DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The National Security Agency collected the intelligence that gave US officials insights into China and Iran’s capabilities in producing deepfakes, one of the sources said. At a briefing last week, FBI officials warned that AI increases the ability of foreign states to spread election disinformation. US officials have maintained a high level of visibility into the AI and deepfake advancements made by countries including China, Iran and Russia since the 2020 election. Nearly 70% of Republicans and Republican-leaners said that President Joe Biden’s 2020 election win was not legitimate, according to a CNN poll released in August. The 2024 US election will present new opportunities for foreign influence operations.

Persons: “, ”, Lee Foster, Foster, ” Foster, leaners, Joe Biden’s, Donald Trump Organizations: CNN, National Security Agency, NSA, Intelligence, US, Labs, “, Republican, Pew Research Center, FBI, Kyiv Locations: China, Iran, Russia, United States, Ukraine, Ukraine –

☆ Jim Simons, billionaire hedge fund founder, dies at 86
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Jim Simons, the billionaire investor, mathematician and philanthropist, died on Friday in New York City, according to his foundation, the Simons Foundation. According to his foundation, Simons was fired from the institute in 1968 due to his opposition to the Vietnam War. Simons then joined the faculty at Stony Brook University as the head of the school’s mathematics department. Last year, Simons’ foundation donated $500 million to Stony Brook’s endowment, the largest unrestricted gift to an American university in history, according to the Simons Foundation. “I joined Stony Brook University in 1968 as chair of their Department of Mathematics,” Simons said at the time.

Persons: Jim Simons, Simons, ” Simons, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Simons, Technologies, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California, MIT, Harvard University, Institute for Defense, National Security Agency, Stony Brook University, Renaissance Technologies, Simons Foundation, of Mathematics Locations: New York City, Newton , Massachusetts, Berkeley, Princeton , New Jersey, Vietnam, American

☆ Ex-N.S.A. Employee Who Tried to Sell U.S. Secrets to Russia Gets 22 Years
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Johnny Diaz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A former employee of the National Security Agency who thought that he was selling top secrets to the Russians was sentenced on Monday to nearly 22 years in prison, prosecutors said. The former employee, Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, of Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 262 months, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado. He pleaded guilty last year to six counts of attempting to transmit classified national defense information to a foreign agent. “This defendant, who had sworn an oath to defend our country, believed he was selling classified national security information to a Russian agent, when in fact, he was outing himself to the F.B.I.,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. Cole Finegan, the U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado, said Mr. Dalke’s sentence “reflects the seriousness of the actions he took in attempt to injure our country and help a foreign government.”

Persons: Jareh Sebastian Dalke, General Merrick B, Garland, Cole Finegan, ” Organizations: National Security Agency, Attorney’s, District of, ” Locations: Colorado Springs, District of Colorado, Russian, U.S

☆ N.S.A. Disclosure of U.S. Identities in Surveillance Reports Nearly Tripled in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-30 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The number of times the National Security Agency identified Americans or U.S. entities last year in intelligence reports containing information from a high-profile warrantless surveillance program nearly tripled from 2022, the government disclosed on Tuesday. The sharp increase in so-called unmaskings, to more than 31,300 times, arose from attempts by foreign hackers to infiltrate the computer systems of critical infrastructure — not individual people, officials said. In particular, a single intelligence report last year identified a “large number” of potential American entities a hacker sought to breach, the report said. The report was the most recent set of surveillance-related statistics made public each spring by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, providing a measure of transparency into how intelligence agencies use their electronic spying powers.

Organizations: National Security Agency, National Intelligence

☆ China Could Threaten Critical Infrastructure in a Conflict, N.S.A. Chief Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

China has been trying to find ways to gain access to critical infrastructure in the United States so that it can threaten those systems in the event of a conflict, the National Security Agency director said on Wednesday. and the U.S. military’s Cyber Command in February, said that Beijing had stepped up its cyberefforts and that the United States, in response, was working harder to disrupt that activity. Last year, U.S. officials uncovered an effort by China to gain access to critical infrastructure in Guam, home to U.S. military bases, and in the continental United States. Microsoft called the intrusions Volt Typhoon, after a Chinese network of hackers who often avoided using detectable malware and instead used stealthier techniques to enter wastewater systems and communication networks. “What you see in Volt Typhoon is an example of how China has approached establishing access to put things under threat,” General Haugh said at a security conference at Vanderbilt University.

