Security News
An ex-NSA employee has been charged with trying to sell classified data to the Russians. It's a weird story, and the FBI affidavit raises more questions than it answers.
The FBI alleges it then followed the money as it moved from a cryptocurrency exchange to the NSA staffer's personal bank account. Jareh Sebastian Dalke, who was employed at the NSA as an information security systems designer from June 6 to July 1, allegedly began communicating with what he believed to be a foreign agent on July 29, according to a statement from the Department of Justice announcing his arrest in Denver on September 28.
A former U.S. National Security Agency employee has been arrested on charges of attempting to sell classified information to a foreign spy, who was actually an undercover agent working for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 30, was employed at the NSA for less than a month from June 6, 2022, to July 1, 2022, serving as an Information Systems Security Designer as part of a temporary assignment in Washington D.C. According to an affidavit filed by the FBI, Dalke was also a member of the U.S. Army from about 2015 to 2018 and held a Secret security clearance, which he received in 2016.
The National Security Agency and CISA have issued guidance on how to secure operational technology and industrial control systems part of U.S. critical infrastructure.The advisory also "Notes the increasing threats to OT and ICS assets that operate, control, and monitor day-to-day critical infrastructure and industrial processes. OT/ICS designs are publicly available, as are a wealth of tools to exploit IT and OT systems."
China has accused the U.S. National Security Agency of conducting a string of cyberattacks aimed at aeronautical and military research-oriented Northwestern Polytechnical University in the city of Xi'an in June 2022. The National Computer Virus Emergency Response Centre disclosed its findings last week, and accused the Office of Tailored Access Operations at the USA's National Security Agency of orchestrating thousands of attacks against the entities located within the country.
Three former US government cyber-spies who, among other things, illicitly compromised and snooped on Americans' devices for the United Arab Emirates government have been banned from participating in international arms exports under a deal reached with Uncle Sam. Per the terms of the agreements, Ryan Adams [PDF], Marc Baier [PDF] and Daniel Gericke [PDF], all three former NSA operatives, will be "Debarred," meaning they are prohibited from participating in any activities regulated under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations for three years.
The U.S. National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have released tips today on securing the software supply chain. "Securing the Software Supply Chain for Developers was created to help developers achieve security through industry and government-evaluated recommendations," the Department of Defense's intelligence agency said.
Abstract: In recent decades, the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, which develops cryptographic standards for non-national security agencies of the U.S. government, has emerged as the de facto international source for cryptographic standards. Edward Snowden disclosed that the National Security Agency had subverted the integrity of a NIST cryptographic standardthe Dual EC DRBGenabling easy decryption of supposedly secured communications.
The National Security Agency and cybersecurity partner agencies issued an advisory today recommending system administrators to use PowerShell to prevent and detect malicious activity on Windows machines. "Blocking PowerShell hinders defensive capabilities that current versions of PowerShell can provide, and prevents components of the Windows operating system from running properly. Recent versions of PowerShell with improved capabilities and options can assist defenders in countering abuse of PowerShell".
The NSA already has classified quantum-resistant algorithms of its own that it developed over many years, said Joyce. The agency's mathematicians worked with NIST to support the process, trying to crack the algorithms in order to test their merit.