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In a Twitter discussion last week on ransomware attacks, KrebsOnSecurity noted that virtually all ransomware strains have a built-in failsafe designed to cover the backsides of the malware purveyors: They simply will not install on a Microsoft Windows computer that already has one of many types of virtual keyboards installed — such as Russian or Ukrainian. So many readers had questions in response to the tweet that I thought it was worth a blog post exploring this one weird cyber defense trick.The Twitter thread came up in a discussion on the ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline, which earlier this month...

Microsoft has issued an alert over a remote access tool (RAT) dubbed RevengeRAT that it says has been used to target aerospace and travel sectors with spear-phishing emails. RevengeRAT, also known as AsyncRAT, is being distributed via carefully crafted email messages that prompt employees to open a file masquerading as an Adobe PDF file attachment that in fact downloads a malicious visual basic (VB) file. Security firm Morphisec recently flagged the two RATs as part of a sophisticated Crypter-as-a-Service that delivers multiple RAT families.SEE: Network security policy (TechRepublic Premium)According to Microsoft, the phishing emails distribute a loader that then delivers...

CHAMBLEE, Ga. - More than 1,000 gas stations in the Southeast reported running out of fuel, primarily because of what analysts say is unwarranted panic-buying among drivers, as the shutdown of a major pipeline by a gang of hackers entered its fifth day Tuesday. Government officials acted swiftly to waive safety and environmental rules to speed the delivery of fuel by truck, ship or rail to motorists and airports, even as they sought to assure the public that there was no cause for alarm. Sponsored Links Video from our partners Brought to you by Taboola Forget the 30yr mortgage if...

The DarkSide hacker gang that is responsible for the devastating Colonial Pipeline attack this weekend is a relatively new group, but cybersecurity analysts already know enough about them to determine just how dangerous they are. According to Boston-based Cybereason, DarkSide is an organized group of hackers set up along the “ransomware as a service” business model, meaning the DarkSide hackers develop and market ransomware hacking tools, and sell them to other criminals who then carry out attacks. Think of it as the evil twin of a Silicon Valley software start-up. Bloomberg first reported that DarkSide may be involved in the...

WASHINGTON—At least two groups of China-linked hackers have spent months using a previously undisclosed vulnerability in virtual private networking devices to spy on the U.S. defense industry, researchers and the devices’ manufacturer said. Utah-based IT company Ivanti said in a statement on April 20 the hackers took advantage of the flaw in its Pulse Connect Secure suite to break into the systems of “a very limited number of customers.” Ivanti said that while mitigations are in place, a fix for the issue would be unavailable until early May. Ivanti provided no details about who might be responsible for the espionage...

ABC 4 reporter Jason Nguyen personally visited the home of a Utah paramedic who donated $10 to the legal defense fund of Kyle Rittenhouse to “get the paramedics [sic] side of things”:

*snip*...every time I read a story that says a “data breach’ is being weaponized for political benefit, my immediate reaction is now to dismiss the oft claimed “hackers” and focus on the most likely source of privacy weaponization: the known and intentional intrusion by government officials and contractors.

A cyberattack on Microsoft Corp.’s Exchange email software is believed to have infected tens of thousands of businesses, government offices and schools in the U.S., according to people briefed on the matter. Many of those victims of the attack, which Microsoft has said was carried out by a network of suspected Chinese hackers, appear to be small businesses and state and local governments. Estimates of total world-wide victims were approximate and ranged broadly as of Friday. Tens of thousands of customers appear to have been affected, but that number could be larger, the people said. It could be higher than...

Cybersecurity group FireEye said Thursday it found evidence that hackers linked to the Chinese regime exploited a flaw in a Microsoft email application to go after a number of American targets, including a university and local governments. FireEye analysts wrote in a blog post that the company built “higher-fidelity detections” and launched multiple threat hunting campaigns after Microsoft confirmed earlier this week that a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as “Hafnium” had exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Exchange Server email program. Using its array of detection methods and tools, FireEye found that “the activity reported by Microsoft aligns with our observations”...

