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Meowing exposed databases. US indicts two Chinese nationals for hacking, and orders China to close its Houston consulate. Jul 22, 2020

Show notes

“Meowing” is now a thing: the automated discovery and wiping of exposed and unprotected databases. The US indicts two Chinese nationals on eleven counts of hacking and reports evidence that Chinese intelligence services are now using cybercriminals as contractors. Mike Schaub from CloudCheckr on why COVID-19 has ignited modernization projects for government agencies. Joe Carrigan on counterfeit Cisco routers. The US State Department tells China to close its consulate in Houston.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/141

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Parliament gets its report on Russian hacking. A look at the cyber criminal economy. Russia says it has no hackers. Jul 21, 2020

Show notes

The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament has rendered its report on the Russian cyber threat. Trend Micro reports on the workings of the cyber criminal underground economy. Ben Yelin on U.S. Customs and Border Protection collecting license plate data. Our guest is Kevin O'Brien from GreatHorn on the role of business policies in security to keep users safe during high-risk events. And it turns out that Russia has no hackers whatsoever: Moscow’s Finance Minister says so, so you can take that to the bank.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/140

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Following the spoor of the Twitter hackers, a couple of whom seem to be talking to the press. Marketing databases and intelligence collection. TikTok ban? Hacking biomedical research. Jul 20, 2020

Show notes

Notes on last week’s Twitter hack, and on the allure of original gangster and other celebrity usernames. Using marketing databases for intelligence collection. The US Government mulls a ban on TikTok. Johannes Ullrich from SANS on Google Cloud storage becoming a more popular phishing platform. Our own Rick Howard on security operations centers, and a preview of the latest episode of his CSO Perspectives podcast. And more reaction to alleged Russian and Chinese attempts to hack COVID-19 biomedical research.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/139

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Have to be able to communicate to everybody. [Career Notes] Jul 19, 2020

Show notes

Computer security writer, podcaster and public speaker Graham Cluley describes learning to program on his own from magazines, creating text adventure games for donations, and his journey from programming to presenting and writing with a bit of tap dancing on the side. Along the way, Graham collaborated with others and learned to communicate so that all could understand, not just techies. Our thanks to Graham for sharing his story with us.

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Every time we get smarter, the bad guy changes something. [Research Saturday] Jul 18, 2020

Show notes

Researchers at Symantec spotted a Sodinokibi targeted ransomware campaign in which the attackers are also scanning the networks of some victims for credit card or point of sale (PoS) software.

It is not clear if the attackers are targeting this software for encryption or because they want to scrape this information as a way to make even more money from this attack.

Joining us in this week's Research Saturday to discuss the report is Jon DiMaggio of Symantec.

The research can be found here:

Sodinokibi: Ransomware Attackers also Scanning for PoS Software, Leveraging Cobalt Strike

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High-grade grifter. Twitter’s disinformation potential. Hacking vaccine research and doxing trade talks. What Iran’s hackers are up to. And CISA says, for heaven’s sake, patch already. Jul 17, 2020

Show notes

The Twitter hack is looking more like high-grade, low-end crime. It also worries people over the disinformation potential it suggests. People care, they really do, that someone hacked COVID-19 biomedical research (we’ll explain). Australia joins the UK, Canada, and the US in blaming Russia for Cozy Bear’s capers. Russia says it didn’t do nothin’. Rob Lee from Dragos with thoughts on the Ripple 20 vulnerabilities on industrial control systems. Our guest is Sal Aurigemma from University of Tulsa on fake ANTIFA twitter accounts. And CISA’s serious about getting the Feds to apply Tuesday’s Windows patch.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/138

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Twitter takes down verified accounts after major hack (most service now restored). Russian influence operations. Cozy Bear’s biomedical intelligence collection. Spearphishing in Hong Kong. Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

Twitter sustained a major incident in which celebrity accounts were hijacked yesterday. It seems to have been a social engineering caper, but it’s motivation, nominally financial, remains unclear. British authorities call out Russia for an influence campaign mounted during last year’s elections. Cozy Bear is back, and sniffing for COVID-19 biomedical intelligence. Craig Williams from Cisco Talos on Dynamic Data Resolver, a plugin that makes reverse-engineering malware easier. Our guest is Ashlee Benge, formerly from ZeroFox, on emerging and persistent digital attack tactics facing the financial services industry. And Chinese intelligence services are spearphishing Hong Kong Catholics.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/137

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A 2018 Presidential finding authorized the CIA to conduct a broad range of offensive cyber ops. Data breaches and ransomware incidents. Sloppy VPNs. SEC warns, and China woofs. Jul 15, 2020

Show notes

A 2018 Presidential finding authorized extensive CIA cyber operations against Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Wattpad may have been breached. The SEC asks its registrants to take steps to protect themselves against ransomware. Free VPNs’ databases found exposed. Joe Carrigan on privacy vs. security on Android devices. Our guest is Chris Deluzio from Pitt Cyber on election security. And Beijing woofs in the direction of London over the UK’s Huawei ban.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/136

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Huawei to be closed out of UK’s 5G infrastructure. Spyware, ransomware, and botnets. The odd case of Data Viper. SAP has a major patch out. Jul 14, 2020

Show notes

The British Government decides to ban Huawei. More on the malware associated with Golden Tax software package. The Molerats appear to be behind some spyware misrepresenting itself as a secure chat app. The Porphiex botnet is back distributing a new ransomware strain. The odd case of the Data Viper breach. Ben Yelin tracks a ruling from the DC circuit court on the release of electronic surveillance records. Our guest is Ann Johnson from Microsoft discussing her keynote at RSA APJ, The Rise of Digital Empathy. And SAP has a patch out--if you’re a user, CISA advises you to take this one seriously.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/135

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Presidential authorization for US Cyber Command action. DPRK hacking and internal regime dynamics. TrickBot’s developers. Cybercriminals in the dock. Jul 13, 2020

Show notes

President Trump says he authorized US Cyber Command’s retaliation against Russia’s Internet Research Agency for midterm election meddling. North Korean financially motivated hacking as a sign of internal power dynamics. TrickBot accidentally deploys a new module. TikTok, privacy, and security. LinkedIn hacker convicted. Justin Harvey from Accenture on what should and shouldn’t go in emails. Our guest is Matt Davey from 1password on the under-celebrated role of IT in the work from home transition. And advice to alleged criminals on the lam: give ‘em a low silhouette.

For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief:

https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/134

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