Persons: Timothy D, Haugh, ” Organizations: National Security Agency, U.S, military’s, Command, Microsoft, Vanderbilt University Locations: China, United States, Beijing, Guam

☆ What Is the Powerful Surveillance Law That Divided Lawmakers?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The House on Friday passed a two-year reauthorization of an expiring warrantless surveillance law known as Section 702, reversing course after the bill collapsed days earlier when former President Donald J. Trump urged his allies to “kill” it. But disappointing privacy advocates, the House narrowly rejected a longstanding proposal to require warrants to search for Americans’ messages swept up by the program. Here is a closer look. It is a law that allows the government to collect — on domestic soil and without a warrant — the communications of targeted foreigners abroad, including when those people are interacting with Americans. Under that law, the National Security Agency can order email services like Google to turn over copies of all messages in the accounts of any foreign user and network operators like AT&T to intercept and furnish copies of any phone calls, texts and internet communications to or from a foreign target.

Persons: Donald J, Trump Organizations: National Security Agency, Google

☆ What information is the government actually collecting under FISA?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

They scuttled House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to extend the FISA Section 702 program with minimal tweaks. It is true that the FBI obtained warrants through FISA to wiretap Carter Page, an adviser to Trump’s first presidential campaign. According to the National Security Agency, 60% of what appears in the Presidential Daily Brief has some data that comes from the 702 program. The 702 program has been updated in the years since its inception, including in 2018, to include new protections to minimize Americans’ communications from being accessed without a warrant. Additionally, these proposals would bar the government from sidestepping warrant requirements by simply buying the data of Americans from so-called data brokers.

Persons: CNN —, Donald Trump, “, Mike Johnson’s, Carter, Trump’s, Trump, Read, Katie Bo Lillis, Johnson, Christopher Wray, ”, Leon Panetta Organizations: CNN, Foreign Intelligence, Trump, FISA, Republicans, FBI, Privacy, Civil, National Security Agency, Center for Justice, New York University, Brennan Center, Intelligence Community, National Intelligence, House, CIA, New Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, New York City

☆ FBI director warns that Chinese hackers are preparing to ‘wreak havoc’ on US critical infrastructure
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —FBI Director Christopher Wray on Wednesday warned that Chinese hackers are preparing to “wreak havoc and cause real-world harm” to the US. Chinese government-backed hackers, Wray said, are targeting things like water treatment plants, electrical infrastructure and oil and natural gas pipelines, Wray said. The Chinese hackers are working “to find and prepare to destroy or degrade the civilian critical infrastructure that keeps us safe and prosperous,” Wray said. The hearing comes in the wake of a big push by US and Chinese officials to ease tensions in the relationship between the two superpowers. We have made it easy on them,” Jen Easterly, who leads the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told lawmakers.

Persons: Christopher Wray, “, ” Wray, Wray, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden, Xi, “ China’s, Jen, Paul Nakasone, ” Nakasone, CNN’s Evan Perez Organizations: CNN, Chinese Communist Party, National Security Agency, Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI, Justice Department Locations: China, Taiwan, America

☆ Premarket stocks: The US is pulling ahead in the economic race with China
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Nicole Goodkind | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

It appears that a soft landing, where price rises are tamed and the economy manages to avoid recession, is possible. Before the Bell: Is it fair to say that the US is outpacing China in the race for economic supremacy? Just last year people might have said the opposite — that the US was heading towards recession and the Chinese economy was thriving. It is remarkable to see the US economy blazing ahead while the Chinese economy sputters and slips into deflation. What else should investors be aware of when they read about the Chinese economy?

