Monday, October 17, 2022 // (IG): BB // INTSUM // Coffee for Bob
Elon Musk's covert war on free speech
FROM THE MEDIA: In 1897, the American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst sent illustrator Frederic Remington to cover the Cuban War of Independence. When Remington relayed that “there will be no war”, Hearst allegedly cabled back: “You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.” It is an old story with a well-known moral: Wealth confers power and power begets a craving for more power. A familiar corollary follows: He who controls the means of mass communication controls how reality is constructed and conveyed. The means of mass communication have changed since Hearst’s time, but the behavior of plutocrats has not. Having used Twitter quite effectively to promote his own businesses, Elon Musk recognizes that the platform commands significant influence in contemporary public life.
READ THE STORY: Jordan Times
As US, Russia, China Increasingly Conduct Anti-Satellite Tests, Has The Time For Responsive Satellite Launch Arrived
FROM THE MEDIA: With the Anti-satellite test (ASAT) being conducted by almost all space-faring nations, it has become incumbent on these nations to think about recuperating the services due to lost satellites. It is a well-known fact that USA, Russia, and China are among the countries with ASAT capabilities. The responsive launch is a term used to ensure the availability of an operational satellite in Low earth orbit (LEO), right from making available a launch vehicle, strapping the payload, launching, and placing the spacecraft in the desired orbit. This also includes augmentation of present capability by adding more satellites in the current constellation in case of requirement.
READ THE STORY: The EurAsian Times
North Korean Hackers Target Japan's Crypto Exchange
FROM THE MEDIA: Japanese authorities warn of North Korean hackers as Lazarus attacks the country's crypto assets. The National Police Agency reported that Lazarus has conducted cyber attacks targeting the Japanese crypto economy through phishing, according to The Japan News. The Cybercrime Unit of the Japanese National Police Agency identified that Lazarus group was behind numerous hacking incidents in the country, as per U Today. In a public advisory with the Financial Services Agency, they have sent a warning to crypto asset businesses, asking for vigilance amidst the attacks. According to Coin Telegraph, the agencies warn that Lazarus uses social engineering methods to execute these hackings, impersonating executives of companies to exploit employees.
READ THE STORY: Itechpost
Fake: Russian “Military Targets” Strikes in Ukraine – a Response to “Kerch Bridge Attack”
FROM THE MEDIA: According to Ukrainian and foreign intelligence, Russia was planning these latest massive missile strikes against Ukraine even before the illegally constructed bridge over the Kerch Strait was damaged. On October 10, Russia attacked civilian infrastructure, not Ukrainian military facilities. Russian missile strikes killed and injured dozens of Ukrainian civilians. Following Russia’s massive missile attack on civilian targets in a number of Ukrainian cities on October 10, pro-Kremlin media began spreading disinformation about “the high accuracy of the strikes on Ukraine’s military infrastructure“.
READ THE STORY: The Paradise
Xi Jinping hails 'improved cyber ecology', says state to direct strategic tech research
FROM THE MEDIA: Chinese president Xi Jinping has opened the 20th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party with a call for the nation he leads to win the race for development of “core technologies” and to become self-reliant in strategic tech. The speech marked a shift in president Xi's language since his remarks at the same event five years earlier, when he spoke of markets driving innovation. In his Sunday speech he spoke of innovation being focused on national strategic requirements – therefore led by the State - and linked the development and implementation of information technology to national security.
READ THE STORY: The Register
Australia's Medibank drops after ransomware attack in IT network
FROM THE MEDIA: Shares of Medibank Private Ltd dived nearly 5% on Monday even after the Australian health insurer assured clients that normal business operations have resumed following an attempted ransomware attack on its network. The company, which reaffirmed that there was no evidence that customer data had been removed from the network, is on track to mark its worst day in 2-1/2 years. Shares of Medibank fell as much as 4.8% to A$3.350, their lowest level since July 19. That was the latest in a string of cyber attacks in recent weeks to rock corporate Australia including a breach at second-largest telecoms provider Optus, which compromised data of up to 10 million customers and at a Woolworths unit that exposed data of nearly 2.2 million users.
