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Latecomer China’s Semiconductor Catch-up: Key Lessons India Can Take From The Chinese Experience
FROM THE MEDIA: With the conclusion of the SemiconIndia 2022 conference, alongside a series of agreements inked and a show of ambitious intent to increase the Indian electronics manufacturing footprint, it is an apt time to gather some understanding about how a relatively new player in the industry has reached the threshold of becoming a serious global player — the People’s Republic of China.
Some of China’s current challenges will be India’s challenges in the future. Any steps India can take now, based on the Chinese experience, would help mitigate problems and chart a different course.
READ THE STORY: Swarajya
US Sanctions Cryptocurrency 'Mixing' Service for Aiding North Korean Hackers
FROM THE MEDIA: For the first time, the US is sanctioning a cryptocurrency “mixing” service for helping North Korea launder some of the funds stolen in the $620 million hack of Ronin Network.
The sanctions target Blender.io, a website that charges to “anonymize bitcoin transactions” by mixing it with funds from other users. The US Treasury Department claims the North Korean hackers behind the Ronin Network heist recently tried to launder $20.5 million of the stolen funds through Blender.io.
In addition, the US Treasury Department is signaling it’ll go after other cryptocurrency mixing services that are found helping hackers. The sanctions against Blender.io essentially outlaw US persons and groups from conducting any business with the cryptocurrency service. Hence, using Blender.io is against US law unless the Treasury Department grants a license to do so.
READ THE STORY: PCMAG
NVIDIA reaches settlement with SEC over ‘inadequate disclosures’
FROM THE MEDIA: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Friday announced settled charges against NVIDIA Corporation (NVIDIA) for “inadequate disclosures concerning the impact of crypto mining on the company’s gaming business.” As a result of the SEC’s findings, “NVIDIA agreed to a cease-and-desist order and to pay a $5.5 million penalty.”
Chief of the SEC Enforcement Divisions Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit Christina Littman said that “NVIDIA’s disclosure failures deprived investors of critical information to evaluate the company’s business in a key market.” Especially in terms of emerging technology, companies “‘must ensure that their disclosures are timely, complete, and accurate.'”
NVIDIA did not admit or deny the SEC’s findings in the SEC’s filing that during their fiscal year 2018 NVIDIA violated Section 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act of 1933 and the disclosure provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
READ THE STORY: Jurist
Data sovereignty: The move toward localization
FROM THE MEDIA: In the last few years, the volume and value of digital data has skyrocketed. Amidst ongoing digital transformation, modern organizations and nation states are increasingly reliant upon digital platforms as part of their operations, with intellectual property predominantly existing in a digital form. Whilst digitalization has brought considerable opportunity, there’s no reward without risk: the theft of data is a very real one that organizations are facing on a daily basis.
Cyber-attacks are on the rise, with our recent research showing that one in five businesses have paid or would pay a ransom for their data. It’s clear that the data, hardware, and software that we rely upon and create are becoming increasingly high-risk, and therefore increasingly protected, commodities.
With The World Economic Forum estimating that over 92% of all data in the western word is stored on servers owned by US-based companies, there’s been an escalating anxiety over the location and ownership of such data. Indeed, the fear of foreign entities compromising sensitive data has meant that ensuring it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands without permission has become a heightened priority for many.
READ THE STORY: Tech Radar
Ukraine forum hosted by USF Sarasota-Manatee puts focus on cybersecurity
FROM THE MEDIA: Ukraine: What's Next?", a four-part online series hosted by the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, will turn its focus on Tuesday to "Cyber Security Analysis."
The keynote speaker for Part 3 will be retired four-star Army Gen. Keith Alexander, former First Commander of the U.S. Cyber Command and former director of the National Security Agency. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gray will moderate a panel discussion.
The forum begins at 9 a.m. Visit usf.edu/sarasotamanatee.usf.edu/ukraine for free registration.
Alexander was named director of the NSA in 2005 by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. He was responsible for planning, coordinating and conducting national foreign intelligence, combat support and data collection. Alexander retired in 2014 and is founder and co-CEO of IronNet, a private sector cybersecurity firm. He joined Amazon's board of directors in 2020.
