Author Archives: Chris Bing

Opsec fail allows researchers to track Bangladesh Bank hack to North Korea

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A computer in North Korea was used to launch one of the most high profile cyberattacks in recent memory, enabling hackers to break into the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and steal $81 million from Bangladesh Bank, according to new research conducted by Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab. Kaspersky published original details about the incident Monday during the first day of a security conference hosted by the company on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. An apparent and rare operational security mistake made by the advanced hacking group, known as Lazarus Group, allowed researcher to spot a connection that existed between a compromised European server — used by the group to launch its attacks — and an internet address owned by North Korea’s only internet service provider. The hackers reportedly failed to scrub log files on the European server, leaving a trail of digital bread crumbs back to the foreign computer. […]

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WikiLeaks is probably exaggerating what’s in its latest CIA leak

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WikiLeaks’ latest disclosure of secret CIA hacking capabilities, published March 31 as part of a package of documents dubbed “Marble,” describes how the spy agency obfuscates certain digital espionage techniques. The transparency organization is overselling what’s actually in the leaked computer code, experts say. The documents show that some hacking tools used by the CIA may have been constructed with code that contains foreign languages. It’s not uncommon nor out of scope for an intelligence service to design malware that can avoid detection, or to trick a target into believing a file is legitimate, according to Jake Williams, founder of Rendition InfoSec. “The news here is that the [CIA] does string obfuscation to keep their malware hidden from detection,” Williams said, “meaning they aren’t wasting your tax dollars.” The transparency organization led by Julian Assange has described the Marble library as “the digital equivalent of a specialized CIA tool to place covers over […]

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Security firms sometimes wreck FBI investigations. Here’s how.

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Publishing research about hackers can boost a cybersecurity firm’s reputation but muddle the hard work of federal law enforcement agencies — and it appears that the problem is likely to get worse. Some threat intelligence reports from cybersecurity companies are thorough enough (and public enough) that they can completely disrupt government-led cyber investigations, say industry experts, former law enforcement and intelligence officials. The issue comes up at least “every few months,” said James Trainor, a former assistant director for the FBI’s Cyber Division. Trainor and other officials who spoke to CyberScoop declined to name specific companies or incidents, but they agree that the potential for trouble is only increasing. “The industry isn’t privy to classified ops or government investigations, so this happens,” explained Synack co-founder and former NSA analyst Mark Kuhr. “They are asked to hold information sometimes if the government catches wind, but a lot of times the government simply doesn’t know or firms […]

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Sen. Wyden calls out Pentagon for not adopting email encryption technology

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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wants to know why the Defense Information Systems Agency has failed to implement a basic encryption technology that would otherwise protect employees’ emails from being intercepted by hackers and foreign intelligence agencies, according to a recent letter written sent to DISA Director Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn. Wyden is requesting information concerning why DISA has lagged behind the vast majority of U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA and NSA, in adopting a widely used encryption technology known as STARTTLS to protect unclassified email systems. STARTTLS adds a layer of web encryption over the email protocol SMTP. DISA is responsible for providing email services to the Coast Guard, Army, Navy and Marines. An agency spokesperson confirmed that DISA received Wyden’s letter. While the technology is far from a cure-all against hackers that seek to spy on a target, the technology can help ensure the confidentiality of emails that […]

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Sen. Wyden calls out Pentagon for not adopting email encryption technology

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Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., wants to know why the Defense Information Systems Agency has failed to implement a basic encryption technology that would otherwise protect employees’ emails from being intercepted by hackers and foreign intelligence agencies, according to a recent letter written sent to DISA Director Lt. Gen. Alan Lynn. Wyden is requesting information concerning why DISA has lagged behind the vast majority of U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA and NSA, in adopting a widely used encryption technology known as STARTTLS to protect unclassified email systems. STARTTLS adds a layer of web encryption over the email protocol SMTP. DISA is responsible for providing email services to the Coast Guard, Army, Navy and Marines. An agency spokesperson confirmed that DISA received Wyden’s letter. While the technology is far from a cure-all against hackers that seek to spy on a target, the technology can help ensure the confidentiality of emails that […]

