Author Archives: Sean Lyngaas

No decisions yet on any changes to TikTok or Huawei cases, White House says

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The Biden administration is still reviewing how it will approach any national security challenges posed by Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok and telecommunications provider Huawei, the White House said Monday. “We need a comprehensive strategy … and a more systematic approach that actually addresses the full range of these issues,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said of China-related technology and national security concerns that intensified during the Trump administration. That means “play[ing] a better defense” when it comes to preventing alleged Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property, she said. President Joe Biden is “firmly committed to making sure that Chinese companies cannot misappropriate and misuse American data,” Psaki added. She was short on specifics, however, citing an “ongoing review” by the new administration of a range of China-related technology and national security issues. The press secretary did not address, for example, whether the Biden administration will continue an executive order […]

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Dominion files $1.3 billion defamation suit against Giuliani over election security claims

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Voting equipment maker Dominion Voting Systems on Monday sued former President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, for $1.3 billion for spreading election-related conspiracy theories that the vendor says amount to defamation.   It’s the latest in a series of high-value lawsuits that Dominion has leveled at Trump allies who have promoted false conspiracy theories about the voting machine vendor flipping votes for Joe Biden during the 2020 election. Dominion employees have received a barrage of death threats, and the company says it has “suffered unprecedented and irreparable harm,” because of conspiracy theories stoked by Giuliani, the lawyer Sidney Powell and other pro-Trump public figures. “Dominion brings this action to set the record straight…and to stand up for itself, its employees, and the electoral process,” reads the suit filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District Columbia. It follows a $1.3 billion defamation suit that Dominion filed against […]

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White House plans to select Rob Silvers, a Mayorkas ally, to lead DHS’s cyber outfit

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The Biden administration plans to select Rob Silvers, a lawyer and former Department of Homeland Security official, to run the federal agency in charge of election security and stopping hacking threats to government networks, according to two people familiar with the matter. The choice of Silvers, who is close with Homeland Security secretary nominee Alejandro Mayorkas, to lead DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency signals the new administration’s intent to strengthen CISA’s role in cyber-defense. Biden advisers have proposed hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding for the two-year-old agency, and providing more security tools to defend civilian-government networks. Silvers’ selection won’t be official until all of the requisite paperwork is complete, people familiar with the process said. If confirmed by the Senate, Silvers would assume the position previously held by Christopher Krebs, who former President Donald Trump fired via Twitter for declaring the 2020 election was secure. CISA […]

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Biden orders US intelligence review of SolarWinds hack

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President Joe Biden has ordered U.S. intelligence agencies to provide him with an assessment of a suspected Russian hacking operation that breached multiple U.S. federal agencies and exposed glaring weaknesses in U.S. cyber-defenses, the White House said Thursday. The move highlights how responding to the sophisticated spying operation, which has exploited software made by federal contractor SolarWinds, will shape the early days of Biden’s administration. It was not immediately clear what the intelligence review would entail, but Biden has vowed to get a full understanding of the computer intrusions and their impact. “Even as we work with Russia to advance U.S. interests, so, too, we work to hold Russia to account for its reckless and adversarial actions,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. Moscow has denied involvement in the hacking campaign. Biden has also tasked intelligence agencies with reviewing the extent of Russian interference in the 2020 election, […]

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Microsoft details how SolarWinds hackers hid their espionage

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Attackers behind an espionage campaign that exploited software built by the federal contractor SolarWinds separated their most prized hacking tool from other malicious code on victim networks to avoid detection, Microsoft said Wednesday. The findings make clear that, while the hackers have relied on a variety of tools in their spying, the tampered SolarWinds software functioned as the cornerstone of an operation that Microsoft described as “one of the most sophisticated and protracted” of the decade. Multiple U.S. federal agencies focused on national security have been breached in the campaign, which U.S. officials have linked to Russia. The latest Microsoft research comes as influential security firms continue to come forward as victims of the hacking campaign. Malwarebytes said Tuesday that the same hacking group had apparently breached some of the firm’s internal emails by abusing access to Microsoft Office 365 and Azure software. Malwarebytes said it doesn’t use SolarWinds software, […]

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Biden’s Cabinet picks face cyber questions from Congress as SolarWinds looms large

