Security News
The Feds have put up a $10 million reward for information about foreign interference in US elections in general, and more specifically a Russian oligarch and close friend of President Vladimir Putin accused of funding an organization that meddled in the 2016 presidential elections. The bounty, offered through the US Department of State's Rewards for Justice program, specifically seeks intel on Russia's Internet Research Agency, businessman Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, and any "Linked Russian entities and associates for their engagement in US election interference."
The Federal Communications Commission warned Americans of an increasing wave of SMS phishing attacks attempting to steal their personal information and money. "The FCC tracks consumer complaints - rather than call or text volume - and complaints about unwanted text messages have risen steadily in recent years from approximately 5,700 in 2019, 14,000 in 2020, 15,300 in 2021, to 8,500 through June 30, 2022," the US communications watchdog's Robocall Response Team said [PDF].
The United States' federal court system "Faced an incredibly significant and sophisticated cyber security breach, one which has since had lingering impacts on the department and other agencies." That quote comes from congressional representative Jerrold Lewis Nadler, who uttered them on Thursday in his introductory remarks to a House Committee on the Judiciary hearing conducting oversight of the Department of Justice National Security Division.
During an open House Intelligence Committee hearing on Wednesday, US lawmakers heard testimony from Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton; Shane Huntley, who leads Google's Threat Analysis Group; and Carine Kanimba, whose father was the inspiration for Hotel Rwanda and who was, herself, targeted by Pegasus spyware. Earlier this year, European lawmakers opened an inquiry into spyware in general, and Pegasus more specifically, after the malware was reportedly found on cellphones associated with the UK and Spanish prime ministers, Spain's defense minister, and dozens of Catalan politicians and members of civil society groups.
The US is offering up to $10 million for information on members of state-sponsored North Korean threat groups, double the amount that the State Department announced in April. The agency's Rewards for Justice program this week said it will cough up the cash for intelligence related to "Government-linked cyber activities" in North Korea, including leads on people involved with such state-sponsored groups like Andariel, APT38, BlueNoroff, Guardians of Peace, Kimsuky, and Lazarus Group who are targeting critical infrastructure in the US. The latest notice is part of a larger ongoing campaign by the State Department and other US government agencies of offering bounties for information regarding cyberattacks from North Korea or other countries against the United States, particularly involving such sectors as critical infrastructure - such as power grids and water and food supplies - as well as federal elections.
The investigation relies on information mainly gathered by the US central bank regarding an internal probe of 13 persons of interest known as the P-network. Those individuals were allegedly part of a network engaged in a "Sustained malign influence and information theft campaign" targeting the Federal Reserve.
The U.S. State Department has increased rewards paid to anyone providing information on any North Korean-sponsored threat groups' members to $10 million. These increased bounties add to rewards of up to $5 million announced by the State Department in March for info on DPRK-backed threat actors targeting crypto exchanges and financial institutions worldwide to support the North Korean regime's illicit activities.
T-Mobile US has agreed to pay about $550 million to end legal action against it and improve its security after crooks infiltrated the self-described Un-carrier last summer and harvested personal data belonging to almost 77 million customers. The cellular network operator agreed to pay $350 million plus legal fees to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by customers whose data was compromised in an August 2021 privacy breach, according to documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
US Cyber Command has disclosed 20 new strains of malware among the numerous software nasties and cyberattacks being used against Ukrainian targets over the last few months. In an alert this week, the Pentagon's cyberspace wing made public indicators of compromise associated with various malware strains that were found in Ukrainian networks by the country's security service.
A man suspected of providing the IT infrastructure behind the Gozi banking trojan has been extradited to the US to face a string of computer fraud charges. According to court documents [PDF], Paunescu allegedly ran a "Bulletproof hosting" service using computers in Romania, America, and other locations to help cybercriminals distribute Gozi and other malware including the Zeus Trojan and SpyEye Trojan.