Search Results for “Reuters”

August 2, 2019
Joel Schechtman, Christopher Bing / Reuters

Joel Schechtman, Christopher Bing / Reuters  
Google Follows Mozilla in Branding Security Firm DarkMatter’s Sites Unsafe Due to Reported Ties to State Hacking Operations

Google said last week on a public discussion board that its Chrome and Android browsers would mark as unsafe all websites that had been certified by the UAE security firm DarkMatter following a Reuters report that tied DarkMatter to state hacking operations. Google follows Firefox browser in making the same decision. DarkMatter has denied being tied to offensive operations and has appealed Mozilla’s decision, which they said was based on “discriminatory practices,” and an “undisclosed conflict of interest.”

October 16, 2019
Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart / Reuters

Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart / Reuters  
U.S. Launched Cyberstrike Against Iran in September in Wake of Oil Facility Attacks, Operation Aimed at Propaganda and Affected Physical Hardware, Sources

The United States carried out a secret cyber operation against Iran aimed at its propaganda operations in the wake of the September 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities, which Washington and Riyadh blame on Tehran, according to two U.S. officials. One of the officials said the strike affected physical hardware although no details were offered. Iran denies that such an attack took place.

Related: Times of Israel, Sky News, RT News, Ars Technica, CNET, Silicon UK, Law & Disorder – Ars Technica, The Asian Age | Home, Hacker News: Newest, Sky News, Techerati, The Hill: Cybersecurity, Task & Purpose

 

 

Tweets:@Reuters @zackwhittaker @jfslowik @ProfWoodward @KyleWOrton @chrisrohlf @lukOlejnik @JasonMBrodsky @howelloneill @QW5kcmV3 @johnhulquist @Bing_Chris

Times of Israel : Report: US conducted cyberattack on Iran following strike on Saudi oil
Sky News: US launched secret cyber strike against Iran after Saudi oil attacks
RT News: Stealth aggression: US attacked Iran with cyberweapons, including after Saudi oil refinery airstrike – reports
Ars Technica: US claims cyber strike on Iran after attack on Saudi oil facility
CNET: US launched cyberattack against Iran after Saudi oil strike, says report
Silicon UK: US Carried Out Cyberattack On Iran After Saudi Oil Attack – Report
Law & Disorder – Ars Technica: US claims cyber strike on Iran after attack on Saudi oil facility
The Asian Age | Home: US carried out secret cyber strike on Iran after Saudi oil attack: report
Hacker News: Newest: U.S. carried out secret cyber strike on Iran after Saudi oil attack: officials
Sky News: US launched secret cyber strike against Iran after Saudi oil attacks
Techerati: US officials reveal secret cyber strike against Iran
The Hill: Cybersecurity: US hit Iran with cyberattack after strikes on Saudi oil facilities: report
Task & Purpose: US carried out secret cyber strike on Iran in wake of Saudi oil attack, officials say

@Reuters: EXCLUSIVE: U.S. carried out secret cyber strike on Iran in wake of Saudi #oil attack - officials https://reut.rs/32lBD4G by @idreesali114 @phildstewart
@zackwhittaker: "The officials... said the operation took place in late September and took aim at Tehran’s ability to spread “propaganda.” One of the officials said the strike affected physical hardware, but did not provide further details."
@jfslowik: Hypothesis: this indeterminate operation was leaked a month after the fact because it caused no discernable effect (or victim didn't even notice), so trying to draw attention to regain any deterrent value that drove it's inception:
@ProfWoodward: This is what war can look like today
@KyleWOrton: #US carried out a cyber attack on #Iran over ARAMCO in "late September". The "strike affected physical hardware" and Tehran's "ability to spread 'propaganda'."It was "limited" and the impact, "if any, could take months to determine".
@chrisrohlf: The strike ‘affected physical hardware’ but targeted their ‘ability to spread propaganda’. You can do that from a mobile device. Hopefully more information comes out eventually. How and when we use these capabilities is important.
@lukOlejnik: Further reports of US-made offensive cyberattacks vs Iran. "strike affected physical hardware" (... "of a propaganda center") sounds really ambiguous.
@JasonMBrodsky: #BREAKING: U.S. carried out cyberattack on #Iran in retaliation for #AramcoAttack. Took aim at #Iran's ability to spread propaganda; affected physical hardware; & appeared to be more limited than previous strikes. Hard to see how this moves needle. #OOTT
@howelloneill: Interesting but pretty vague reporting on what looks like another recent US cyber operation against Iran:
@QW5kcmV3: "You can do damage without killing people or blowing things up; it adds an option to the toolkit that we didn't have before and our willingness to use it is important," said James Lewis. ? I don't know James, but he sounds like a smart guy. Love it.
@johnhulquist: Private industry, especially those companies working in the Gulf and those associated with critical infrastructure, should be tracking this tit-for-tat. If Iran fires back with cyber capabilities they won’t be attacking CYBERCOM.
@Bing_Chris: Great scoop by @idreesali114 and @phildstewart. When US hits in cyberspace against Iran, bets are Iran responds regionally - not direct. >>>Exclusive: U.S. carried out secret cyber strike on Iran in wake of Saudi oil attack: officials

