Category Archives: intelligence

Australian government says it is hacking criminals who are exploiting the pandemic

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As governments around the world consider their options for cracking down on scammers exploiting the coronavirus pandemic, Australia is touting a muscular approach in cyberspace. The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) “has mobilized its offensive cyber capabilities to disrupt foreign cyber criminals responsible for a spate of malicious activities during COVID-19,” the Australian defense ministry said in a statement Tuesday. The ASD, the country’s lead agency for hacking operations, has “already successfully disrupted activities from foreign criminals by disabling their infrastructure and blocking their access to stolen information,” Australian Minister of Defense Linda Reynolds said. “Some of these cybercriminals have even posed as health officials in an attempt to exploit vulnerable Australians, by infecting their computers with malware and stealing their private information.” COVID-19-related scams and phishing attempts targeting people around the world have surged in recent weeks as criminals and spies prey on people’s health fears. In Australia, a consumer […]

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More on Crypto AG

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One follow-on to the story of Crypto AG being owned by the CIA: this interview with a Washington Post reporter. The whole thing is worth reading or listening to, but I was struck by these two quotes at the end: …in South America, for instance, many of the governments that were using Crypto machines were engaged in assassination campaigns. Thousands… Continue reading More on Crypto AG→

Newly Declassified Study Demonstrates Uselessness of NSA’s Phone Metadata Program

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The New York Times is reporting on the NSA’s phone metadata program, which the NSA shut down last year: A National Security Agency system that analyzed logs of Americans’ domestic phone calls and text messages cost $100 million from 2015 to 2019, but yielded only a single significant investigation, according to a newly declassified study. Moreover, only twice during that… Continue reading Newly Declassified Study Demonstrates Uselessness of NSA’s Phone Metadata Program→

State election officials will get fresh intelligence briefing after Iran tensions

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In the wake of the U.S.-Iran standoff and just weeks before the first Democratic primary, the intelligence community’s lead official for election security will brief state officials on the top cyberthreats to the U.S. electoral process. Shelby Pierson, the intelligence community’s election threats executive, said that the briefing this Thursday will cover full gamut of digital threats to U.S. elections, including those emanating from Iran. Asked if Iran is more likely to interfere in the 2020 election after the U.S. military killed Tehran’s top general earlier this month, Pierson told reporters Tuesday that “it certainly is something that we’re prepared for.” “Our adversaries look to the political climate … it wouldn’t surprise me at all that this is part of the calculus,” she added. Pierson, who assumed her post last July, used a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to raise awareness about digital threats facing the […]

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