Persons: Bell, Eswar Prasad, Jamie Dimon, he’s, Marianne Lake, Jennifer Piepszak, Piepszak, Troy Rohrbaugh, Rohrbaugh, Dimon, hasn’t, “, Brian Fung, Oregon Democratic Sen, Ron Wyden, Biden Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, New York CNN, Cornell University, International Monetary, JPMorgan, JPMorgan Chase, Bloomberg, NSA, National Security Agency, Oregon Democratic, Pentagon, CNN Locations: New York, China, Oregon

☆ The NSA buys Americans’ internet data, newly released documents show
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Washington CNN —The National Security Agency has been buying Americans’ web browsing data from commercial data brokers without warrants, intelligence officials disclosed in documents made public by a US senator Thursday. The purchases involve what Nakasone described as netflow data, or the technical information generated by devices as they use the internet. Nakasone added that the NSA does not purchase cellphone location data of Americans or location data generated by automotive infotainment systems in the United States. “NSA purchases commercially available Netflow data for its cybersecurity mission, to include but not limited to inform the Agency’s collection, analysis, and dissemination of cyber threat intelligence,” an NSA official said. As part of Thursday’s announcement, Wyden wrote a letter to the Biden administration urging it to stop the warrantless surveillance of Americans through the purchases of internet data.

Persons: Oregon Democratic Sen, Ron Wyden, Biden, ”, Paul Nakasone, Wyden, Nakasone, “, Ronald Moultrie, Allison Nixon, ” Nixon, Timothy Haugh, ” Wyden, Avril Haines, Haines, Lina Khan, CNN’s Sean Lyngaas Organizations: Washington CNN, National Security Agency, Oregon Democratic, Pentagon, CNN, The New York Times, NSA, Defense Department, cyberattacks, Defense Intelligence Agency, Federal Trade Commission, InMarket Media, FTC Locations: Oregon, United States, U.S

☆ N.S.A. Buys Americans’ Internet Data Without Warrants, Letter Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The National Security Agency buys certain logs related to Americans’ domestic internet activities from commercial data brokers, according to an unclassified letter by the agency. The letter, addressed to a Democratic senator and obtained by The New York Times, offered few details about the nature of the data other than to stress that it did not include the content of internet communications. Still, the revelation is the latest disclosure to bring to the fore a legal gray zone: Intelligence and law enforcement agencies sometimes purchase potentially sensitive and revealing domestic data from brokers that would require a court order to acquire directly. It comes as the Federal Trade Commission has started cracking down on companies that trade in personal location data that was gathered from smartphone apps and sold without people’s knowledge and consent about where it would end up and for what purpose it would be used.

Organizations: National Security Agency, Democratic, The New York Times, Intelligence, Federal Trade Commission

☆ China and cybercriminals are targeting American AI companies, FBI Director Wray says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-09 | by ( Ian Thomas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

American companies like Google , Microsoft , and OpenAI are currently driving the cutting edge of generative artificial intelligence development across the globe. However two of U.S.'s top national security leaders said that AI lead is under attack from foreign cybercriminals and nation-states like China. "Eighteen of the 20 most successful AI companies in the world are American," FBI Director Christopher Wray told CNBC's Morgan Brennan during a CNBC CEO Council virtual roundtable on Tuesday. "Generative AI, in the world of cyberattacks, is what I would describe as taking kind of junior varsity athletes and making them varsity," Wray said. But while much of the discussion around AI in the cybersecurity space has centered on how AI is enhancing both attackers and defenders, Wray said the FBI is also focused on "defending American AI [research and development], American innovation in AI."

Persons: Christopher Wray, CNBC's Morgan Brennan, Wray, General Paul Nakasone, Nakasone Organizations: Google, Microsoft, CNBC, Cyber Command, National Security Agency, Central Security Service Locations: China, U.S

☆ How an Indian startup hacked the world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +41 min

The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, prominent attorneys and more. Run by a pair of brothers, Rajat and Anuj Khare, the company began as a small Indian educational startup. The Indian company hacked on an industrial scale, stealing data from political leaders, international executives, sports figures and more. Back in 2012, Kristi Rogers was an executive at Aegis, a London-based security company. Canadian security company GardaWorld, which acquired Aegis in 2015, said it had no information on the incident.

