CyberWire Daily

Latest Episodes:

Russia retaliates against the US with tit-for-tat PNGs, consular closure. Assange has no more Internet (until he behaves). Fauxpersky and WannaCry seen in the wild. Facebook works on privacy. Mar 29, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast, we hear that Russia has retaliated against the US with diplomatic expulsions and at least one consulate closure. Potential cyber operations remain a matter of concern. Julian Assange no longer has Internet access in his room at Ecuador's embassy. WannaCry hits a Boeing plant, but Boeing is resilient enough to work through the infection. A new keylogger pretends to be Kaspersky AV, but not very convincingly. Facebook works to upgrade user privacy, and Apple says it doesn't need to do the same. David Dufour from Webroot with tips for first-time conference goers. Guest is Deral Heiland from Rapid7 on smart sensors.

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Tensions over Salisbury nerve agent attack remain high. BranchScope raises concerns about side-channel attacks. Facebook data scandal updates. Atlanta and Baltimore recover from hacks. Mar 28, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast, we hear that tensions continue to rise between Russia and other, mostly Western, countries as the number of nations taking diplomatic measures to protest the Salisbury attack exceeds twenty-five. Western governments are on alert for Russian cyber operations as well as diplomatic reprisals. A new bug, BranchScope, is found affecting Intel processors. The Facebook data scandal continues. Atlanta and Baltimore recover from hacks of municipal systems. Dr. Charles Clancy from the Hume Center at VA Tech, discussing the security of analog devices in cyber physical systems. Guest is Liv Rowley from Flashpoint on Dark Web refund fraud. And don't be gulled by bogus job offers.

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Blockchains that bind us. [Special Editions] Mar 28, 2018

Show notes

The past few month have been all abuzz with excitement about cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. The price of Bitcoin took a rocket ride toward the stars, and stories were coming fast and furious about how the blockchain was going to tranform and revolutionize just about everything.

Jonathan Katz is a professor of computer science at the University of Maryland and director of the Maryland cybersecurity center. As we’ll hear in this CyberWire special edition, he’s been following blockchain technology and cryptocurrency from its humble beginnings, and he’s our guide to understanding how it all works.

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Phishing from the library. Facebook and Cambridge Analytica updates. Bots as propaganda readers. SamSam still plagues Atlanta. Aadhaar leaky? Many nations expel Russian diplomats. Mar 27, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast, we hear that the Mabna Institute was pretty good at phishing. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg sends regrets to Westminster. Facebook is under FTC investigation. Cambridge Analytica is in hot water with the FEC. Kaspersky says outing Slingshot was just part of the job. The City of Atlanta is finding it surprisingly hard to recover from SamSam ransomware. Aadhaar may be leaky, again. Bots as Lord Haw-Haws. More than twenty countries expel Russian diplomats. Russian cyber reprisal expected. Justin Harvey from Accenture on cryptocurrency mining. Guest is Steve Piper from CyberEdge with results from their 2018 Cyberthreat Defense Report.

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Persona non grata, Ivan Ivanovich. Grid threat worries. Data scandal updates. Malware notes. Reaction to Iranian indictments. Alleged Carbanak kingpin collared. Mar 26, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast we hear that Sixty Russian diplomats are now persona non grata in the US. It's the largest such retaliation so far for the Russian nerve agent attack in Salisbury, England. Fear of a Russian riposte against Western power grids remains high. Cambridge Analytica was raided over the weekend in the continuing Facebook data scandal. Facebook faces more difficulties over Android data collection. Notes on malware circulating in the wild. Iran objects to US indictments. Daniel Prince from Lancaster University discussing risk management. And the alleged Carbanak "mastermind" is arrested in Spain.

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Code comments cause SAML conundrum. [Research Saturday] Mar 24, 2018

Show notes

Researchers at Duo Security recently unearthed a new vulnerability class that affects SAML-based single sign-on (SSO) systems. This vulnerability can allow an attacker with authenticated access to trick SAML systems into authenticating as a different user without knowledge of the victim user’s password.

Kelby Ludwig is a Senior Application Security Engineer at Duo security, and he takes us through his discoveries.

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US indicts Iranian hackers. Guccifer 2.0 is a GRU Bear. Atlanta hit with ransomware. Equifax breach cost consumers plenty. Facebook's troubles persist, as do Cambridge Analytica's. Mar 23, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast, we hear that the US has indicted Iranian hackers. Guccifer 2.0 has been fingered as a GRU team. Inquiries into their activities are folded into Special Counsel Mueller's investigation. Atlanta, Georgia, hit with ransomware. A study estimates the direct cost of the Equifax breach to consumers. App stores show a decline in malware infestations. Facebook leaders speak, finally, but do little to ease the company's pain. An FTC inquiry could be costly. The Cambridge Analytica affair will have implications for regulations, marketing, and consumer trust. Ben Yelin from UMD CHHS on the Equifax probe being put on ice by the US Consumer Protection agencies. Guest is Kevin Haley from Symantec, on their annual Internet Security Threat Report.

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Kaspersky burned a JSOC op? Facebook affair: apps, legal fallout, regulatory inspiration, apologies and resolution to sin no more. Tariffs against IP theft. Best Buy shows Huawei the highway. Mar 22, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast, we learn that Kaspersky Lab appears to have burned a US operation. Facebook has some other governments to answer to, now. Facebook CEO Zuckerberg finally discusses the Cambridge Analytics affair in public. Lawsuits and calls for regulation are shouted up. Best Buy shows Huawei the highway. And we have a brief wrap-up of the Billington International CyberSecurity Summit. Joe Carrigan from JHU ISI responding to a listener inquiry about job hunting. Guests are Chad Seaman: Senior Engineer, Security Intelligence Response Team and Lisa Beegle: Senior Manager, Security Intelligence, Akamai, describing the record-setting DDoD attack they recently experienced and helped mitigate.

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Preparing for grid attacks. Notes on breaches, crime, and punishment. And Facebook's no-good, bad, awful week. Mar 21, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast we hear that the US Department of Energy says the power grid is preparing for Russian attacks. Teenager finds flaw in hardware wallet. Travel service Orbit suffers a data breach. Laurie Love won't be extradited to the US. Notes from today's Billington International CyberSecurity Summit. And Facebook's truly awful week continues: the Silicon Age is looking right now a lot like the end stages of the Gilded Age. Jonathan Katz from UMD on the security of e-passports. Guest is J.R. Cunningham from Optiv, with advice to not get carried away with GDPR.

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Power grid threats coming through the router. Cambridge Analytica and Facebook face tough questions. Mar 20, 2018

Show notes

In today's podcast, we hear that ICS experts continue to warn of grid vulnerability to hacking. AMD chip flaws called real, but not very serious. Cambridge Analytica under investigation in the UK. Facebook tries without much success so far to disentangle itself from Cambridge Analytica's use of Facebook data. President Putin wins reelection amid accusations of voting fraud. Former French President Sarkozy is in police custody over Libyan campaign contributions. (The Libyans want their money back, too.) Chris Poulin from BAH on malware evolution. Guest is Patrick Craven from the Center for Cyber Safety and Education, a nonprofit that has scholarships available.

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