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REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - A cyber extortion gang suspected of being an offshoot of the notorious Russian Conti group of hackers has raked in more than $100 million since it emerged last year, researchers said in a report published on Wednesday. An attempt to reach Black Basta via its darkweb site was not immediately successful. Elliptic cofounder Tom Robinson said the massive haul made Black Basta "one of the most profitable ransomware strains of all time." "Conti was perhaps the most successful ransomware gang we've seen," Robinson said. The latest findings suggest "some of the individuals responsible are replicating its success with the Black Basta ransomware."

Persons: Kacper, Russian Conti, Tom Robinson, Robinson, Conti, Black Basta, we've, Basta, Raphael Satter, James Pearson, Gerry Doyle Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Insurance, U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: Russian, bitcoin, Black, Russia, Ukraine, London

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. The agreement is non-binding and carries mostly general recommendations such as monitoring AI systems for abuse, protecting data from tampering and vetting software suppliers. In addition to the United States and Britain, the 18 countries that signed on to the new guidelines include Germany, Italy, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Australia, Chile, Israel, Nigeria and Singapore. It does not tackle thorny questions around the appropriate uses of AI, or how the data that feeds these models is gathered. Europe is ahead of the United States on regulations around AI, with lawmakers there drafting AI rules.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Biden, Raphael Satter, Diane Bartz, Alexandra Alper, Deepa Babington Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Sunday, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, Congress, White, Thomson Locations: United States, Britain, U.S, Germany, Italy, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Australia, Chile, Israel, Nigeria, Singapore, Europe, France

Caesars paid around $15 million in ransom to regain access to its systems from the hackers, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal. Some have been collecting evidence leading to the hackers' identities and are assisting law enforcement, according to the five insiders. The sources say that, following the September casino hacks, the FBI's investigation took on new urgency. Mandia didn't respond directly when asked whether Scattered Spider's identities were known to law enforcement. But he did say that there was no excuse for not arresting hackers who operated from the West.

Persons: Bridget Bennett, Michael Sentonas, Sentonas, Alphabet's, James Foster, Foster, cybercriminals, gona, Kevin Mandia, Mandiant, you've, Zeba Siddiqui, Raphael Satter, Christopher Bing, Chris Sanders, Claudia Parsons Organizations: MGM, MGM Resorts, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, U.S . Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, Industry, Reuters, Department of Justice, Caesars, Wall Street, Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, ex, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, WASHINGTON, America, Palo, American, Baltimore , Maryland, United States, Newark , New Jersey, sextortion, San Francisco, Washington

[1/2] A child casts a ballot on behalf of a voter at a polling station during Hungarian parliamentary elections in Veresegyhaz, Hungary April 3, 2022. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsARLINGTON, Virginia, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Private spy firm Black Cube was behind a hidden video campaign that used LinkedIn to target Hungarian activists and journalists leading to last year's election in the central European country, the professional networking site said on Thursday. A researcher for Microsoft-owned (MSFT.O) LinkedIn said Black Cube, based in Israel, created a network of fake personas that used bogus job postings to connect with their targets on the platform. Black Cube did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. The operation attributed to Black Cube by LinkedIn began in 2020 and targeted at least 12 activists and journalists who have been critical of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Persons: Leonhard Foeger, Mona Damian, Damian, Harvey Weinstein, Viktor Orban, Orban, Amnesty International Hungary Orsolya Jeney, Rohac, Raphael Satter, Rod Nickel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Politico, Hungarian, Reuters, Amnesty International, American Enterprise Institute, Thomson Locations: Veresegyhaz, Hungary, Rights ARLINGTON , Virginia, Israel, Arlington , Virginia, Hungary's, Amnesty International Hungary, Washington

