Security News

US govt IT help desk techie 'leaked top secrets' to foreign nation
2023-09-21 22:10

Abraham Lemma, 50, a Silver Springs, Maryland resident and a naturalized United States citizen who was born in Ethiopia, was detained on August 24 after allegedly sending classified US national defense information to an Ethiopian intelligence agent. Crucially, Lemma was an IT help desk technician assigned to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research with the US Department of State since at least 2021.

Robocall scammers sentenced in US after netting $1.2M via India-based call centers
2023-09-20 13:29

Two Indian nationals each received 41-month prison sentences for their involvement in $1.2 million worth of robocall scams targeting the elderly, according to the district of New Jersey's attorney's office on Tuesday. Plantiffs Arushobike Mitra and Garbita Mitra both previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud before receiving their sentences in Newark federal court.

Russian allegedly smuggled US weapons electronics to Moscow
2023-09-19 19:55

A Russian national helped smuggle, via shell companies in Hong Kong, more than $1.6 million in microelectronics to Moscow potentially to support its war against Ukraine, it is claimed. "Probably more than obvious at this time, but the company and board have decided it is no longer right for us to sell or ship to Russian customers and risk that our displays will be used in devices that could put US or NATO forces in harm's way, or support Russia's unlawful invasion of Ukraine and its human rights abuse," a company exec said in an email to employees, which was quoted in the prosecution's court filings.

US-Canada water org confirms 'cybersecurity incident' after ransomware crew threatens leak
2023-09-15 00:15

The International Joint Commission, a body that manages water rights along the US-Canada border, has confirmed its IT security was targeted, after a ransomware gang claimed it stole 80GB of data from the organization. "The International Joint Commission has experienced a cybersecurity incident, and we are working with relevant organizations to investigate and resolve the situation," a spokesperson for the org told The Register.

Watchdog urges change of HART: Late, expensive US biometric ID under fire
2023-09-13 20:00

Homeland Security told to mind costs, fix up privacy controls Twice delayed and over budget, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been told by the Government Accountability Office...

Want a New Job? Explore Opportunities at the 10 Top US Startup Ecosystems
2023-09-12 08:24

Silicon Valley is just one of a number of key US startup ecosystems fueling startups, all of which drive investment and job creation: check where new opportunities are in the US right now. Despite stiff competition from the Chinese ecosystems of Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai, as well as the rapidly growing Indian hubs of Mumbai, Bengaluru-Karnataka and Delhi, it remains on top, according to Startup Genome's 2023 State of the Global Startup Ecosystem report.

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Huge DDoS attack against US financial institution thwarted
2023-09-11 18:46

Akamai says it thwarted a major distributed denial-of-service attack aimed at a US bank that peaked at 55.1 million packets per second earlier this month. The network traffic flood hit on September 5 against the unnamed finance giant Akamai describes as "One of the biggest and most influential US financial institutions."

US, UK sanction more Russians linked to Trickbot
2023-09-07 22:44

Top admin, HR managers, devs go on transatlantic deny-list The US and UK governments named and sanctioned 11 Russians said to be connected to the notorious Trickbot cybercrime crew this week.…

Iranian hackers breach US aviation org via ManageEngine, Fortinet bugs
2023-09-07 21:32

State-backed hacking groups have breached a U.S. aeronautical organization using exploits targeting critical Zoho ManageEngine and Fortinet vulnerabilities, a joint advisory published by CISA, the FBI, and the United States Cyber Command revealed on Thursday. CISA was part of the incident response between February and April and said the hacking groups had been in the compromised aviation organization's network since at least January after hacking an Internet-exposed server running Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and a Fortinet firewall.

Iranian hackers breach US aviation org via Zoho, Fortinet bugs
2023-09-07 21:32

State-backed hacking groups have breached a U.S. aeronautical organization using exploits targeting critical Zoho and Fortinet vulnerabilities, a joint advisory published by CISA, the FBI, and the United States Cyber Command revealed on Thursday. CISA was part of the incident response between February and April and said the hacking groups had been in the compromised aviation organization's network since at least January after hacking an Internet-exposed server running Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and a Fortinet firewall.