Gray retired from the Air Force in 2009 and from Lockheed Martin in 2018. His commands included the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he oversaw the transportation and communication for the President and Vice President and all Cabinet members.
READ THE STORY: Herald Tribune
Wanted: Conti Hackers – US Dangles $15 Million For Info On Russian Cybercriminals
FROM THE MEDIA: The United States offered a reward of up to $15 million for information on the Russia-based cybercrime organization Conti, which has been accused of cyber-extortion attacks around the globe, State Department spokesman Ned Price said.
The Conti hacker organization, one of the most successful and vicious Russian ransomware groups, has been responsible for hundreds of ransomware attacks over the past two years, according to a statement released by Price on Saturday.
READ THE STORY: Bitcoinist
Agriculture company AGCO Corp hit by ransomware attack affecting some production facilities
FROM THE MEDIA: Georgia-based AGCO Corp said in a statement it expects operations at some facilities to be affected for “several days and potentially longer.”
The ransomware attack comes at a time U.S. agricultural equipment makers were already facing persistent supply chain disruptions and labor strikes that left them unable to meet equipment demand from farmers. read more
AGCO Corp did not disclose the names of the facilities or if any data was stolen, but said it was still probing the extent of the attack that occurred on Thursday and working to repair its systems.
Tim Brannon, president and owner of B&G Equipment Inc in Tennessee, told Reuters he has not been able to access AGCO’s website for ordering and looking up parts since Thursday morning.
“We just have to trust that it will be over as soon as possible because we are coming into our busiest time of the year and it will be very damaging to our business and customers,” Brannon said.
READ THE STORY: Tech Aeris
Trump's trade war looms over soybean farmers 4 years later
FROM THE MEDIA: It's been nearly four years since China put tariffs on American-grown soybeans during a tit-for-tat trade war with then-President Donald Trump -- and they remain in place despite the change in administrations.
President Joe Biden has chosen to leave US tariffs imposed by his predecessor in 2018 in place on $350 billion in Chinese goods. In turn, Beijing has left its retaliatory tariffs on some agricultural products, including soybeans, and some American-made goods.
The Chinese tariffs hurt US farmers by making American-grown soybeans more expensive for Chinese buyers, who bought a majority of US exports prior to the trade war.
"We've lived with tariffs for so long, it's just the way we do business now," said Iowa farmer Dave Walton, who saw prices for his soybeans plummet after the tariffs were put in place in 2018.
READ THE STORY: CNN
Russian hackers coordinated latest missile strikes on Odesa
FROM THE MEDIA: Experts with Ukraine’s Special Communications and Information Protection Service found that Russian hackers coordinated missile strikes on Odesa, launched by Russian strategic bombers on May 7.
This was stated by the agency’s press service, Ukrinform reports.
"Odesa was attacked by Russian invaders, again. According to Operational Command South, the enemy deployed strategic warplanes to launch cruise missiles. At about the same time, calls were posted on hostile platforms for a cyber attack on the Odesa City Council's website," the statement said.
It is noted that this is another confirmation that "Russian hackers act synchronously with the Russian military, which attacks Ukrainian cities with missiles."
READ THE STORY: Ukrinform
'Chinese confidence in Pakistan's security system shaken'
FROM THE MEDIA: The Chinese confidence in Pakistan's security system's ability to protect its citizens and projects is seriously shaken after the Karachi University attack last month, a senior lawmaker has said.
Three Chinese teachers were killed when an explosion triggered by a burqa-clad woman suicide bomber from the Baluchistan Liberation Army (BLA) ripped through a van of the Confucius Institute at the prestigious University of Karachi on April 26.
This was the latest targeted attack against Chinese citizens in Pakistan. Sharing the mood of the Chinese side after the attack to Dawn newspaper on Friday, Senator Mushahid Hussain, who is also the chairman of the Senate Defence Committee, said: “It has caused serious concern and understandable indignation in China."
READ THE STORY: Times Of India
Russia’s ‘firehose of falsehood’ in Ukraine marks latest use of propaganda to justify war
FROM THE MEDIA: In the daily diet of propaganda that Russia feeds its citizens, Ukrainians are Nazis, Russian soldiers are liberators, Americans are schemers and Ukrainian forces are practitioners of Satanism. But none of those falsehoods compares to an epic tale spread by the British government during World War II.