READ THE STORY: Saltwire // Reuters
Threat actors have compromised hundreds of servers exploiting critical flaw CVE-2022-41352 in Zimbra Collaboration Suite (ZCS)
FROM THE MEDIA: Last week, researchers from Rapid7 warned of the exploitation of unpatched zero-day remote code execution vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2022-41352, in the Zimbra Collaboration Suite. Rapid7 has published technical details, including a proof-of-concept (PoC) code and indicators of compromise (IoCs) regarding CVE-2022-41352 on AttackerKB. The bad news is that the vulnerability has yet to be patched by the company, the issue has been rated as CVSS 9.8. “CVE-2022-41352 is an unpatched remote code execution vulnerability in Zimbra Collaboration Suite discovered in the wild due to active exploitation.” reported Rapid7.
READ THE STORY: Security Affairs
Venus Ransomware targets publicly exposed Remote Desktop services
FROM THE MEDIA: Threat actors behind the relatively new Venus Ransomware are hacking into publicly-exposed Remote Desktop services to encrypt Windows devices. Venus Ransomware appears to have begun operating in the middle of August 2022 and has since encrypted victims worldwide. However, there was another ransomware using the same encrypted file extension since 2021, but it is unclear if they are related. BleepingComputer first learned of the ransomware from MalwareHunterTeam, who was contacted by security analyst linuxct looking for information on it.
READ THE STORY: Bleeping Computer
Microsoft warns that new Prestige ransomware is targeting transportation and logistics organizations in Ukraine and Poland
FROM THE MEDIA: Microsoft reported that new Prestige ransomware is being used in attacks aimed at transportation and logistics organizations in Ukraine and Poland. The Prestige ransomware first appeared in the threat landscape on October 11 in attacks occurring within an hour of each other across all victims. A notable feature of this campaign is that it is uncommon to observe threat actors attempting to deploy ransomware into the networks of Ukrainian enterprises. Microsoft pointed out that this campaign was not connected to any of the 94 currently active ransomware activity groups that it is tracking.
READ THE STORY: Security Affairs
How the Chinese Communist Party is Spreading Lies in Solomon Islands
FROM THE MEDIA: The Chinese Communist Party is attempting to influence public discourse in Solomon Islands through coordinated information operations that spread false narratives and suppress information contradictory to the party’s message. Since November 2021 when anti-Beijing riots broke out in the Solomons capital of Honiara, the CCP has used its media and disinformation capabilities to shape public perception in Solomon Islands of security issues and foreign partners. These messages—in alignment with the CCP’s regional objectives—have a strong focus on undermining the Solomons’ existing partnerships, namely with Australia and the US.
READ THE STORY: Solomon Times
PayPal and all others need to stay out of the social credit business
FROM THE MEDIA: Most people don't read the fine print. Fortunately, in the case of PayPal's new terms of service, somebody did. The online financial transfer company attempted to slip past its users terms that would have allowed it to fine them as much as $2,500 for "the sending, posting, or publication of any messages, content, or materials” which “promote misinformation.” Although this would have supposedly been limited to conduct in the use of its own app, it never seems to work this way on other social media platforms. Patreon, for example, is notorious for imposing its woke morality on content creators who say controversial things on other platforms.
READ THE STORY: Washington Examiner
Chinese State Media Highlights Putin's 'Daunting' Losses in Ukraine
FROM THE MEDIA: Chinese state-media highlighted Russia's "daunting losses on the battlefield," a rare admission of the ongoing challenges the Russian military faces in Ukraine from the Kremlin ally. China remains one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest international allies amid the invasion, which drew large international rebuke when Putin launched his "special military operation" on the Eastern European country on February 24. More than seven months later, Putin's military has struggled to achieve any substantial goals in the invasion, with Ukraine claiming to have retaken thousands of square miles of Russian-occupied territory.
READ THE STORY: Newsweek
Cyber attacks could threaten Western Australia’s mining, industrial sectors: PwC report
FROM THE MEDIA: Australian chief executives expect just over a third of cyber attacks in 2023 could stem from operational technology systems, potentially threatening Western Australia’s mining and industrial sectors. The finding from professional services firm PwC came after Woolworths over the weekend revealed about 2.2 million customers of its MyDeal business had their data stolen, marking the third breach at a major Australian company in the last month. It followed a major data breach that impacted 10 million Optus customers and Medibank last week detecting “unusual activity” on its platform.
