CyberWire Daily

In today’s podcast we hear about Bifinex’s recovery from its recent heist and the possibly temporary haircut its depositors got. We also follow the related Ethereum hard fork. News on Olympic hacks and risks of hacking from Booz Allen Hamilton's Brad Medairy and Grey Burkhart. Trustwave reports home smart thermostat bugs. Checkpoint discloses Qualcomm Android Quadrooter firmware vulnerabilities. M...

In today’s podcast we look at Black Hat and draw some consensus advice for start-ups. Cyber espionage rises around the South China Sea. Apparent Russian hacking continues to worry election officials and voters in the US. The HEIST exploit is demonstrated. ISIS jockeys with al Qaeda, Boko Haram factions for jihad leadership. Brazil works on cybercrime as the Olympics open tonight. Apple announces a...

The 2016 Black Hat conference is underway in Las Vegas this week, and in this special report from the show floor we’ll hear from industry leaders about industry trends, and from venture capital funders about what they need to see before saying yes, and why it’s harder to get startup funding than it used to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today’s podcast, we get some updates from Black Hat. DNC hacks raise questions about US voting security, and Democratic Senators call for hearings on Donald Trump’s request that Russia find the 30,000 emails deleted from Hillary Clinton’s State-Department-era homebrew server. China seems to be probing Philippine networks in conjunction with the dispute over territorial waters in the South China...

In today’s podcast we follow the latest fallout from the DNC hacks (Russia’s still the prime suspect). Fears of election hacking rise in the US. Government electronic surveillance rises worldwide, driven in part by increasing fear of jihadist terrorism. ISIS unit “Emni” is said to have broad responsibility for recruiting and organizing terror cells. Android security upgrades from Johns Hopkins Uni...

In today’s podcast we give a short update on Black Hat before turning to developments in Syria and Iran. Tension between the US and Russia mounts over alleged Russian hacks of US political campaign networks and more recently alleged US spyware operations in Russian enterprises. ISIS wishes to disrupt the Olympics, and cybercriminals are seeking to profit from the Rio Games. Adware uses steganograp...

In today’s podcast we hear about Russian reports of an APT active against military, scientific, defense, and government networks. US investigations into the hacks of the DNC, DCCC, and Clinton campaign continue, with suspicion still directed at Russia. ISIS calls online for an extension of jihad to Russia. The SpyNote Android Trojan is out in the criminal underground. Researchers report vulnerabil...

In today’s podcast we hear some preliminary news about ISIS information operations as expressed in captured files. Hacktivists experience remorse and debate doxing ethics. We review the speculation about the DNC hack and note that another Democratic Party campaign organization may also have been compromised. State-sponsored hacking is driving enterprises to seek help from security companies. The U...

In today’s podcast we hear about how ISIS continues to pursue its strategy of using information operations to inspire lone wolves, and what investigators in France, Germany, and the United States are seeing as they look at jihadist social media. We learn about advances in facial recognition software. WikiLeaks releases audio files culled from DNC email hacks. More releases are expected, and eviden...

In today’s podcast we discuss ISIS terror and online inspiration. We learn that experts are reaching consensus that Russia hacked the US Democratic National Committee, and we hear some steps that might be taken to protect email. We speak with the company that provided cyber security for the Republican National Convention. New vulnerabilities are discovered in wireless keyboards and smart lightbulb...

In today’s podcast we catch up on the big story in cyberspace—the expanding scope of the Democratic National Committee email hack. Most observers continue to see a Russian hand behind it, but some point out that the evidence remains circumstantial. Experts see the hack as a cautionary tale in the importance of authentication and encryption. Stu Sjouwerman is the founder and CEO of KnowBe4, and he...

In today’s podcast we take a look at the doxing of the DNC, a story which will have, as they say, “legs,” if only because essentially everyone now sees Russian intelligence behind the hack. ISIS and al Qaeda continue their competition to inspire lone-wolf jihad. Turkey’s crackdown on would-be putschists continues. Anonymous goes after targets in Turkey. Cyber M&A notes. Dr. Charles Clancy from the...

In today's podcast, Hacktivists return to DDoS—the Library of Congress is hit. AKP emails continue to receive scrutiny. A look at the jihadists' toolbox. Some quick takes on automotive cyber security, as the industry moves toward fully autonomous cars. Wassenaar and the DCMA still aren't getting much industry love. And we talk to attorney Tom Coale about security clearances and Ben Yelin on the co...

