Collaborate Disseminate
Reality Leigh Winner, the NSA contractor who leaked sensitive information to the Intercept last year, was sentenced to 63 months in prison last week along with three years of supervised release. Continue reading NSA leaker Reality Winner gets 63 months in jail
President Donald Trump has rescinded a key policy directive that governs the approval process for cyberattacks conducted by the U.S. government, potentially opening the door to more offensive operations, an administration official familiar with the matter confirmed to CyberScoop. Presidential Policy Directive 20, which then-President Barack Obama signed in 2012, had installed an intricate inter-agency legal and policy process for green-lighting cyberattacks. Critics of the process said it unnecessarily delayed offensive operations, while advocates called it an important mechanism for accounting for all of the potential repercussions of a cyberattack. Trump’s reversal of the memorandum is in keeping with his administration’s efforts to enable military commanders to more freely conduct cyber operations against adversaries such as nation-states and terrorists. While critics warn of the pitfalls of loosening restrictions on hacking operations, the policy shift answers a call from lawmakers for the government to be more willing to go on the […]
The post PPD-20 elimination opens arguments over how U.S. should conduct offensive hacking operations appeared first on Cyberscoop.
A security researcher claims QAnon’s codes contain patterns that reveal they are the result of “random typing.” Continue reading Password Analyst Says QAnon’s ‘Codes’ Are Consistent With Random Typing
A former reality TV star was able to sneak in her smartphone and record secret conversations in the Situation Room, supposedly the most secure place in the White House.
Continue reading Security breach in the White House’s Situation Room
President Donald Trump chaired an election-security meeting Friday afternoon with his top advisers as Democrats called on the White House to delineate a clear strategy to counter foreign attempts to meddle in the U.S. electoral process. The National Security Council meeting “addressed threats posed to our elections from malign foreign actors, efforts underway to provide cybersecurity assistance to state and local authorities, and actions to investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere in our political and electoral processes,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency Director Paul Nakasone, CIA Director Gina Haspel and FBI Director Christopher Wray were among the officials at the meeting, according to the White House. “The president has made it clear that his administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation-state or other malicious actors,” Sanders […]
The post Trump chairs election-security meeting as Democrats call for strategy appeared first on Cyberscoop.
Continue reading Trump chairs election-security meeting as Democrats call for strategy
Assassination markets are old as the concept of cypherpunk itself. Now blockchain-based betting platform Augur has become a home for them. Continue reading Assassination Markets for Jeff Bezos, Betty White, and Donald Trump Are On the Blockchain
In the Security News this week, the evolutionary waves of the penetration testing, the SIM Hijackers, Roblox blames virtual “gang rape” on hack, thousands of Mega logins dumped online, Facebook refuses to remove fake news but demote it, all… Continue reading Pen Testing, SIM Hijackers, & Mining Bitcoin – Paul’s Security Weekly #568
In the Security News this week, the evolutionary waves of the penetration testing, the SIM Hijackers, Roblox blames virtual “gang rape” on hack, thousands of Mega logins dumped online, Facebook refuses to remove fake news but demote it, all… Continue reading Pen Testing, SIM Hijackers, & Mining Bitcoin – Paul’s Security Weekly #568
An uncharacteristic spate of strikes against IoT devices in Finland during the summit was likely an indicator of a coordinated cyberespionage effort, researchers said. Continue reading Chinese Hackers Mount Espionage Campaign During Trump-Putin Summit
Two weeks before assuming the office of the presidency, Donald Trump was shown highly classified intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally ordered a wave of Russian-sponsored hacking and disinformation blitzes to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. According to the New York Times, who first reported the news Wednesday, the evidence was compiled from Russian military officers’ digital footprints, intercepted by U.S. and allied intelligence agencies, as well as top-secret sources close to Putin, who told the CIA how Moscow orchestrated its digital interference operation. Speaking to CNN on Thursday morning, James Clapper confirmed that Trump was briefed on Putin’s personal involvement in Russia’s 2016 election cyberattacks, adding: “we left very highly classified written documents that laid out in more detail the evidence.” The directors of the CIA, NSA, FBI, and national intelligence, John Brennan, Michael Rogers, James Comey, and Clapper, respectively, briefed the president-elect on January 6, […]
The post Before taking office, Trump was told Putin ordered DNC hack, reports say appeared first on Cyberscoop.
Continue reading Before taking office, Trump was told Putin ordered DNC hack, reports say