READ THE STORY: The West Australian
Ukraine army wins Twitter battle
FROM THE MEDIA: Earlier this week, a small group of Ukrainians with expertise in video editing, communications and advertising decided to thank France for the weapons it had sent the country’s military. “It’s France, so we knew we had to do something romantic,” said Anna, who helps create content for the team that manages the Ukraine defense ministry’s Twitter account and who asked that her real name not be used. “But it also had to remind them that they can do more.”
READ THE STORY: Irish Times
Chinese Govt May Be Involved in Organized Crime With Mexican Drug Cartels, Reveals Investigation
FROM THE MEDIA: An investigation into a "revolutionary" money laundering tactic for Mexican drug cartels, introduced by Chinese American Gangster Xizhi Li, reveals that the Chinese government may have been involved in this organized crime, media reports said. For many years, the Mexican cartels that supply the US market with cocaine, heroin and fentanyl smuggled truckloads of bulk cash to Mexico. Later with the help of banks and exchange houses, they pumped the money into the Mexican financial system. However, those methods were costly. They took weeks or even months to complete the transactions. It also posed high risks of damage, robbery and confiscation.
READ THE STORY: Latestly
Securing India’s cyberspace from quantum techniques
FROM THE MEDIA: Last month, there were reports that the Indian Army is developing cryptographic techniques to make its networks resistant to attacks by systems with quantum capabilities. The Army has collaborated with industry and academia to build secure communications and cryptography applications. This step builds on last year’s initiative to establish a quantum computing laboratory at the military engineering institute in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. With traditional encryption models at risk and increasing military applications of quantum technology, the deployment of “quantum-resistant” systems has become the need of the hour.
READ THE STORY: The Indian Express
Mexico probes whether Pegasus spyware purchases were legal
FROM THE MEDIA: The Mexican attorney general's office said on Sunday it is investigating the purchase of Pegasus computer spyware by the previous administration and whether it was carried out legally. In a statement, the office referred to existing probes of two people, including a prominent ex-official, into the use of Pegasus spyware, days after the current government denied it had spied on journalists or critics. Pegasus belongs to Israeli spyware firm NSO Group, which typically only sells the software to governments or law enforcement organizations.
READ THE STORY: Reuters
Mexico’s Military Gets Hacked
FROM THE MEDIA: Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ran for office in 2018 as an honest politician out to clean up corruption. Now the largest computer hack in Mexican history and new revelations suggesting that the government uses spyware to surveil citizens are rewriting that narrative. In September Mexicans learned that a group calling itself Guacamaya hacked Sedena, Mexico’s ministry of national defense. The hackers claim to have pinched some six terabytes of data. In layman’s terms, this could amount to nearly five million pages of text—although it’s probably less because it includes photos and videos.
READ THE STORY: WSJ
New PHP information-stealing malware targets Facebook accounts
FROM THE MEDIA: A new Ducktail phishing campaign is spreading a never-before-seen Windows information-stealing malware written in PHP used to steal Facebook accounts, browser data, and cryptocurrency wallets. Ducktail phishing campaigns were first revealed by researchers from WithSecure in July 2022, who linked the attacks to Vietnamese hackers. Those campaigns relied on social engineering attacks through LinkedIn, pushing .NET Core malware masquerading as a PDF document supposedly containing details about a marketing project.
READ THE STORY: Bleeping Computer
Items of interest
Chinese smart meters could be a threat to power supplies in Britain if used as 'a Trojan horse that could pull down the whole of the grid'
FROM THE MEDIA: A quarter of a million smart meters made by a firm linked to the Chinese government have been installed in UK homes, sparking fears Beijing could ‘destroy’ the national grid. At least three major UK energy suppliers have struck deals with Kaifa Technology UK, which is controlled by a subsidiary of the state-owned China Electronics Corporation (CEC). There are already 250,000 Kaifa meters in homes across the country, according to industry figures obtained by the Daily Mail. But experts predict there could be more than three million by the end of the rollout.
READ THE STORY: DailyMail
Mike Baker on Cyber Warfare (Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: In this cut Joe Rogan and Mike Baker discuss China vs USA and different cyber warfare techniques used to acquire information through corporate espionage. Mike outlines the terrifying reality of loss that occurs through this, measured as 500 billion in losses 10 years ago.
China's Data Hacking, TikTok, AI, and Cyber Warfare (Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: China's Data Hacking, TikTok, AI, and Cyber Warfare (Michael Beckley w/Brad Carr).
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