The bill follows more than a decade of debate over post-Sept. 11, 2001, surveillance powers that allow domestic law enforcement to warrantlessly scan the vast mountains of data gathered by America's foreign surveillance apparatus. Reforms in the proposed legislation include putting limits on searches of Americans' communications without judicial authorization and a prohibition of so-called "backdoor" searches which invoke foreign intelligence justifications to spy on Americans. "We're introducing a bill that protects both Americans' security and Americans' liberty," Senator Ron Wyden - a Democrat and a longtime critic of government surveillance - said at a press conference on Tuesday. The reforms introduced Tuesday reflect discomfort over the practice of warrantless scans, which are authorized under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Reporting by Raphael Satter; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Ron Wyden, Amanda Andrade Rhoades, it's, Mike Lee, Representative Warren Davidson, Zoe Lofgren, Raphael Satter, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Capitol, REUTERS, Rights, Democrat, FBI, Foreign Intelligence, National Intelligence, Republican, Republican U.S, Representative, Thomson Locations: Ukraine, Washington , U.S

A padlock is seen in front of the word 'spyware' and binary code in this illustration taken May 4, 2022. Analysis of the journalist's phone showed an infiltration attempt on Aug. 23, OCCRP's co-founder Drew Sullivan told Reuters. Sullivan said an internal forensic investigation tied the intrusion effort against Mangnale's phone to Israeli firm NSO's Pegasus hacking tool. The spyware allows hackers sweeping access to the targets' smartphones, allowing them to record calls, intercept messages and transform the phones into portable listening devices. The Indian government has denied such allegations and last week Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the government was investigating the complaints of phone hacking.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, OCCRP's, Drew Sullivan, Anand Mangnale, Sullivan, wasn't, Rocky Cole, Ashwini Vaishnaw, New Delhi didn't, Zeba Siddiqui, Raphael Satter, Munsif, Rod Nickel Organizations: REUTERS, FRANCISCO, NSO Group, Reuters, Apple, Pegasus, NSO, Technology, Indian Embassy, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, Indian, India, Delhi, Washington, New Delhi, BENGALURU

The puzzle game on his Android phone had been interrupted by a video showing Hamas militants, terrified Israeli families and blurred graphic footage. Reuters has not been able to establish how the ad came to her son's video game, but her family isn't alone. In at least one case, the ads were played inside the popular "Angry Birds" game made by SEGA-owned developer Rovio (ROVIO.HE). Google ran more than 90 ads for the foreign ministry but declined to comment on where it displayed those ads. In the Cassis family's case, the ads appeared in a game called "Alice's Mergeland" made by a developer called LazyDog Game.

Persons: Maria Julia Assis, Hannah McKay, Maria Julia Cassis, Rovio, Lotta Backlund, David Saranga, Saranga, Outbrain, Holland –, Alexandra Marginean, Marginean, Stack's, Raphael Satter, Sheila Dang, Katie Paul, Ken Li, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: REUTERS, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Reuters, SEGA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israeli Foreign Ministry, Google, West Bank, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Holland, Stack's Ubisoft, Subway, SYBO, Apple, Standards Authority, Thomson Locations: Israel, London, Britain, Brazil, Europe, Gaza, France, Austria, Germany, Munich, Austrian, Danish, Washington, New York

In another case, a video showed a billboard in the central Israeli city of Holon displaying images of rockets and a burning Israeli flag. Israeli information security professionals are banding together to provide free cybersecurity services to Israeli companies amid a spike in hacktivist activity sparked by the war in Gaza, volunteers said. Ohad Zaidenberg, an Israeli IT specialist, is leading a group of volunteers to help Israeli companies that are being actively targeted. The organizers of the volunteers are drawing the line on members taking vigilante action against Hamas, said Omri Segev Moyal, the chief executive of the Israeli cybersecurity firm Profero. Moyal, who runs a popular Facebook group for Israeli cybersecurity professionals, said he had already removed a couple of posts calling for digital action against the Palestinian group.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, fatigues, Yossi Appleboum, Appleboum, Zoom didn’t, Ohad, ”, Omri Segev Moyal, Moyal, Profero, “, Raphael Satter, Christopher Bing, James Pearson, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Palestinian, Hamas, REUTERS, Reuters, Telegram, Thomson Locations: Israel, New York City, U.S, LONDON, Holon, Gaza, Israel's, Israeli, Washington, London

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - U.S. prosecutors say an Israeli private investigator used hackers to steal emails from climate activists who were campaigning against American energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N). Prosecutors stopped short of stating a connection between the Israeli private eye – former policeman Aviram Azari – and Exxon, and the memo did not identify any of his clients. Victims say that leaves a key question unanswered. Exxon pushed back, filing lawsuits that cited press articles, which suggested the activists were using underhanded tactics. “Azari facilitated the hacking scheme by directing groups of hackers, including a particular group of individuals based in India, to target specific victims,’” prosecutors wrote.

