Category Archives: U.S. Cyber Command

Senators want Cyber Command and CISA to do more to deter coronavirus-focused hackers

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A bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to both the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security on Monday urging them to take more action to defend the U.S. healthcare sector against hackers that have been exploiting the coronavirus pandemic. The senators warned that if Gen. Paul Nakasone, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, and Christopher Krebs, Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), don’t take more action to deter hackers, they will continue to pummel the U.S. healthcare sector will continue to get pummeled with coronavirus hacking campaigns. “Unless we take forceful action to deny our adversaries success and deter them from further exploiting this crisis, we will be inviting further aggression from them and others,” Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; David Perdue, R-Ga.; and Edward Markey, D-Mass. write. “The cybersecurity threat to our stretched and stressed medical and public health systems should […]

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Hackers are using coronavirus-themed phishing lures to go after DOD networks

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Cybercriminals have been targeting U.S. military organizations with coronavirus-related spearphishing schemes, the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) said Monday in a release. “Even though many supplies, services and leisure activities have slowed down or come to a screeching halt, the one thing that has remained the same — or even gained momentum — is cyber-espionage,” the DC3 said in the announcement. According to DC3’s assessment, those behind the campaign aren’t just targeting defense industrial base companies and their networks — the goal is to break into systems run by the DOD. While cybercriminals and nation-state hackers have been targeting businesses and individuals around the world for months with coronavirus-themed spearphishing and spyware operations, it’s the first time the Pentagon has publicly said its own networks are coming under fire from hackers seeking to exploit the fears surrounding the pandemic. The memo comes via DC3’s information sharing outreach, which offers […]

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What to expect from the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission report

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A bipartisan congressional committee is urging the federal government to enact a sweeping set of cybersecurity upgrades in order to modernize American defenses on issues ranging from 5G security to stopping intellectual property theft and mitigating ransomware attacks. The Cybersecurity Solarium Commission on Wednesday will release 75 recommendations that calla for changes in the way that Congress and the Trump administration oversee crucial security issues that, if unaddressed, may jeopardize U.S. national and economic security. It remains to be seen whether some of the proposals will become a reality. In an interview with CyberScoop, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, a co-chair of the commission, would not preview what elements of the proposal would appear in forthcoming legislation, but said between 40-50 percent of them could be seen in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act. King says there is urgency to taking action on each of the 75 recommendations. “We want this to be […]

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Cyber Command was worried that WikiLeaks dump would burn Operation Aurora intel, document shows

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When WikiLeaks released a trove of diplomatic cables in 2010 on everything from terrorism to Russian President Vladimir Putin to computer intrusions, it set off shockwaves through the Department of Defense and intelligence community over the knowledge being dumped into the public domain. Now we know that unauthorized release even impacted U.S. Cyber Command. A document obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request details Cyber Command’s knowledge of what was revealed in the infamous WikiLeaks dump. The document, a Cyber Command fusion cell situational awareness report, suggests the Pentagon knew who was behind a broad cyber-espionage operation known as Operation Aurora and was worried about that information becoming public, and what adversaries could learn about sensitive U.S. cyber-operations as a result The document, which was obtained by George Washington University’s National Security Archive and shared with CyberScoop, is a rare look into how Cyber Command, the DOD, and the intelligence community tracks adversaries in cyberspace and […]

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Pentagon, FBI, DHS to jointly expose a North Korean hacking effort

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The Pentagon, FBI, and Department of Homeland Security plan to publicly identify a North Korean hacking campaign as part of a broad information sharing program intended to warn industry against adversarial hacking, CyberScoop has learned. The public disclosure is expected to include details about at least seven different malware samples linked with North Korean hacking efforts. The samples point to cyber-espionage activities carried out by an actor the U.S. refers to as Hidden Cobra, which officials have previously associated with the North Korean government. The files detailed use tools meant to steal data, create and delete files and capture screenshots, according to a person who has viewed the U.S. malware analysis report (MAR). The Department of Defense is expected to add details about the malware to the Virus Total malware repository Friday. The decision marks the first time the Pentagon’s Cyber Command will identify North Korean hacking efforts by name. The report, […]

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Top Secret documents show Cyber Command’s growing pains in its mission against ISIS

