CyberWire Daily

In today’s podcast, we hear that Kiev says it’s found complex, large-scale Russian influence operations in Ukraine’s presidential election. Australian investigators are said to be closer to concluding that recent hacking attempts were the work of Chinese intelligence services. There’s also plenty of ordinary crime to go around. Huawei continues its charm and affordability offensive. User comments...

In today’s podcast we hear about a test of influencing soldiers through their social media: Instagram works best, Twitter not so much. Separ credential-stealing malware successfully lives off the land. NoRelationship attacks get past some email filters. Spamming users to get your point across may not be the best form of disclosure. University researchers find a man-in-the-room bug. Other researche...

In today’s podcast, we hear that Microsoft has disclosed a Fancy Bear sighting, snuffling around Atlanticist think tanks in Europe. Ukraine says, in effect, see, we told you so. Speaking of bears, it seems that North Korea’s Hidden Cobra may be striking at the biggest bear of them all, going after Russian targets. There’s new decryptor available for GandCrab ransomware. Citizen Lab and NSO Group’s...

In today’s podcast, we hear of a small flare in cyber conflict between India and Pakistan. Australian political parties as well as Parliament subjected to attempted cyberattacks. A new strain of malware is being distributed through messaging apps. Microsoft pulls cryptojacking Windows 10 apps from its store. Britain’s NCSC is rumored to have concluded that it can mitigate Huawei risks. Facebook ge...

Researchers at Symantec have been tracking Seedworm, a cyber espionage group targeting the Middle East as well as Europe and North America. The threat group targets government agencies, oil & gas facilities, NGOs, telecoms and IT firms. Al Cooley is director of product management at Symantec, and he joins us to share their findings. The original research can be found here: https://www.symantec.com...

In today’s podcast, we hear that GandCrab has been scuttling through unpatched holes. Independent testing as an alternative to banning specific vendors as security risks. Big Tech gets some Congressional scrutiny over content moderation. Facebook takes down inauthentic accounts working to influence the Moldovan elections. The Federal Trade Commission is rumored to be queuing up a record privacy fi...

In today’s podcast we hear that US prosecutors have unsealed the indictment of a former US Air Force counterintelligence specialist on charges she conspired to commit espionage on behalf of Iran. The US Treasury Department announces further sanctions on Iranian individuals and one organization named in that indictment. Two alleged members of Apophis Squad are indicted. Whatever became of the all t...

In today’s podcast, we hear that China has denied involvement in the Australian Parliament hack. Patch Tuesday notes. A new strain of Shlayer malware is out. A look at GreyEnergy. Reactions to the destructive VFEmail attack. And thoughts on St. Valentine’s Day, with advice, admonition, and an excursus on credential-stuffing and holiday doughnuts. Dr. Charles Clancy from VA Tech’s Hume Center on th...

In today’s podcast, we hear that VFEmail has sustained a devastating, data-destroying attack. The EU considers whether it should, can, or will make a coordinated response to China’s APT10. A US Executive Order outlines a strategy to maintain superiority in artificial intelligence. Norway warns, again, of the risk of GPS jamming. US Army Stryker vehicles were hacked during testing last year. And so...

In today’s podcast, we hear that clipper malware has been ejected from Google Play. A different cryptojacker is kicking its competitors out of infected machines. Australian authorities continue to investigate the attempted hack of Parliament, with Chinese intelligence services as the prime suspects. How do you solve a problem like Huawei? Russia prepares to test its ability to disconnect from the...

The team at Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 recently published research tracking trends in how organizations are addressing cloud security, along with tips for improvement.  Ryan Olson is VP of threat intelligence at Palo Alto Networks, and he joins us to share their findings. The original research can be found here: https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/unit-42-cloud-security-trends-tips/ Learn more ab...

In today’s podcast, we hear that Australia is investigating an attempted hack of its Federal Parliament. The US Department of Homeland Security warns that spies are working through third parties to get to their targets. Spyware is bundled in a legitimate privacy app. Credit unions get spearphished. Mr. Bezos says, “No thanks, Mr. Pecker.” Apple will pay a FaceTime bug bounty. Microsoft says don’t...

In today’s podcast, we hear about social engineering, with a few new twists. Some airlines may be exposing passenger data with insecure check-in links. APT10 may be lying low, for now, but the US Department of Homeland Security expects the cyber spies to be back. A researcher finds a macOS Keychain bug, but would rather not tell Apple about it. Governments in Europe and North America continue to a...

