar haben Google, Amazon, Facebook und Apple (GAFA) zusammengenommen 2018 für Lobbyarbeit in den USA ausgegeben - das entspricht einer Steigerung von rund elf Prozent gegenüber dem Vorjahr. Über den mit Abstand größten Lobbyetat verfügt mit 21,2 Millionen US-Dollar Google. Dagegen hat Apple nur 6,6 Millionen US-Dollar in… ... Read More
Small stickers on the ground trick Tesla autopilot into steering into opposing traffic lane -- 04 Apr 2019 - Researchers from Tencent Keen Security Lab have published a report detailing their successful attacks on Tesla firmware, including remote control over the steering, and an adversarial example attack on the autopilot that confuses the car into driving into the oncoming traffic lane. The researchers used an attack chain that they… ... Read More
Research: Deanonymization of apps on an android mobile device running Tor -- 04 Apr 2019 - Tor is by far the most popular anonymity communication network, boasting over two million daily users from all parts of the globe. In a desktop setting, Tor is namely used to preserve anonymity while browsing the internet. Moreover, Tor may be used to protect any form of TCP based network… ... Read More