Category Archives: National Security

With trade war looming, Chinese cyberattacks may follow

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With the prospect of a trade war on the horizon between U.S. and China, cybersecurity and policy experts say government-backed cyberattacks between the two countries may spike after years of calm. For the last two weeks, Chinese and U.S. government officials have been sparring over the potential creation of tariffs, which would place a tax on foreign exports coming into America. “Potential tariff implementation could raise uncertainty over the possibility of a trade war between the two countries and possibly drive a further uptick in Chinese cyber espionage,” said Dmitri Alperovitch, chief technology officer of cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, in a email to CyberScoop. “CrowdStrike has seen some pickup in Chinese cyber espionage activity over the last year, and we expect this trend to continue … There tends to be a shift in activity from nation-state adversaries when major geopolitical events occur.” Historically, the Chinese government has successfully employed hackers to advance their […]

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Potential for backdoors in foreign telecom gear draws FCC’s attention

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai wants to inhibit U.S. telecommunications providers from buying equipment and services he says could give foreign-government hackers a foothold in U.S. networks. A draft FCC proposal, released Tuesday, would prevent companies from using the commission’s $8.5 billion Universal Service Fund (USF) to buy routers, switches, and other gear from companies that “pose a national security threat to United States communications networks or the communications supply chain,” the FCC said in a statement. Backdoors in networking equipment “can provide an avenue for hostile governments to inject viruses, launch denial-of-service attacks, steal data, and more,” Pai said. The USF helps telecoms companies provide service in high-cost and rural areas in the U.S. The FCC plans to vote on the proposal April 17.  The proposal wouldn’t be a blanket ban on buying such gear, because telecoms could use their own funds to do so rather than drawing from the USF, an FCC […]

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U.S. moves to develop grand cybersecurity partnership with Ukraine, a favorite target for Russian hackers

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During a week where multiple senior Ukrainian government officials came to visit Washington, a bill designed to foster further collaboration on cybersecurity efforts between the U.S. and Ukrainian governments passed the House of Representatives late Wednesday night. Known as the “Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act of 2017,” the bipartisan legislation was first introduced by Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., in April 2017 just three months after news surfaced that a massive electric power blackout in Kiev had been caused by a complex cyberattack. Cybersecurity experts later attributed the attack to Russian hackers. The bill, which was cosponsored by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., passed with a 404-4 vote. In practice, the bill would encourage greater cooperation between the U.S. and Ukraine regarding several key digital defense priorities, including a promise that the U.S. will support the Ukrainian government when or if requested. The law mandates that this partnership be organized through a Department of […]

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Kaspersky Lab files injunction in court, seeking to counter Trump administration ban

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Moscow-based anti-virus company Kaspersky Lab has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in U.S. federal court in hopes of halting the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to ban Kaspersky software from use in federal agencies, CyberScoop has learned. The move comes after Kaspersky Lab founder and CEO Eugene Kaspersky announced plans in December to sue the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who originally launched the ban through a Binding Operational Directive (BOD) on Sept. 13 citing alleged espionage concerns. The motion was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Washington Post, New York Times and Wall Street Journal have all reported in recent months, citing anonymous U.S. intelligence officials, that Russian intelligence agencies have in the past leveraged Kaspersky Lab’s anti-virus engine to remotely steal confidential documents from targeted computers where the software is already installed. Kaspersky Lab has repeatedly and unequivocally denied all wrongdoing. The company continues […]

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New Bluetooth vulnerability can hack a phone in ten seconds

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 Security company Armis has found a collection of eight exploits, collectively called Blueborne, that can allow an attacker access to your phone without touching it. The attack can allow access to both computers and phones as well as IoT devices. “Armis believes many more vulnerabilities await discovery in the various platforms using Bluetooth. These vulnerabilities are fully operational,… Read More Continue reading New Bluetooth vulnerability can hack a phone in ten seconds→

A perfect storm of corporate idiocy

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 At this point in the game there should be a single page on every corporate website, preferably accessible from its front page, that includes the name and all contact details for the Chief Security Officer, including the last four digits of her social security number. It should be her responsibility to ensure that no one uses this information for nefarious purposes in addition to her daily… Read More Continue reading A perfect storm of corporate idiocy→