Persons: Damian Williams, parry, Prosecutors, Aviram Azari, Kert Davies, Paul Weiss, Bradley Campbell, Williams, Azari, Barry, “ Azari, ’, Raphael Satter, Christopher Bing, Leslie Adler, Richard Chang Organizations: U.S, Exxon Mobil Corp, Southern, of, Exxon, Climate Integrity, Natural Resources, Conservation Law Foundation, Exxon Mobil, Reuters, Thomson Locations: of New York, New York, Massachusetts, India, United States

Companies Cloudflare Inc FollowGoogle Inc FollowAlphabet Inc Follow Show more companiesWASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Internet companies Google, Amazon and Cloudflare say they have weathered the internet's largest-known denial of service attack and are sounding the alarm over a new technique they warn could easily cause widespread disruption. Internet protection company Cloudflare Inc (NET.N) said the attack was "three times larger than any previous attack we've observed." Amazon.com Inc's (AMZN.O) web services division also confirmed being targeted by "a new type of distributed denial of service (DDoS) event." The firms urged companies to update their web servers to ensure that they do not remain vulnerable. None of the three companies said who was responsible for the denial of service attacks, which have historically been difficult to attribute.

Persons: we've, Raphael Satter, Sandra Maler Organizations: Google, Inc, Cloudflare Inc, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON

A hooded man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 10 (Reuters) - Hacktivist groups say they are hitting Israeli targets online amid the war in Israel and Gaza, disrupting and defacing websites like the Jerusalem Post. The conflict between Israel and its Arab neighbors routinely attracts both intense global interest and politically minded hackers - dubbed hacktivists - who piggyback on the fighting, either to support their favored side or simply get attention. "There are dozens of victims per day, claimed by both pre-established and new (hacktivist) groups," cyber intelligence firm Recorded Future said. Examples of serious or long-term damage are still thin, but the activism shows how a subset of supporters use digital tools to bring the war online.

Persons: Kacper, Avi Mayer, hacktivists, Omri Segev Moyal, Israel, Profero, Christopher Bing, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Chris Sanders, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, CERT, Microsoft, Thomson Locations: Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem, Ukraine, Iranian, Washington, San Francisco

Attendees visit the 23andMe booth at the RootsTech annual genealogical event in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., February 28, 2019. REUTERS/George Frey/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A hacker is advertising millions of "pieces of data" stolen from the family genetics websites 23andMe, according to posts made to an online forum where digital thieves often advertise leaked data. "We do not have any indication at this time that there has been a data security incident within our systems," the statement said. A second layer of password protection, known as two-factor authentication, can also help frustrate these kinds of hacks. Reuters could not immediately find a way to contact the hacker, at least one of whose posts has since been removed from the forum.

Persons: George Frey, Raphael Satter, Chris Sanders Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Salt Lake City , Utah, U.S

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Microsoft Corp FollowWASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Chinese hackers who breached Microsoft's (MSFT.O) email platform this year managed to steal tens of thousands of emails from U.S. State Department accounts, a Senate staffer told Reuters on Wednesday. The staffer, who attended a briefing by State Department IT officials, said the officials told lawmakers that 60,000 emails were stolen from 10 State Department accounts. U.S. officials and Microsoft said in July that Chinese state-linked hackers since May had accessed email accounts at around 25 organizations, including the U.S. Commerce and State Departments. The hackers compromised a Microsoft engineer's device, which allowed them to breach the State Department's email accounts, according to the briefing. The State Department did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Wednesday, and Schmitt wasn't available for an interview.

