Advocacy groups in Arizona are requesting that U.S. officials ban a Florida-based firm, hired to conduct a ballot review of the 2020 presidential election in Maricopa County, from working with the federal government, the Washington Post reported. In a letter sent to the Interagency Suspension & Debarment Committee on Monday, the groups asked for the debarment of…
Author: Ines Kagubare
State-backed hackers targeted US-based journalists in widespread spy campaigns: report
State-sponsored hackers from China, North Korea, Iran and Turkey have been regularly spying on and impersonating journalists from various media outlets in an effort to infiltrate their networks and gain access to sensitive information, according to a report released on Thursday by cybersecurity firm Proofpoint. The report reveals that government-backed hackers used various tools to…
Hillicon Valley — US, Israel team up on tech
The Biden administration announced Wednesday it is partnering with Israel on a tech initiative focused on studying artificial intelligence and addressing climate change. In other news, former President Trump slammed Elon Musk after the SpaceX and Tesla CEO said it is time for Trump “to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.” He…
US defense firm ends talks to buy Israeli spyware from controversial firm
U.S. defense contractor L3Harris has reportedly ended its bid to buy spyware and hacking tools from Israeli tech company NSO Group. According to news reports, L3Harris ended the talks following security concerns raised by the Biden administration last month that the acquisition of the spyware would “pose a serious counterintelligence and security risk to U.S….
Federal agencies warn health sector against North Korean ransomware
U.S. federal agencies issued a joint advisory on Wednesday regarding North Korean state-sponsored cyber actors using Maui ransomware to target the health sector. The FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of the Treasury said that particular ransomware has been used by North Korean government-backed hackers since at least last spring to target…
Rising threats spark US scramble for cyber workers
The federal government and private sector are facing increasing pressure to fill key cyber roles as high-profile attacks and international threats rattle various U.S. sectors. Workforce shortages have been a long-running issue in cyber, but they have taken on renewed importance amid rising Russian threats stemming from the war in Ukraine. “It’s an issue that…
Norway hit with cyberattack, temporarily suspending service
Norway’s public and private sector websites were temporarily down on Wednesday following a cyberattack that targeted the country’s national data network, forcing it to suspend online services for several hours. Sofie Nystrøm, head of the Norwegian National Security Authority (NSM), said a criminal pro-Russian group seemed to be behind the hacks, adding the attacks “give…
Russian-backed hackers target Lithuanian websites
Several public and private sector websites in Lithuania were temporarily down on Monday following a cyberattack reportedly carried out by a Russian-backed hacking group. Lithuania’s acting director of the National Cyber Security Centre, Jonas Skardinskas, said the disruption was an ongoing distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that targeted the country’s Secure National Data Transfer as…
Hillicon Valley — Roe reversal renews data privacy calls
The Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade has led Democrats to push for action on proposals to protect Americans seeking abortions from being targeted with their personal data. In other news, a California-based crypto firm announced on Thursday night that hackers stole $100 million worth of cryptocurrency. This is Hillicon Valley, detailing…
Hackers stole $100 million in latest crypto theft
Harmony, a California-based crypto firm, announced on Thursday night that hackers have stolen $100 million worth of cryptocurrency from one of its blockchain bridges. The company said on Twitter that it has partnered up with law enforcement and forensic specialists to try to identify the hackers and retrieve the stolen funds. “Harmony is working around…