A story that hit some American newspapers in 1941 detailed how British troops parachuted into Nazi-occupied France, overpowered German guards at an airfield, destroyed 30 planes, took 40 Germans hostage and safely made their escape back to England aboard torpedo boats. It was an incredible tale of British bravery and chutzpah. But none of it was true.
Britain’s intelligence service fabricated the story and planted it in American newspapers in a covert campaign to persuade the United States to enter the war.
Russia has drawn global condemnation for its use of misinformation and censorship of outside voices to stir up pro-Russian sentiment in its war against Ukraine. But governments throughout history have often relied on less-than-truthful narratives and outright fabrications to rally support for wars or achieve other political goals.
“It’s important to remember that the good guys, as we now think of them, have used fakes and disinformation,” said Nicholas Cull, an expert on propaganda at the University of Southern California.
READ THE STORY: USA Today
Looking Back at the Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Incident
FROM THE MEDIA: In early May 2021, the world was shocked into attention by a ransomware attack that brought down gas lines. What have we learned — or not — one year later?
On the anniversary of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware incident, eyes have been opened to the potential impact to society that can occur when critical infrastructure is targeted.
But what have we learned from the events in 2021? Where is this ransomware trend going next? Has our situation improved or worsened?
Last year I wrote this blog that described what happened. Here’s an excerpt:
“All across the southeast, the results of our collective failure to protect critical infrastructure were on display last week. As gas shortages and long lines of vehicles snaked through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and other states, more Americans than ever before were learning the definition of ‘ransomware.’ And, perhaps, what critical infrastructure insecurity truly means. …
“I can easily picture this conversation between a six-year-old girl in the back seat of a car and her father driving her to school last week in North Carolina: ‘Daddy, why are the cars all lined-up at the gas station? It wasn’t like this yesterday. What happened?’ ‘Well honey, it was ransomware.’”
READ THE STORY: Security Boulevard
Tracking Cobalt Strike Servers Used in Cyberattacks on Ukraine
FROM THE MEDIA: On April 18, 2022, CERT-UA published alert #4490, which describes a malicious email campaign targeting Ukraine. The email attempts to deploy a Cobalt Strike beacon on the victim’s system through the use of a MS Office macro. In the alert, CERT-UA provides a list of indicators of compromise (IoCs), including a list of IP addresses and domains used in the attack that are known to be Cobalt Strike command and control (C2) servers. IronNet Threat Research regularly monitors the internet for malicious C2 servers, including Cobalt Strike. As a result of this monitoring, we have a longitudinal dataset on the C2 servers hosted on the IP addresses and domains referenced in the alert starting in May 2021. This report provides an analysis of this data in an attempt to inform the community on the observed patterns of these IoCs and other indicators that may be related to those referenced in the alert.
READ THE STORY: Security Boulevard
Ukraine hacker army targets Russian vodka to stop enemy's favorite drink reaching shops
FROM THE MEDIA: Hackers have crashed Putin’s Victory Day by targeting Russian booze shipments. Cyber warriors in the Ukrainian IT army are targeting their enemy’s alcohol distribution. The Kremlin-run internet system controls the supply of mainly vodka to factories and stores across Russia. But according to the Moscow newspaper Vedomosti, factories are now unable to receive supplies of booze or transport it to shops. And vodka-loving Russians who wanted to toast Monday's annual commemoration of the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 have a fresh reason to moan about their president’s war.
The Ukrainian hacking group delighted in their success by revealing Russian headlines about the mayhem. They jubilantly wrote on the Telegram messaging app: “Russian media reports about our progress!
READ THE STORY: Mirror
US blacklists mixer used to launder proceeds from Axie Infinity crypto hack
FROM THE MEDIA: The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on a virtual currency mixer it said North Korea used to help launder stolen virtual currency as part of the country's malicious cyber activities program. The blacklisting of Blender.io marks the first time the Treasury has placed a cryptocurrency mixer on its sanctions list. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which implements and enforces U.S. sanctions, said Blender.io operates on the bitcoin blockchain and helps facilitate illicit transactions by obfuscating their origins, destination and counterparties. Blender.io has helped transmit more than $500 million worth of bitcoin since its creation in 2017, according to the Treasury.
