Security News
Russia's internet watchdog Roskomnadzor is developing a neural network that will use artificial intelligence to scan websites for prohibited information. Examples of information targeted by Oculus include homosexuality "Propaganda," instructions on manufacturing weapons or drugs, and misinformation that discredits official state and army sources.
Microsoft on Monday revealed it took steps to disrupt phishing operations undertaken by a "Highly persistent threat actor" whose objectives align closely with Russian state interests. "SEABORGIUM intrusions have also been linked to hack-and-leak campaigns, where stolen and leaked data is used to shape narratives in targeted countries," Microsoft's threat hunting teams said.
Russia's Shuckworm cyber group launching ongoing attacks on Ukraine. The Russia-linked cyber group Shuckworm is continuing to target Ukrainian organizations with infostealing malware.
Apple's internet traffic took an unwelcome detour through Russian networking equipment for about twelve hours between July 26 and July 27. In a write-up for MANRS, a public interest group that looks after internet routing, Internet Society senior internet technology manager Aftab Siddiqui said that Russia's Rostelecom started announcing routes for part of Apple's network on Tuesday, a practice referred to as BGP hijacking.
Iran's Communications Ministry joined in a pledge with Russian state-owned defence and technology conglomerate Rostec to explore future collaboration in e-government, information security, and other areas. News of the collaboration came in a statement published on Friday by Iran's Information Technology Organization - a government agency charged with developing policy related to data networks and digital services.
Russian threat actors capitalized on the ongoing conflict against Ukraine to distribute Android malware camouflaged as an app for pro-Ukrainian hacktivists to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks against Russian sites. "The apps were not distributed through the Google Play Store, but hosted on a domain controlled by the actor and disseminated via links on third party messaging services."
The Russian hacking group Turla released an Android app that seems to aid Ukrainian hackers in their attacks against Russian networks. The hackers pretended to be a "Community of free people around the world who are fighting russia's aggression"-much like the IT Army.
A court in Moscow has imposed a fine of $358 million on Google LLC for failing to restrict access to information considered prohibited in the country. Last month, the organization fined 68 million rubles Google LLC for the umpteenth time for failure to remove prohibited information.
Singapore-based security vendor and services provider Group-IB has commenced a "Regional diversification" program that will see it not just continue to operate in Russia, but do so with a dedicated entity. A new and independently managed entity will offer the company's services and wares in Russia.
Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 threat intelligence team has claimed that a piece of malware that 56 antivirus products were unable to detect is evidence that state-backed attackers have found new ways to go about the evil business. Unit 42's analysts assert that the malware was spotted in May 2022 and contains a malicious payload that suggests it was created using a tool called Brute Ratel.