July 24, 2019
Joseph Menn, Jack Stubbs / Reuters

Joseph Menn, Jack Stubbs / Reuters  
Russian Defense Contractor Sanctioned for 2016 Presidential Election Interference Has Developed Spyware Called Monokle Used to Spy on Android Phones

A Russian defense contractor, St. Petersburg-based Special Technology Center (STC), accused by the United States of supporting cyber-attacks has developed sophisticated surveillance software dubbed Monokle used to spy on smartphones, researchers at Lookout Security say. STC  developed code that has been aimed at a small number of targets, including those interested in a rebel militia in Russian-allied Syria, according to Lookout’s report. The report says the firm discovered the malware aimed at phones running Google’s Android almost a year ago. The malware can be operated remotely and communicated with an Internet Protocol address that was also used to send commands to defensive software made by STC. Monokle can be installed on victims’ devices in multiple ways, including through corrupted versions of popular apps and in some cases installed certificates that allowed it to intercept encrypted internet traffic. It has also attempted to capture user codes for unlocking devices. Special Technology Center was sanctioned by the U.S. Government in connection with interference in the 2016 US presidential elections

August 2, 2019
Jack Stubbs / Reuters

Jack Stubbs / Reuters  
Facebook Takes Down More Than 350 Accounts and Pages With 1.4 Million Followers in Propaganda Operation Tied to Saudi Government

In its ongoing efforts to combat “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” Facebook said it had suspended more than 350 accounts and pages with about 1.4 million followers connected to the government of Saudi Arabia, the company. The accounts and pages promoted state propaganda and attacked regional rivals, primarily targeting countries in the Middle East and North Africa, including Qatar, the UAE, Egypt Palestine, the first such network tied to the Saudi government on Facebook. The operation created accounts to look like local news operations and spent $100,000 on Facebook advertising. The Saudi government denies any involvement in the operation.

Related: SecurityWeek, CNN.com, The Hill: Cybersecurity, Tech Insider, Ad Week, Facebook Newsroom, Mashable, iTnews – Security, EJ Insight, Reuters, Ad Week, Digital Trends, The Hill, Cyberscoop, Daily Beast, Al Jazeera

September 16, 2019
Colin Packham / Reuters

Colin Packham / Reuters  
Australian Signals Directorate Attributed Cyberattacks on Parliament, Political Parties to China but Report Kept Under Wraps to Avoid Disrupting Trade Relations

The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) concluded in a classified report last March that China was responsible for a cyber-attack on its national parliament and three largest political parties before the general election in May, according to five sources. The report, which also included input from the Department of Foreign Affairs, recommended keeping the findings secret in order to avoid disrupting trade relations with Beijing, according to two of the sources. The attack on parliament was revealed last February with authorities at that time saying an unnamed sophisticated attacker was the culprit. The ASD also determined that the attackers accessed the networks of the ruling Liberal party, its coalition partner the rural-based Nationals, and the opposition Labor party, two of the sources said.

Related: Reddit-hacking, iTnews – Security, News.com.au, Channel News Asia, The Straits Times Asia News, The New Daily, ARN, The Age, WA Today, Sydney Morning Herald, TechNode, Security – Computing, South China Morning Post, The Guardian, The Register – Security

Tweets:@kevincollier

Reddit-hacking: Exclusive: Australia concluded China was behind hack on parliament, political parties – sources
iTnews – Security: China blamed for Australian parliament hack
News.com.au: China revealed to be behind hack on Aus parliament
Channel News Asia: China behind hack on parliament, political parties: Australia intelligence
The Straits Times Asia News: Australia concluded China was behind hack on Parliament, political parties: Sources
The New Daily: China was behind Australia hack: Claims
ARN: Australia concluded China was behind hack on parliament, political parties
The Age: Intelligence agencies pinned parliament hack on Beijing: report
WA Today : Intelligence agencies pinned parliament hack on Beijing: report
Sydney Morning Herald: Intelligence agencies pinned parliament hack on Beijing: report
TechNode: Chinese hackers responsible for attack on Australian parliament: report
Security – Computing: Chinese state sponsored hackers were responsible for cyberattack on national parliament, Australia intelligence agency concluded
South China Morning Post: Australian government reportedly concealed Chinese hack on parliament and political parties out of economic concern
EJ Insight: China blamed for cyberattack on Australia parliament: report
The Guardian: China blamed for cyber attack on parliament in February, sources say – politics live
The Register – Security: Australia didn’t blame China for parliament hack in case it upset trade relations – report

@kevincollier: Good on Reuters for getting multiple sources to sources to confirm that Australia's intelligence is positive China was behind its political hack earlier this year, but wasn't China's involvement long all but formally confirmed?