In today’s podcast, we hear about patched vulnerabilities in widely used products—the consensus among experts is that you should patch without delay. A new ransomware variant—“HolyCrypt”-is discovered in development. OurMine hacks the Playstation boss’s Twitter account. Hackers get ready to go after US Presidential campaigns (and some have already started). ISIS information ops continue to concent...

In today’s podcast we review some of the cyber implications and sequelae of the apparent failed coup d’état in Turkey. Signs in the Shumukh al Islam leaks suggest ISIS is making inroads among China’s Uighur minority. A Brazilian jihadist group pledges allegiance to ISIS online, adding to Brazil’s cybersecurity (and more importantly, physical security) concerns for the Rio Olympics. enSilo reports...

In today’s podcast we hear about the doxing of a major ISIS forum, and we take a look at the state of play with respect to online information operations in the war with ISIS. We ask whether jihad and kawaii offer contrasting case studies of inspiration. In Turkey, did coup plotters (who might have known better) overlook the Internet? DDoS campaigns rise against governments, companies, and games. A...

Cyber security comes down to risk management, and it’s hard to manage what can’t be measured. How can cyber risk be credibly quantified and communicated? We’ll talk to companies developing technology solutions aimed at quantifying cyber risk and hear from insurance experts and other industry stakeholders grappling with this important new challenge facing businesses today. Learn more about your ad...

In today’s podcast, we hear about social media’s role in the suppression of the coup d’ état in Turkey. The United Cyber Caliphate and the competing “Peace Brigades” release overlapping and competing target lists. Ukrainian nationalist hacktivists hit Poland’s Ministry of Defense. “Delilah” is a backdoor Trojan built for blackmail, and “Wildfire” is a new strain of ransomware. Some databases for s...

In today’s podcast we hear about ISIS and its response to pressure from its enemies—the news is decidedly mixed, especially given the tragedy in France. Familiar banking Trojans, exploit kits, and ransomware pick up some new functionality. Someone’s jackpotting ATMs in Taiwan. SAP and Cisco patch. US court rulings have privacy and liability implications. Venture capital investments and M&A news. B...

In today's podcast we hear about some expansive court decisions that may make you uneasy. Chinese spies get into the FDIC, and the victim may have covered it up. Start-ups attract fresh investment. New exploit kits jockey for position. Securing your Bitcoin wallet. What to make of Pokemon's security issues. Dale Drew from Level 3 Communications gives us the low-down on some cyber security lingo, a...

In today's podcast we go over some of the highlights of this week's patches, including fixes from Microsoft, Abode, Drupal, and Niantic. We discuss the security of the industrial Internet-of-things and critical infrastructure, especially the power grid. We hear about the current state of ransomware play, and note the return of xDedic, the hacker server hawker, to the dark web souk. Industry news i...

In today's podcast we hear some reports that ISIS may be losing some social media ground. NATO agrees to increase cyber cooperation. A newly described malware dropper is apparently tailored to work against specific European energy companies. 600,000 patient records are breached in the US. There's a decryptor out for Jigsaw ransomware, but not for the newly introduced "Alfa" or "Ranscam" (and Ransc...

In today's podcast we hear about possible hacks of NATO websites during last week's Alliance meetings. South Asia's scissors-and-paste cyber espionage campaign is surprisingly effective. ISIS and al Qaeda vie for jihadist mindshare, and Anonymous hits government sites in Zimbabwe and South Africa. A hacker/hacktivist dumps what he claims to be Kindle credentials, but analysts are dubious about the...

In today’s podcast, we talk through the ramifications of Android encryption issues. Experts consider the implications of D-Link vulnerabilities for IoT security. The Wendy’s paycard breach has gotten much bigger. Familiar exploits circulate in the wild, and Mac backdoors make a comeback. CryptXXX is joined by a new ransomware variant, Cryptobit, and DedCryptor continues to play the Grinch. Avast’s...

In today's podcast we hear about Cymmetria's discovery of a major threat actor in South Asia, Patchwork, which assembles attack code by cutting and pasting from the Internet. HummingBad adware infests Android, and Pirrit (affecting Macs) is attributed to a marketer. D-Link routers may be vulnerable to remote-code execution. Google patches more than 100 Android issues. Symantec works on AV product...