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President-elect Joe Biden’s choices to take on key cabinet roles outlined their approaches to pressing cybersecurity issues facing the new administration during Senate confirmation hearings on Tuesday. A suspected Russian hacking operation that has exposed frailties in federal defenses, as well as conspiracy theories that inspired the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol, loomed large at the hearings, which came a day before Biden’s inauguration. Of note: Biden’s picks for Homeland Security chief and Director of National Intelligence said they will get a clearer picture of the SolarWinds hacking campaign after getting classified briefings on the matter. Here are the highlights from Tuesday’s confirmation hearings. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security nominee Immigration issues dominated the discussion between Alejandro Mayorkas, Biden’s nominee for DHS chief, and Senate lawmakers. The inability of DHS and other federal departments to stop alleged Russian hacker from exploiting software built by the federal contractor SolarWinds, […]

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The big cyber issues Joe Biden will face his first day in office

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Joe Biden has his work cut out for him. Biden will be sworn into office on Jan. 20 with a long list of challenges ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to re-considering America’s place on the world stage. There’s also the fallout from a far-reaching hacking campaign that the U.S. has suggested is the work of the Russian government. Yet the next American president has also chosen top advisers, including his picks to lead the Department of Homeland Security and the CIA, who appear to view digital security as an integral part of policymaking. Their thinking on these issues, and whether they succeed or fail in the face of deep-seated challenges to internet security, could affect the trajectory of Biden’s presidency. Here’s a closer look at three of the more pressing cybersecurity challenges the administration will encounter. Cleaning up the SolarWinds mess, then getting proactive Biden has vowed to get to […]

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Symantec connects another hacking tool to SolarWinds breach

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Private sector analysts uncovered new hacking tools thought to be used in a suspected Russian spying operation in the latest example of how, as the investigation into the SolarWinds breach continues, the plot only thickens. Security firm Symantec on Tuesday said it had found previously undocumented malicious code that the attackers used to move through victim networks and then transmit additional malware onto specific computers. The attackers installed the malicious code, dubbed Raindrop, on a handful of carefully chosen computers in an effort to spy on them, according to the latest findings. The discovery underscores the range of tools the accused hackers had at their disposal — some to gain access to computer networks, others to sift through data — in a historic campaign that has infiltrated multiple U.S. federal agencies and consumed investigators at top security firms. U.S. federal investigators have said the hacking campaign is “likely Russian in origin.” Moscow […]

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Russia, Iran and China exploit Capitol Hill riot to push information operations, US intel concludes

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As America reels from the deadly Capitol Hill insurrection, Russia, Iran and China are using their state media mouthpieces to exploit U.S. divisions and further their interests ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration, according to a new U.S. intelligence analysis obtained by CyberScoop. The Jan. 14 intelligence memo produced by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security shows how U.S. adversaries wasted no time in amplifying scenes from the pro-Trump mob’s siege of the Capitol building. Russian state media has harped on the Jan. 6 riot’s “violent and chaotic nature,” while focusing on the second impeachment of President Donald Trump, according to the memo. One Russian “proxy” suggested that “Antifa,” a loose collection of left-wing activists, was responsible for the storming of the Capitol, the intelligence memo said. Some Republican lawmakers also have mentioned that baseless conspiracy theory. Iranian state media has zeroed in on calls for Trump’s removal from office […]

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Capitol Hill riot crackdown leaves extremists searching for more secure messaging platforms, US intel memo says

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A law enforcement crackdown on domestic terrorists following the Capitol Hill riot will likely lead some violent extremists to turn to communications platforms they perceive to be more secure to discuss their activities, according to a U.S. intelligence bulletin obtained by CyberScoop. The arrests of Jan. 6 rioters could deter some domestic violent extremists (DVEs), but “lead others to adjust their tactics and to lessen law enforcement scrutiny,” says the Jan. 13 memo from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center. The document is marked “For Official Use Only” and was distributed to state and local law enforcement agencies. The bulletin shows how law enforcement officials are looking to track any efforts by far-right extremists to cloak their communications on encrypted platforms following the insurrection. Some of the would-be usurpers have reportedly turned to encrypted messaging platforms Telegram and Signal after crackdowns on other media. Twitter […]

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