Persons: Kacper, Eric Schmitt, Microsoft's, Schmitt, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft Corp, WASHINGTON, U.S . State Department, State Department IT, Department, East, Microsoft, U.S . Commerce, State, State Department, ., The State Department, U.S . State, Commerce, Reuters, Thomson Locations: East Asia, Europe, China, Beijing

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Microsoft Corp FollowWASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Chinese hackers who subverted Microsoft's (MSFT.O) email platform earlier this year managed to steal tens of thousands of emails from U.S. State Department accounts, a Senate staffer told Reuters on Wednesday. The staffer, who attended a briefing of State Department IT officials, said the officials told lawmakers that 60,000 emails were stolen from 10 different State Department accounts. The staffer, who works for Senator Eric Schmitt, shared the details of the briefing on condition that he not be identified by name. Allegations that China hacked the State Department - along with two dozen other, mostly still unidentified organizations - have strained an already tense U.S.-China relationship; Beijing has denied being behind the spying. The U.S. State Department did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Persons: Kacper, Eric Schmitt, Microsoft's, " Schmitt, Raphael Satter, Leslie Adler Organizations: REUTERS, Microsoft Corp, WASHINGTON, U.S . State Department, State Department IT, Department, East, State Department, Reuters, Thomson Locations: East Asia, China, Beijing

The FBI is investigating the MGM and Caesars breaches, and the companies did not comment on who may be behind them. In some cases - Mandia did not say which ones - hackers tied to Scattered Spider placed bogus emergency calls to summon heavily armed police units to the homes of executives of targeted companies. ALPHV, which according to Mandiant is a "ransomware-as-a-service", would provide services such as a helpdesk, webpage and branding, and in turn get a cut of whatever Scattered Spider would make from the hack. While many ransomware attacks go unpublicised, the MGM hack was a vivid example of the real-world impact of such incidents. Ransomware gangs often function like large organizations, and continue to evolve their methods to adapt to the latest security measures organizations use.

Persons: Bridget Bennett, helpdesk, they’d, Wendi Whitmore, Adam Meyers, it's, Kevin Mandia, Mandiant, Reuters couldn't, CrowdStrike's Meyers, helpdesks, David Bradbury, they've, Bradbury, ALPHV, Okta's Bradbury, Whitmore, Zeba Siddiqui, Raphael Satter, Chris Sanders, Claudia Parsons Organizations: MGM, MGM Resorts, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Alto Networks, Caesars Entertainment, FBI, Caesars, Google, Reuters, Microsoft, British, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas , Nevada, U.S, WASHINGTON, Canada, Japan, United States, reassign, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New York

REUTERS/Tatyana Makeyeva/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - A leading Russian journalist has had her phone compromised using Israeli spyware, researchers said Wednesday, the latest sign that phone hacking tools are being used to spy on media workers and opposition figures worldwide. A joint investigation by Canadian internet watchdog Citizen Lab and digital rights group Access Now found that the phone of Galina Timchenko had been infected using spyware built by the Israeli company NSO Group. Timchenko - the co-founder and publisher of independent Russian news outlet Meduza - was in Berlin at the time of the hack, the researchers said. Media defense groups condemned the alleged surveillance, with the Committee to Protect Journalists saying "journalists and their sources are not free and safe if they are spied on." Researchers, lawmakers and journalists have repeatedly accused NSO of helping governments spy on political opponents and undermine independent reporting.

Persons: Galina Timchenko, Tatyana Makeyeva, Timchenko, Meduza, Raphael Satter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Canadian, Lab, NSO Group, Media, Protect Journalists, U.S, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Russian, Berlin, Latvia, Ukraine

NEW YORK, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Rating agency Moody's has warned that a recent data breach at gaming company MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) could negatively impact the company's credit. Moody's said that while casino floors were back in action, the incident "highlights key risks related to (MGM's) business operations' heavy reliance on technology and the operational disruption caused when systems need to go offline or are inoperable." Messages seeking comment from MGM, the FBI and the U.S. cybersecurity watchdog agency CISA were not immediately returned. MGM Resorts' website was "currently unavailable," according to a holding message posted to the group's homepage. Reporting by Raphael Satter; Editing by David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Moody's, extortionists, Raphael Satter, David Holmes Organizations: MGM Resorts International, MGM, FBI, U.S, MGM Resorts, Thomson Locations: Las Vegas