August 7, 2019
Olzhas Auyezov / Reuters

Olzhas Auyezov / Reuters  
Kazakhstan Halts Surveillance System Requiring State-Sanctioned Root Certificate, Says It Was Simply a ‘Test’ All Along

Kazakhstan has halted the implementation of an Internet surveillance system under fire by lawyers as illegal, with the government describing its initial rollout as merely a test. The initial rollout required mobile phone operators to install a root certificate capable of allowing the government to intercept Internet traffic on their devices or risk losing Internet access, all ostensibly in an effort to protect Kazakh users from “hacker attacks, online fraud and other kinds of cyber threats.” Kazakhstan’s State Security Committee said in a statement that the certificate rollout was simply a test which has now been completed. Users can remove the certificate and use the Internet as usual, it said.

July 24, 2019
Arno Schuetz, John Miller and David Dolan / Reuters

Arno Schuetz, John Miller and David Dolan / Reuters  
Top Global Companies, Including BASF, Siemens, Henkel, Roche, Marriott Say They’ve Been Victims of Cyberattacks Involving Winnti Malware, Attacks Traced to Chinese Groups, Report

German blue-chip companies BASF, Siemens, Henkel along with a host of others said they had been victims of cyberattacks, confirming a report by public broadcaster ARD that the attacks involved malware called Winnti, which allows attackers to remotely access a victim’s computer network. ARD also said the attackers were traced to Chinese groups but none of the companies commented on whether the attacks came from Chinese sources. In addition to the German companies, Swiss pharma company Roche, hotels group Marriott, airline Lion Air, conglomerate Sumitomo, and chemicals group Shin-Etsu were also victims of the attack. All of the companies said that no sensitive information had been lost.

October 15, 2019
Andreas Rinke, Douglas Busvine / Reuters

Andreas Rinke, Douglas Busvine / Reuters  
Germany’s New Rules for 5G Network Build-Out Do Not Exclude Huawei as a Vendor

Shrugging off U.S. pressure, Germany has finalized rules for the build-out of 5G mobile networks that will not exclude China’s Huawei Technologies. Germany’s so-called security catalog indicated that no single vendor would be barred to create a level playing field for equipment vendors. The U.S. has advocated that allies foreclose any opportunity for the controversial Chinese telecom tech giant to bid on building out their countries’ 5G networks. The Trump Administration has banned the company’s technology and barred U.S. suppliers from selling to Huawei. The U.S. fears that Huawei is beholden to the Chinese government and is a supply chain security risk. Germany’s security catalog, due to be released shortly, follows the European Union’s warning last week warned of the risk of increased cyberattacks on 5G networks by state-backed actors.

July 29, 2019
Foo Yun Chee / Reuters

Foo Yun Chee / Reuters  
Top EU Court Rules That Companies Which Use Facebook’s ‘Like’ Button on Their Sites Must Seek Users’ Consent to Transfer Data to the Social Media Giant

The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) ruled that companies that embed Facebook’s “Like” button on their websites must seek users’ consent to transfer their personal data to the U.S. social network. The top court’s decision came after a German consumer body, Verbraucherzentrale NRW, sued German online fashion retailer Fashion ID for breaching personal data protection rules via its use of the button on its site. Under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect last year, a data controller determines why personal data must be collected and processed and also secure consent from users. The court ruled that the operator of a website that features a Facebook ‘Like’ button can be a controller jointly with Facebook.

Related: Bloomberg Technology, PYMNTS.com, News from EUobserver, ZDNet Security, Computer Business Review, TechCrunch, diginomica government, diginomica government, The Verge, MacDailyNews

August 18, 2019
Keith Zhai, David Shepardson / Reuters

Keith Zhai, David Shepardson / Reuters  
Commerce Department Expected to Extend 90-Day Temporary License That Allows Huawei to Continue Buying Tech From U.S. Companies

The U.S. Commerce Department is expected to extend a 90-day “temporary general license” to Huawei Technologies that permits the controversial Chinese telecom and tech giant to continue buying technology and supplies from U.S. companies so that it can service existing customers, two sources familiar with the situation said. The situation remains fluid and the decision to continue the Huawei reprieve could change ahead of the Monday deadline, the sources said. More than 50 U.S. suppliers have requested the special licenses to sell to the firm, which has been accused by the U.S. government in spying on behalf of the Chinese government.