CyberWire Daily

In today’s podcast, we hear that tRAT indicates a criminal shift to a longer game. Chinese industrial espionage copies Russian services’ tricks. Dharma ransomware evolves. Bitcoin’s price may be tanking, but Bitcoin-based advance-fee scams are still all over Twitter, with bogus big brands’ blue checks all over them. Nigeria plans to go after cyber gangs. Fancy Bear says it can’t be sued, even if i...

In today’s podcast, we hear that Monday’s BGP hijacking wasn’t hijacking at all, but rather a fumbled upgrade in an ISP. The White Company’s Operation Shaheen is a nation-state espionage campaign directed against Pakistan’s military. Sleazy gamer and hacker SWAuTistic pleads guilty to Wichita swatting charges, and to bomb threats just about everywhere else. And the NPPD will soon become CISA, and...

In today’s podcast, we hear that Finland is investigating  GPS signal jamming during NATO exercises. Russia’s the usual suspect, as usual Russia feels picked on and ill-used. Jihadists seem to be feeling the effects of social media screening, and may turn to account hijacking. Indian intelligence services look at ISIS use of Wickr. A look at Magecart. Cathay Pacific’s breach now believed to be wor...

In this premier episode of our new, four-part series, called “Ground Truth or Consequences: the challenges and opportunities of regulation in cyberspace,” we take a closer look at cyber security regulation in the U.S.  Joining us are Dr. Christopher Pierson from BlackCloak and Randy Sabett from Cooley LLC.  Later in the program we'll hear from Jason Hart, CTO for enterprise and cybersecurity at Ge...

Joseph Nye is former dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He served as Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs under President Clinton. He serves as a Commissioner for the Global Commission on Internet Governance, and is the author of over a dozen books, including, “Soft Power: The means to success in work po...

In today’s podcast we hear that Britain’s NCSC has warned, again, that the UK is likely to face a Category One cyberattack within the next few years. In the US, Government-industry-academic partnerships work toward making critical infrastructure more resilient to cyberattack. Pyongyang’s Lazarus Group continues to rob ATMs using malware. US officials complain that China is in violation of 2015’s a...

In today’s podcast, we hear that, while election hacking seems not have happened in the US this week, that hasn’t stopped the IRA and its mouthpieces in Sputnik, RT, and elsewhere from loudly claiming it has. Election influence operations continue long after the election. VirtualBox zero-day disclosed to everyone. USCYBERCOM posts Lojack to VirusTotal. FCC vs. robocalls. US Postal Services’ Inform...

In today’s podcast we take a quick look back at the US midterm elections, and at what did and didn’t happen. Is Iran looking at waging cyber-enabled economic warfare? If you use Apache Struts, update now to avoid remote code execution. A spyware-delivering app is used to smish Spanish-speaking users of the Play Store. And, once again, people really seem to think that Elon Musk will return them the...

In today's podcast, we hear that Iran has accused Israel of a second Stuxnet, claiming the attack was thwarted, and threatening retaliation. Nor is Tehran neglecting domestic surveillance of its own: Persian Stalker is involved with some pretty suspicious greyware. It's Election Day in the US, and officials are cautiously optimistic work to secure the voting will be successful. Concerns about info...

In today's podcast, we note that US midterm elections end tomorrow evening, with officials on high alert for election hacking. Russia sends poll watcher to the US to make sure democratic norms are observed. Side-channel attack proof-of-concept announced for CPUs, but risk seems relatively low. Botnets are fighting over Android devices for cryptojacking power. And Russia's GU, né GRU? It looks like...

Symantec technical director Vikram Thakur returns to share his team's look at threat groups APT 28 and APT 29, the influence they had on the 2016 election, and how the cyber security industry has responded in preparation for the 2018 midterms. The original research can be found here: https://www.symantec.com/blogs/election-security/election-hacking-faq Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megap...

In today's podcast, we hear that people are asking if that lull in Chinese cyber operations was just a strategic pause. Huawei's on a charm offensive. People are seeing plenty of Russian trolling, but election hacking proper continues to be quiet. Another strategic pause? US Cyber Command is said to be ready to respond to any election cyberattacks swiftly and in kind. And if you want to hear what...