A man holds a laptop computer as cyber code is projected on him in this illustration picture taken on May 13, 2017. "North Korean threat actors may be capitalizing on the opportunity to conduct intelligence collection on Russian entities due to the country's focus on its war in Ukraine," the report said. North Korea's mission to the United Nations did not immediately reply to a message seeking comment. North Korea has repeatedly been accused of deploying hackers against defense and diplomacy-related targets in South Korea, the United States and elsewhere. But allegations that Pyongyang is spying on its Russian allies are potentially more awkward as the countries draw closer amid the war in Ukraine.

Persons: Raphael Satter, Stephen Coates Organizations: U.S . National Security Agency, Microsoft Corp, Microsoft, United Nations, Reuters, SentinelOne Inc, Thomson Locations: WASHINGTON, Ukraine, Russian, Washington, North Korea, South Korea, United States, Pyongyang, East Asia, Beijing

REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Illustration Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - The recently disclosed Chinese hack of senior officials at the U.S. State and Commerce departments stemmed from the compromise of a Microsoft engineer's corporate account, Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) said in a blog post on Wednesday. Microsoft said the engineer's account had been penetrated by a hacking group it dubs Storm-0558, which is alleged to have stolen hundreds of thousands of emails from top American officials including Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, U.S. Microsoft said it had fixed the flaws that led to the key being accessible from the unidentified engineer's account which gave the hackers such wide latitude to steal emails. A Microsoft representative said the engineer's account had been hit using "token-stealing malware" but did not provide further detail about the incident or its timing. Beijing has previously described the allegation that it stole emails from top U.S. officials as "groundless narratives."

Persons: Kacper, Gina Raimondo, China Nicholas Burns, East Asia Daniel Kritenbrink, Raphael Satter, Jonathan Oatis, Sandra Maler, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . State, Commerce, Microsoft, Microsoft Corp, State, East Asia, Embassy, Thomson Locations: China, Washington, Beijing

AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 30 (Reuters) - British officials are warning organisations about integrating artificial intelligence-driven chatbots into their businesses, saying that research has increasingly shown that they can be tricked into performing harmful tasks. The NCSC said that could carry risks, particularly if such models were plugged into other elements organisation's business processes. "They might not let that product be involved in making transactions on the customer's behalf, and hopefully wouldn't fully trust it. The security implications of AI are also still coming into focus, with authorities in the U.S. and Canada saying they have seen hackers embrace the technology.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Raphael Satter, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Cyber Security, Authorities, Thomson Locations: guardrails, U.S, Canada

Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon poses for a photograph in front of a building in Bethesda, Maryland, U.S., September 28, 2022. REUTERS/Raphael Satter/File PhotoLaw Firms Dechert LLP FollowWASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Former Wall Street Journal reporter Jay Solomon has ended his lawsuit against Dechert LLP and two of its former partners, saying in a filing made public late on Monday that he was voluntarily dismissing his claims against the law firm. Dechert and its lawyers didn't return messages. Representatives for the other defendants in the suit, which is still active, didn't return messages. Dechert still faces other claims connected to the hiring of Indian hackers to win cases, including a lawsuit filed in New York last year by Solomon's former source, the aviation tycoon Farhad Azima.