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U.S. government documents made public Tuesday show that while a U.S. Cyber Command operation that disrupted ISIS computer networks was largely successful, there were significant shortcomings, including operators having trouble collecting data, interagency deconfliction issues, difficulty vetting targets, and, in at least one case, a close call with the operation being discovered by the adversary. The documents, shared with CyberScoop via George Washington University’s National Security Archive, show how the command has faced significant internal hurdles as Pentagon leadership has pushed Cyber Command to grow into a well-respected force since its creation in 2009. They include briefings on how Cyber Command measured the effectiveness of Operation Glowing Symphony, a mission carried out in 2016 that was meant to isolate and destroy ISIS networks used to spread the terrorist group’s propaganda. The documents show the gaps needed for the U.S. government to scale and expand its offensive cyber missions beyond ISIS to […]

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How the Marine Corps thinks about beating adversaries in cyberspace

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There are a whole host of products on the market purporting to be the best way to run defense against nation-state adversaries’ email spearphishing attempts — but there’s one part of defending against spearphishing in particular the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command’s Chief Technology Officer endorses: context. For Renata Spinks, the goal is not to just make sure employees understand they should avoid clicking on what appear to be malicious links, but to make sure they understand the bigger picture of what they’re protecting, she said Tuesday. “Instead of just [test] phishing attempts, teach your employees why phishing attempts are so important and make it relatable,” Spinks said at the Fortinet Security Summit, produced by FedScoop and StateScoop. “Data is your most critical commodity, but people [are] the best asset you can have.” Spearphishing emails often seek to pilfer off passwords and credentials from victims who click on links or attachments that purport […]

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Cyber Command has cut hiring time for cybersecurity roles by nearly half, says DOD CISO

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Cyber Command has recently cut down the average amount of time it takes to hire someone by approximately 40 percent — 111 days to 44 days — under the Cyber Excepted Service program, according to the Department of Defense CISO Jack Wilmer. The CES program, intended to speed up cybersecurity candidate recruitment in the DOD through initiatives like allowing hiring managers to make direct hires, was originally authorized in 2016 by Congress. The CES also establishes market-based pay scales and allows hiring with or without public notification or vacancy announcements, both intended to decrease red tape in the Pentagons’ hiring process. Wilmer said the decrease has given the Department of Defense a leg up on private sector cybersecurity hiring. Since implementing the CES program, the Pentagon has seen fewer cases of candidates leaving DOD jobs on the table for the private sector. “That is a huge win,” Wilmer said while speaking Thursday at the 2019 Workforce […]

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Cyber Command flags North Korean-linked hackers behind ongoing financial heists

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The Department of Defense has once again called out North Korean hackers by exposing malware samples researchers say are linked to regime-backed financial heists, including past attacks on the interbank messaging system known as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), CyberScoop has learned. Cyber Command assessed that the malware, which it posted to the information sharing platform VirusTotal, is being used in ongoing cyberattacks aimed at the financial sector. “These malware samples are currently used for fund generation and malicious cyber activities including remote access, beaconing, and malware command by malicious cyber actors,” the command said in a tweet. The command did not name victims or describe the magnitude of the scheme. It’s a rare statement from the Pentagon’s cyber-operations division on the intent and capabilities of adversary-linked malware in what appears to be an expansion of the command’s willingness and ability to discuss the intelligence behind its VirusTotal […]

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Pentagon again deploying cyber personnel abroad to gather intel for 2020 elections

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The Pentagon once again is sending cyber personnel overseas to gather intelligence to help protect the 2020 presidential elections against foreign interference, the U.S. Embassy in Montenegro announced this week. U.S. European Command and U.S. Cyber Command are deploying an undisclosed number of staffers to Montenegro in order to gain insights into cyber threats from adversaries before both the U.S. and Montenegrin elections next year. It’s the second time in as many years the Department of Defense is running going through the effort as part of a partnership that’s uniquely poised to provide insights on possible Russian election interference. Montenegro and the U.S. both have been targeted by the Russian government-linked hacking outfit APT28, or Fancy Bear. If Cyber Command uncovers similar activity again in Montenegro, those insights could inform decisions on how to safeguard the U.S. “Montenegro is among the first in Europe to face unconventional attacks on its democracy and freedom […]

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