In today's podcast, we hear that Bleeding Bit flaws leave Wi-Fi access points open to war drivers and other malefactors within a hundred meters of your equipment. US Cyber Command continues its attempts to dissuade foreign influence operations against midterm elections. Social networks have difficulty identifying who's buying ads. Canada's data privacy law takes effect today. GandCrab crooks take...

In today's podcast, we hear about influence operations in social media (again): Americans remain more vulnerable (because they lack a cultural experience of state propaganda) than Eastern Europeans. Rules of thumb for recognizing the good, the bad, and the bogus online. Kraken Cryptor is a black market leading ransomware strain. SamSam remains active. US indicts Chinese industrial spies. And what...

In today's podcast, we hear that installing cybersecurity tools to protect elections is tougher than it looks. Information operations continue to pose the most prominent foreign threat to US midterm elections, although there are concerns about voting machine security. Cointracker looks like a trader's tool with a side order of malware. Video embedded in Microsoft Word documents can carry malicious...

Facebook takes down accounts linked to Iran for coordinated inauthenticity. Iranian information operations appear to be learning from the Russian approach: be divisive, be negative, and be opportunistic. Investigations of pipe-bombs and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting look at the suspects' digital record. IBM announces its acquisition of Red Hat. The Satori botnet continues to evolve. British Ai...

Researchers at security firm Check Point Software Technologies explored the possibility of exploiting old, complex fax protocols to gain access to modern multifunction office printers, and then pivot to connected networks.  Yaniv Balmas is head of security research at Check Point, and he joins us to share what he and his colleague Eyal Itkin discovered. The research can be found here: https://rese...

In today's podcast, we hear that British Airways' breach has gotten bigger. Mexico's financial institutions say they've contained the anomalies in interbank transfer systems. "Demonbot" is infesting poorly secured Hadoop servers. Google receives criticism for slow action against ad fraud. Bitdefender and Romanian police produce a decryptor for GandCrab ransomware. Discussion of a "Civilian Cyberse...

In today's podcast, we hear that the US Department of Homeland Security sees lower-than-expected rates of Russian election system probing even as Russian information operations continue. Sophos warns of the emergence of the Linux-based "Chalubo" botnet. Mexico's Central Bank raises its alert level. Cathay Pacific discloses a breach of passenger information. Privacy-related fines and lawsuits. And...

In today's podcast, we hear that US Cyber Command has been reaching out to tell the trolls Uncle Sam cares. Industrial control system security suffers from poor asset management practices. FireEye looks at the Triton malware and says the Russians did it, but of course things are complicated. Are hostile intelligence service hackers superheroes, salaryman nebbishes, or something in between? How thr...

In today's podcast we wonder WhatsApp with Brazil's runoff election? Hacktivism hits Davos-in-the-Desert. Kraken Cryptor ransomware gets an upgrade. Remote code execution vulnerabilities disclosed in two classes of systems. Healthcare.gov breach under investigation. More calls for retraction of the spy chip story. Cozy Bear calls for proper Internet governance. US on effects of influence ops. Note...

In this cyberwire special edition, my guest is Cisco’s Chief Privacy Officer Michelle Dennedy. We discuss what exactly a chief privacy officer does at a global organization like Cisco, why she thinks we’re in the early stages of a privacy revolution, why we all tend to shake our heads cynically when I company claims, “Your privacy is important to us” and how, maybe, respecting the privacy of your...

In today's podcast we hear that the US has indicted a Russian accountant for conspiring to influence US midterm elections. Different nations have different styles of information operations because they have different goals. Technology shifts, but underlying principles of propaganda remain. The EU barks cyber deterrence but doesn't bite, yet. North Korea's petty cyber crime wave. A scammer is after...

Security firm Lastline recently took a close look at threats to the Office 365 cloud environment, taking advantage of the insights they gain protecting their clients.  Andy Norton is director of threat intelligence at Lastline, and he joins us to describe their findings.  The research can be found here: https://www.lastline.com/blog/malspam-malscape-snapshot-malicious-activity-in-the-office-365-cl...

In today's podcast, we hear that no one but Bloomberg seems to retain much faith in Bloomberg's story about Chinese supply-chain seeding attacks. Twitter blocks bots retailing coordinated Saudi talking points about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Latvia says it blocked attempts to interfere with its October elections. SEO poisoning exploits interest in key words associated with US...