Persons: Jay Solomon, Raphael Satter, Dechert, Solomon, Neil Gerrard, Farhad Azima, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Wall Street, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Thomson Locations: Bethesda , Maryland, U.S, Philadelphia, India, Dechert, New York

/U.S House of Representatives/Handout via REUTERS /File PhotoWASHINGTON, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Nebraska Republican Congressman Don Bacon said late on Monday the FBI had warned him that his emails were hacked by Chinese spies, with both personal and campaign messages compromised. Bacon was told that the Chinese Communist Party had access to his accounts for about a month ending on June 16, he said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. CNN previously reported that email accounts in the House of Representatives were targeted as part of the same campaign. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. Reporting by Christopher Bing and Raphael Satter; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Don Bacon of Nebraska, Don Bacon, Bacon, Gina Raimondo, China Nicholas Burns, Christopher Bing, Raphael Satter, Devika Organizations: Republican U.S . Rep, U.S . House, REUTERS, Nebraska Republican, FBI, Chinese Communist Party, Twitter, Microsoft, U.S, U.S . Commerce, CNN, Communist, Embassy, Air Force, House Armed Services Committee, Thomson Locations: Nebraska, China, Washington

[1/2] A sign indicates the direction to the offices of Progress Software in Burlington, Massachusetts, U.S., July 26, 2023. But more than two months after the breach was first disclosed by Massachusetts-based Progress Software, the parade of victims has scarcely slowed. The tallies show that nearly 40 million people have been affected so far by the hack of Progress' MOVEit Transfer file management program. Now the digital extortionists involved, a group named "cl0p", have become increasingly aggressive about thrusting their data into the public domain. MOVEit is used by organizations to ship large amounts of often sensitive data: pension information, social security numbers, medical records, billing data and the like.

Persons: Brian Snyder, Marc Bleicher, cl0p, Huntress Security's John Hammond, Christopher Budd, Sophos, Eric Goldstein, Nathan Little, Emsisoft, Bert Kondruss, Rowe Price, Maximus, Alexander Urbelis, Crowell, Goldstein, didn't, Surefire's, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Chris Sanders, Grant McCool Organizations: Progress Software, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Reuters, Software, Insurance, of America, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, Tetra Defense, WHO, Pension, California Public Employees, Moring, U.S ., Thomson Locations: Burlington , Massachusetts, U.S, WASHINGTON, American, Massachusetts, York, New York, Louisiana, California, New York City, Oregon

REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File PhotoWASHINGTON, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Two U.S. Navy sailors have been arrested on charges of handing over sensitive national security material to China, U.S. officials said Thursday. "There is no bigger, multigenerational threat to the United States" than China, said FBI Special Agent Stacey Moy. Beijing "will stop at nothing to attack the United States in its strategic plan to become the world's sole superpower." U.S.-China relations have been tense for years over a range of national security and trade issues. The United States has accused China of espionage and cyberattacks, a charge that Beijing has rejected.

Persons: Tyrone Siu, Wenheng Zhao, Jinchao Wei, Matt Olsen, Zhao, Wei, Stacey Moy, Kanishka Singh, Raphael Satter, Mark Porter, Alison Williams, Jonathan Oatis, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: U.S . Navy, REUTERS, USS, Embassy, United, Thomson Locations: Essex, U.S, Hong Kong, China, San Diego, People’s Republic of China, Okinawa, Japan, Ventura County, San Clemente, Los Angeles, USS Essex, United States, Beijing, Washington

Aug 1 (Reuters) - An obscure cloud service company has been providing state-sponsored hackers with internet services to spy on and extort their victims, a cybersecurity firm said in a report to be published on Tuesday. Researchers at Texas-based Halcyon said a company called Cloudzy had been leasing server space and reselling it to no fewer than 17 different state-sponsored hacking groups from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Vietnam. Halcyon estimated that roughly half of Cloudzy’s business was malicious, including renting services to two ransomware groups. The cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which wasn’t involved in the research, said that it hadn’t seen state-sponsored hackers using Cloudzy. He said the company needed U.S. domicile to be able to register internet protocol addresses in America.

Persons: Halcyon, Cloudzy, Hannan Nozari, couldn’t, Nozari, ”, Ryan Golden, wasn’t, It’s, – CloudPeak, Sheridan –, Adam Meyers, “, Christopher Bing, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: LinkedIn, Reuters, ”, Nozari, CrowdStrike, Thomson Locations: Texas, China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Tehran, Nozari, Cyprus, U.S ., Wyoming, America, Sheridan

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