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After 2015 breach, OPM overpaid for identify theft protections, report finds

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The Office of Personnel Management appears to be overpaying for an identity theft insurance program it rolled out to protect more than 20 million current and former U.S. government employees whose personal information was exposed in the agency’s massive 2015 data breach, a government watchdog said. A newly released report by the Government Accountability Office notes that OPM is providing coverage at a level that is “likely unnecessary” because “claims paid rarely exceed a few thousand dollars.” Exasperating costs further is also the fact that the government know how many affected individuals might have signed up for two different government identify theft monitoring programs that essentially offer the same thing. Shortly after the breach was first publicly acknowledged, OPM contracted two firms, Winvale Group and ID Experts, to protect government employees that had their personal information exposed in the personnel records breach and separate breach of background investigation data. “OPM has estimated […]

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NSA technical director: Sharing hacker information isn’t enough, we need a shared response

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The nature of cyberthreats aimed at both the U.S. government and private American companies calls for a dramatic shift in how the larger cybersecurity community shares information about hackers and collectively responds to attacks, said Neal Ziring, technical director for the NSA’s Capabilities Directorate. While raising the awareness of what different hackers and foreign intelligence agencies are doing in cyberspace remains essential, Ziring said, it’s simply not enough based on the level of danger and activities occurring today. The next and necessary step is the development of a shared, public-private framework in the U.S. that can roll out software patches and other system updates at “machine speed” to individual researchers, industry and the government as soon as new intelligence become available, according to Ziring and Thomas Donahue, director of research at the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. They both spoke Thursday at a cybersecurity conference in D.C. “The big thing for […]

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NSA technical director: Sharing hacker information isn’t enough, we need a shared response

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The nature of cyberthreats aimed at both the U.S. government and private American companies calls for a dramatic shift in how the larger cybersecurity community shares information about hackers and collectively responds to attacks, said Neal Ziring, technical director for the NSA’s Capabilities Directorate. While raising the awareness of what different hackers and foreign intelligence agencies are doing in cyberspace remains essential, Ziring said, it’s simply not enough based on the level of danger and activities occurring today. The next and necessary step is the development of a shared, public-private framework in the U.S. that can roll out software patches and other system updates at “machine speed” to individual researchers, industry and the government as soon as new intelligence become available, according to Ziring and Thomas Donahue, director of research at the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center. They both spoke Thursday at a cybersecurity conference in D.C. “The big thing for […]

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Electric power industry puts cybersecurity to forefront with Trump, lawmakers

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Electric power industry executives are pushing to have their cybersecurity concerns heard by Congress and the Trump administration. A Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday — convened to discuss how the government can better coordinate with the private sector on power grid security, incident response and other cyber threat information sharing efforts — is the latest example for how the industry is reaching out to Washington. Last week, electric power company and trade group representatives also met with top administration officials, including Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Jeanette Manfra, the acting deputy undersecretary for the Homeland Security Department’s cyber division, Politico first reported. The group spoke about relevant, shared security goals and priorities, and where the government can offer assistance. Energy companies face substantial risks in cyberspace, experts say, and threats can directly affect physical systems and human life. John DiStasio, President of the Large Public Power Council, told lawmakers Tuesday that because […]

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Electric power industry puts cybersecurity to forefront with Trump, lawmakers

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Electric power industry executives are pushing to have their cybersecurity concerns heard by Congress and the Trump administration. A Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Tuesday — convened to discuss how the government can better coordinate with the private sector on power grid security, incident response and other cyber threat information sharing efforts — is the latest example for how the industry is reaching out to Washington. Last week, electric power company and trade group representatives also met with top administration officials, including Secretary of Energy Rick Perry and Jeanette Manfra, the acting deputy undersecretary for the Homeland Security Department’s cyber division, Politico first reported. The group spoke about relevant, shared security goals and priorities, and where the government can offer assistance. Energy companies face substantial risks in cyberspace, experts say, and threats can directly affect physical systems and human life. John DiStasio, President of the Large Public Power Council, told lawmakers Tuesday that because […]

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