Entities such as Blender.io mix various transactions and are commonly used by suspicious groups, according to the Treasury, which also alleged Blender.io has helped launder money for several Russian-linked ransomware groups. "Virtual currency mixers that assist illicit transactions pose a threat to U.S. national security interests," Brian Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.
READ THE STORY: Fox Business
Scots alleged 'crypto hacker' could be extradited to America after FBI manhunt
FROM THE MEDIA: A young Scot is facing extradition to America and up 20 years in jail if convicted of a £7million cryptocurrency fraud. Robert Barr, 24, is charged with scamming the digital cash from a top US Bitcoin broker while he was living with his mum in Ayrshire after an FBI manhunt. US prosecutors claim the computer whizzkid stole the huge sum from Boston-based cryptocurrency dealer Reggie Middleton and transferred it to another account.
They claim he worked with two others in an elaborate con known as “sim swapping”, where fraudsters dupe mobile phone firms into handing over details of customers’ SIM cards so they can then hack into cryptocurrency accounts or wallets. Barr is wanted in Georgia on the scam, part of eight charges that include wire fraud, money laundering and identity theft.
READ THE STORY: Dailyrecord
Items of interest
China strives for global dominance through seaport control, say experts
FROM THE MEDIA: China has been developing a strategy to take control of seaports across the globe in alignment with its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to achieve its geopolitical aims and acquire dominance in international shipping and global business
Experts believe that establishing ports in geo-strategically important countries, including those that are located near maritime chokepoints, is central to Beijing's global strategy, the International Forum for Rights and Security stated.
"These port linkages allow Beijing to exert political influence not only in the country hosting the port but in surrounding countries as well," Craig Singleton, a China expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told VOA. Growing Chinese investment in the maritime shipping industry, both domestically and abroad, should be a major source of concern for geopolitical rivals such as the US, Europe and India.
Presently, China is home to seven of the 10 busiest ports in the world.
According to IFRAS, China has become the leading manufacturer of shipping equipment as well, producing 96 per cent of the world's shipping containers and 80 per cent of the world's ship-to-shore cranes and bagged 48 per cent of the world's shipbuilding orders in 2020.
The country also boasts of world's second-largest fleet of commercial shipping vessels and, if the US Naval Intelligence is to be believed, China has surpassed the US in terms of total battle-force ships.
As a matter of fact, Beijing either controls or has major investments in all 15 of the world's top 15 ports by container volume. Apart from this massive domestic shipping infrastructure, China has control over 100 ports spread across 63 countries and is looking for more.
Radio Free Asia has reported that China is building a new military base at Bata on the West Coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean in Equatorial Guinea (EQG). The US is concerned over this development as the Chinese military presence is opposite the east coast of America.
According to the World Bank, EQG is "well endowed with arable land and mineral/hydro-carbon resources ranging from timber oil, gold, uranium, diamond, bauxite and columbite-tantalite."
In another recent opinion piece published by the Daily Mail, the experts pointed out that, of the 96 ports owned by Chinese companies around the world, several are at key locations for maritime trade, "giving Beijing strategic dominance without having to deploy a single soldier, ship or weapons."
READ THE STORY: Firstpost
Apple & Google Prepare To Battle With New Features To Beat Facebook(Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: The Apple versus Facebook battle is well documented, but the power struggle between the iPhone maker and Google is now gaining pace.
Elon Musk Just Introduced New WAR Cybertruck To BEAT Russia! (Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: Elon Musk Just Introduced New WAR Cybertruck To BEAT Russia!
About this Product
These open source products are reviewed from analysts at InfoDom Securities and provide possible context about current media trends in regard to the realm of cyber security. The stories selected cover a broad array of cyber threats and are intended to aid readers in framing key publicly discussed threats and overall situational awareness. InfoDom Securities does not specifically endorse any third-party claims made in their original material or related links on their sites, and the opinions expressed by third parties are theirs alone. Contact InfoDom Securities at dominanceinformation@gmail.com