Security News
MI5's UK Annual Threat Update 2021 from director general Ken McCallum almost mirrors the threat warnings delivered by U.S. government agencies: ransomware and IP theft in cyber, and extreme right-wing terrorism amplified by online echo chambers. McCallum's view is, "For as long as it's cheap and easy for hostile actors to try to access UK data; or to cultivate initially-unwitting individuals here; or to spread false, divisive information - they are bound to keep doing so." The UK house also needs to be got in order - and in both cases the call is for new and stronger legislation.
Following attribution of the SolarWinds supply chain attack to Russia's APT29, the US CISA infosec agency has published a list of the spies' known tactics - including a penchant for using a naughtily named email provider. APT29* is the Western infosec world's codename for what we now know is the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, known by its Russian acronym SVR. As well as publishing a list of things US counterintelligence know about their Russian offensive counterparts, CISA has also added some advice on how to avoid these common Russian intelligence compromise tactics.
Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat has publicly claimed GCHQ sources told him Gmail was more secure than Parliament's own Microsoft Office 365 deployment - but both Parliament and a GCHQ offshoot have told him to stop being silly. "I was told by friends at GCHQ that I was better off sticking to Gmail rather than using the parliamentary system because it was more secure," Tugendhat told the BBC's Today Programme.
Striving to further diversify its ranks, the CIA launched a new website Monday to find top-tier candidates who will bring a broader range of life experiences to the nation's premier intelligence agency. The revamped website has links for browsing CIA jobs complete with starting salaries and requirements, sections on working at the agency, and a streamlined application process.
Police forces were found by IPCO to be treating applications to use spying powers as a tickbox exercise, perhaps unsurprisingly given that these are self-authorisations rubberstamped by police managers themselves. "To provide oversight that satisfies this judgment, IPCO reviewed the use of bulk data at GCHQ and has now incorporated the sharing of bulk data with foreign partners into its regular oversight and inspection arrangements," said IPCO in a statement.
Historic gadgets used by British spies will be revealed for the first time later this week, as one of the country's intelligence agencies steps out the shadows to mark its centenary -- and to...
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday inaugurated the new, fortress-like Berlin headquarters of Germany's scandal-plagued BND foreign intelligence service. Located where the Berlin Wall once...
GCHQ Joins the NSA in Publishing its Vulnerabilities Equities Process read more
LONDON (AP) — The West unleashed an onslaught of new evidence and indictments Thursday accusing Russian military spies of hacking so widespread that it seemed to target anyone, anywhere who...
Germany's spy agency can monitor major internet hubs if Berlin deems it necessary for strategic security interests, a federal court has ruled. read more