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UN cybercrime proposal could help autocrats stifle free speech, rights group says

Posted on May 5, 2021 by Sean Lyngaas

Human rights advocates are warning that a controversial proposal at the United Nations to counter cybercrime could validate tactics that authoritarian governments around the world have used to criminalize free speech and security research. The Russian and Chinese governments back the notion of establishing a new anti-cybercrime convention, a process that diplomats at the U.N. will begin considering next week. However the wording of the proposal, which calls for curbs on the use of technologies for “criminal purposes,” is vague to the point of potentially enabling further government repression, critics say. A report issued Wednesday by Human Rights Watch, a New York-based advocacy group, details a growing list of so-called cybercrime laws that governments have allegedly used to target dissenters, or infringe on personal privacy. A Pakistani law, for example, enables authorities to block websites used to criticize government officials. In the Philippines, police can collect computer data without a […]

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House green lights new State Department cyber bureau

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Shannon Vavra

The House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday that would carve out a top cyber diplomacy office at the State Department to help the U.S. better influence global cyberspace norms. The so-called Cyber Diplomacy Act would require the State Department to develop a strategy for promoting norms in cyberspace around what behavior is acceptable in cyberspace. The proposal would also create an ambassador role for cyber diplomacy as well as a centralized bureau, the Bureau of International Cyberspace Policy, to push democratic norms in cyberspace and advise the Secretary of State on cyber issues. “In an increasingly connected world, we must have the proper structures in place to promote our values and interests in cyberspace,” Wisconsin Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who co-led the bill’s introduction, said in a statement. Added co-sponsor Jim Langevin, D-R.I.: “As the United States confronts increasingly bold challenges from adversaries in cyberspace, designing and implementing a […]

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US intelligence report warns of increased offensive cyber, disinformation around the world

Posted on April 8, 2021 by Shannon Vavra

Over the course of the next 20 years, nation-states will see a rise in targeted offensive cyber-operations and disinformation in an increasingly “volatile and confrontational” global security landscape, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment. The U.S. intelligence community’s Global Trends report, issued on Thursday, notes many of theses offensive cyber-operations will likely target civilian and military infrastructure. Nation-states will likely increasingly favor tools that allow them to operate below the level of armed conflict in order to avoid the geopolitical and resource costs that come with violence and traditional warfare, the report adds. Countries also will leverage proxies such as hackers or military contractors to disrupt their adversaries, according to the assessment, which is issued by the National Intelligence Council, which reports to the Director of National Intelligence. “Proxies and private companies can reduce the cost of training, equipping, and retaining specialized units and provide manpower for countries with […]

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What gets lost in ‘cyber Pearl Harbor’-style rhetoric

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Shannon Vavra

Over a year into the coronavirus pandemic, more people have become accustomed to doomsday talk. Americans following public officials’ remarks about cybersecurity, though, may have been expecting a kind of digital apocalypse for decades. Phrases like “cyberbombs” and “cyber 9/11” have for years served as rhetorical catchphrases for national security officials trying to amplify their messaging or secure cyber-related funding from Capitol Hill. In 2012, then-Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned the U.S. was under threat from a “cyber Pearl Harbor” that could involve foreign hackers derailing trains carrying lethal chemicals. While the use of dire language might be helpful in generating attention, some former Western intelligence officials now are wondering whether the use of fear-inducing language has had its intended effect. In recent weeks, the U.K. issued its Integrated Defense Review, a strategic national security document which describes how the government might use nuclear weapons in the event that an adversary […]

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New global model needed to dismantle ransomware gangs, experts warn

Posted on March 17, 2021 by Shannon Vavra

Ransomware gangs are making a killing — they’re encrypting data at schools and hospitals around the world at an alarming rate, and they’re raking in hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth doing it, by some counts. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Security experts and former diplomats are in the early stages urging governments to work together to create a different kind of world — one with fewer examples of hackers taking data hostage or knocking organizations offline to demand ransoms or extortion fees, and one in which hackers are held accountable for targeting vulnerable organizations. Government officials increasingly have been working together to tamp down on malicious cyber activity in recent years, as evidenced by a European Union sanctions regime focused on hacking rolled out in the past year, and a 2015 agreement among United Nations members that cyberattacks intended to damage critical infrastructure are off limits. But […]

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Estonia’s diplomacy training aims to shape state behavior in cyberspace

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Shannon Vavra

Diplomats from around the world are convening this week to share ideas about what type of behavior should be allowed in cyberspace, and debate what happens when those rules are broken. The virtual confab, organized by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and designed for seasoned and green diplomats alike, began Tuesday morning to discuss how international law applies in cyberspace and different attack methods diplomats may encounter when confronting cyber incidents, Estonia’s Ambassador at Large for Cyber Diplomacy Heli Tiirmaa-Klaar told CyberScoop in an interview. While the gathering will touch on historical cyber incidents that have rocked the international norms conversation over the years, including the sweeping WannaCry and NotPetya attacks, the focus of the so-called cyber diplomacy school is not on instruction about the technical details of cyber incidents. It’s about how to negotiate and shape behavior of other governments. “This is not technical training,” Tiirma-Klaar said. “What is […]

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

Posted on January 19, 2021 by Sean Lyngaas

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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SolarWinds attack is not ‘espionage as usual,’ Microsoft president says

Posted on December 18, 2020 by Joe Warminsky

The breach of SolarWinds software that allowed widespread espionage on U.S. government agencies and other organizations worldwide is more than just a shocking use of digital spycraft, Microsoft’s top executive said Thursday. The incident “represents an act of recklessness that created a serious technological vulnerability for the United States and the world,” writes the company’s president, Brad Smith, in a blog post. “In effect, this is not just an attack on specific targets, but on the trust and reliability of the world’s critical infrastructure in order to advance one nation’s intelligence agency.” The breach, which multiple U.S. sources have pinned on Russian intelligence, “is not ‘espionage as usual,’ even in the digital age,” Smith writes. In an addendum to the blog post, Microsoft said that it found no indications that its own software systems were used to attack others, but it did find “malicious SolarWinds binaries in our environment, which […]

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German investigators treating ransomware attack as negligent homicide, reports say

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Sean Lyngaas

German prosecutors last week opened a homicide investigation into a deadly ransomware incident on a university hospital, according to multiple German media reports. If confirmed, it would be the first documented case of a death stemming, directly or indirectly, from a cyberattack, analysts say. Christoph Hebbecker, a cybercrime prosecutor in the German city of Cologne, said Friday that his office had opened an investigation into the ransomware attack as a “negligent homicide,” the Germany news agency DPA reported. The investigation centers around a ransomware infection that hobbled the IT systems of the University of Duesseldorf’s main hospital earlier this month. The disruption forced a critically ill patient to be redirected to a hospital 20 miles away. The patient later died, according to German media reports. Hebbecker’s spokesperson did not return a request for comment on Monday. The incident highlights the starkly different risks facing organizations with vulnerable software. For some, […]

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