In today’s podcast, we hear that Chinese threat group APT10 seems to have been busy lately, and up to its familiar industrial espionage. More governments express skepticism about Chinese manufacturers. The US report on election security is out: influence ops were found to have had no material effect on the midterms. Lithuania worries about Russian election meddling. A reverse RDP attack risk is re...

In today’s podcast, we hear that ExileRAT is targeting Tibet’s government-in-exile. The SpeakUp backdoor afflicts many varieties of Linux systems. Facebook bans ethnic militias in Myanmar from its platform. Norway’s PST intelligence service says that Huawei constitutes a security risk, and China says that’s nonsense. Someone seems to be hacking contact lists belonging to UK Members of Parliament....

In today’s podcast, we hear that Collection#1 looks like the work of an aggregator who goes by the name of “C0rpz.” OceanLotus is working with a new downloader. CookieMiner malware is poking around in Macs. Huawei continues to receive harsh security scrutiny internationally even as it seeks to position itself as a 5G leader. Russian influencers begin to attend to Venezuela. And if someone says the...

Researchers at Trend Micro recently published their look inside online underground marketplaces in the Middle East and North Africa, where criminals are buying and selling malware, laundering money and event booking their next discount vacation. Jon Clay is director of global threat communications at Trend Micro, and he joins us with their findings.  The original research can be found here: https:...

In today’s podcast, we hear that Apple has let Facebook and Google out of time-out. Russia decides it would like access to Apple data because, you know, its Russian law. Social networks take down large numbers of inauthentic accounts. Fancy Bear is snuffling around Washington again, already, with some spoofed think-tank sites. Shape shifting campaign afflicts ads. China sees CoAPP DDoS attacks. An...

In today’s podcast, we hear that Collections #2 through #5 have joined Collection #1 in hacker fora. Google is found to be collecting data from devices in much the same way its advertising peer Facebook was. Russian trolls seek to discredit the Special Counsel’s investigation of influence ops. New York State opens an investigation into Apple’s response to the FaceTIme bug. The US Department of Jus...

In today’s CyberWire, we hear that US Intelligence Community leaders testify that the major cyber threat comes from Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran. Iran’s APT39 takes an interest in PII. A UAE surveillance program is revealed. Hackers scanning for unpatched Cisco routers. What Huawei faces, in addition to fines. The FaceTime bug and responsible disclosure. Facebook was paying people to pwn t...

In the final episode of our four-part series, called “Ground Truth or Consequences: the challenges and opportunities of regulation in cyberspace,” we examine some of the game changing high profile breaches like Yahoo, Equifax and OPM, along with their impacts and lessons learned. Our guest is Dr. Christopher Pierson, CEO and founder of BlackCloak. Later in the program we'll hear from Jason Hart, C...

In today’s podcast, we hear that a FaceTime bug lets you listen to someone’s phone before they’ve even picked up. FormBook malware’s surge is abetted by a new hosting service. Compromised server market xDedic has been taken down. Europol is looking for Webstressor users. Huawei faces new US criminal charges. Kim’s ambitious economic plan may augur ambitious North Korean hacking. EU foretells a sur...

In today’s podcast, we hear about some Spy vs. Spy at Citizen Lab, but who the spies were working for isn’t clear. Ukraine’s cyber police accuse Russia of phishing for election influence. As Fortuna’s wheel turns, Russian bigwigs get doxed by transparency hacktivists. Great power tension over Venezuela bears watching in cyberspace. Alleged swatters indicted and arrested. Happy National Privacy Day...

Researchers from Duo Security have been analyzing the behavior of Twitter bots in a series of posts on their web site. Their most recent dive into the subject explores amplification bots, which boost the impact of tweets through likes and retweets. Jordan Wright is a principal R&D engineer at Duo Security, and he joins us to share their findings. Link to the original research -  https://duo.com/la...

In today’s podcast, we hear that two potential cyberattacks now look like glitches. Gray Energy and Zebrocy look as if they’re close enough to be, if not the same threat actor, at least first cousins. The US Army pushes significant cyber capability to a tactical level. Venezuela’s crisis may provide the next occasion for Russian information operations. How Bellingcat exposes info operations. Speci...