Free speech social media platform Gab was attacked in a coordinated hacking operation sometime this weekend, with malicious actors briefly compromising accounts of prominent users of the platform.Gab founder Andrew Torba disclosed the cyberattack, revealing that left-wing operatives had sought to compromise both his own Gab account and an archive account reserved for President Donald Trump. The attack compromised Trump’s reserved account minutes before the President was slated to speak on-stage at CPAC- with the timing suggesting the President may announce he’s joining the free speech social media service.Trending: Wikipedia’s Founder is Creating New Free Speech Competitor to Website, Citing...

The gist of the Congressional inquiry into the role NSA may have played in manipulating the U.S. civilian government technical standards development and approval process is not the first time the legislative branch of government has smelled a rat when it comes to NSA inserting “Trojan horses” into standards developed for civilian government and commercial use. In the case of Dual_EC_DRBG, NSA’s zeal in providing itself with a hidden back door to spy on targeted computers and networks relying on the NIST standard may have boomeranged. Back doors of any nature in information technology products is a hack waiting to...

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense found thousands of its computer servers sending military network data to China — the result of code hidden in chips that handled the machines’ startup process. In 2014, Intel Corp. discovered that an elite Chinese hacking group breached its network through a single server that downloaded malware from a supplier’s update site. And in 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned multiple companies that Chinese operatives had concealed an extra chip loaded with backdoor code in one manufacturer's servers.

A grand jury on Thursday dismissed felony assault charges against two Buffalo police officers who in June pushed a 75-year-old man during a protest against police violence in the wake of George Floyd’s death, reports ­The Buffalo News. ... Martin Gugino was pushed away after appearing to scan police communications in order to black out the equipmentI watched, he fell harder than was pushed. Was aiming scanner. Could be a set up.

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – A home security technician has pleaded guilty to repeatedly hacking into customers’ video feeds, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Prerak Shah. Telesforo Aviles, a 35-year-old former ADT employee, pleaded guilty to computer fraud on Thursday, Jan. 21, in federal court. “This defendant, entrusted with safeguarding customers’ homes, instead intruded on their most intimate moments,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “We are glad to hold him accountable for this disgusting betrayal of trust.” “The defendant used his position of employment to illegally breach the privacy of numerous people. The FBI works with our...

A last-ditch effort to persuade President Donald Trump to issue a pre-emptive pardon to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is reportedly being blocked by White House counsel Pat Cipollone, according to reports. A high-level source in the Trump administration reported to Breitbart News that while the President is sympathetic to pardoning Assange, Cipollone is not — and the continued opposition of the White House counsel is making a pardon increasingly unlikely. Trump could still overrule Cipollone if he wished – he has the legal authority to do so – but it appears that the President continues to heed the latter’s advice....

Former Florida data scientist Rebekah Jones was arrested on a charge that she hacked into the state’s emergency response system — and later learned she tested positive for COVID-19. Jones — who said she was fired from the state’s Department of Health in May for refusing to alter coronavirus data — turned herself in late Sunday, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Her attorney, Steve Dobson, said Jones, 31, was tested for COVID-19 after being booked into the Leon County Detention Facility, and learned she was positive on Monday.

Christopher Krebs, the former director for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), still finds himself at the center of American cybersecurity issues despite the fact that his run at CISA ended with his firing by President Trump after the 2020 election.Many observers and most in the media attempted to portray the firing as a vengeful act by the outgoing president who was upset that Krebs failed to acknowledge the evidence of voter fraud that the Trump legal team has worked so hard to collect in the days following November 3, 2020. The incident that wound up sealing Krebs’ fate...

According to an analysis of the hack by CSO Online last year, the data that was taken included SF-86 forms, which contain “ extremely personal information gathered in background checks for people seeking government security clearances, along with records of millions of people’s fingerprints.”

Hacker was paid to switch around vote in US election.

Posting for discussion. Not sure who these folks are. Leonardo S.p.A (formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica) is the Italian MIC Defense contractor ... ... that used its Military Satellite uplink to load it’s vote changing software in Rome ... ... and transfer it to the Frankfurt/Barcelona servers.👇 https://mobile.twitter.com/killaudeepstate/status/1346610420178587650?s=21 And audio file here. Save while you can. https://vocaroo.com/1e976QE4oDoy