Persons: Chuck Randall, Randall, “, ” Randall, ”, Randall’s inbox, Appin, Rajat, Anuj Khare, Rajat Khare’s, Clare Locke, Khare “, Khare, ” Clare Locke, Ted Kaczynski, Anuj, who’ve, SentinelOne, Tom Hegel, Appin “, Hegel, Mandiant, ” Hegel, Shane Huntley, ” Huntley, Google’s Huntley, ‘, Jochi Gómez, Gómez, Halevi, Tamir Mor, Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, Mohamed Azmin Ali, ” Mor, Berezovsky, Azmin, Mor, Roman Abramovich, Mark Hastings, Hastings, didn’t, Jim H, ” Jim H, Jim H’s, Kristi Rogers, Mike Rogers, he’s, Global’s, sully, Rogers, Damian Perl, – “, Steven Santarpia, ” Santarpia, Santarpia, Leonel Fernández, ” Fernández, Rajat Khare, “ Let’s, Ministry of Home Affairs didn’t, Peter Hargitay, Stevie, Billing, ” Stevie, ’, ” Peter Hargitay, Mookhey, Norman Shark, Jonathan Camp, Shark, Camp, Norman, Dominican Republic –, Dan Brady, Sandra Schweingruber, ” Schweingruber, Schweingruber, Brady, ” Gómez, –, ” –, Anna Carter, Mark Califano, ” Rajat Khare’s, India’s, Educomp, Karen Hunter, Hunter, Bryan, Rajat’s, Vijay Kumar, Deepak Kumar, Kumar, ACSG, Jay Solomon, Solomon, ” Rebsec’s, Vishavdeep Singh, Rebsec, CyberRoot, Sumit Gupta, Gupta, Raphael Satter, Zeba Siddiqui, Christopher Bing, Ryan McNeill, Corinne Perkins, John Emerson, Marla Dickerson Organizations: Reuters, Google, Harvard University, U.S, Symantec, Appin, Caribbean, El, Israeli Defense Forces, Commando, Quillon Law, U.S . House Intelligence, The Michigan Republican, U.S . Senate, Aegis, Global Security, Security, Rogers, Army Corps of Engineers, Rotary, Aegis ’, Global, ” Reuters, Britain’s, Appin Software Security, Ltd, Appin Security, –, Research, Analysis, Intelligence Bureau, Indian, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs, India’s Ministry of Defense, of Home Affairs, Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ministry of Home Affairs, Telenor, Broadcom, FBI, Dominican, Criminal Investigation Service, Appin Security Group, CERT, country’s, Bureau of Investigation, Educomp, State Bank of India, State Bank, The National Security Agency, NSA, U.S ., Swiss, Appin Technology, India’s Ministry, Corporate Affairs, Control Security Global, Technology, Kumar, Facebook, Meta, BellTroX, Services, Street, New, Rebsec, BellTroX’s, Hire Locations: Long, New Delhi, India, Yorker, Paris, Swiss, cybersecurity, Appin, Dominican, California, “, Dominican Republic, El Siglo, United States, Britain, Switzerland, New York, French, New Jersey, Israel, Russian, Malaysian, London, Rwandan, Virginia, Canadian, Chuck@shinnecock.org, Texas, Indian, India’s Punjab, Pakistan, Zurich, Australia, Norway, Oslo, Brady, Former, ”, U.S, Islip, Shinnecock, Washington, cyberespionage

☆ Where are they now: The many fascinating Bridgewater employees from the book on Ray Dalio 'The Fund'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Bradley Saacks | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

The new book, "The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend" — which Dalio and his lawyers have pushed back against — describes everything from Bridgewater's investment process to internal grudges and backstabbing to allegations of sexual harassment. Here are the places where the dozens of Bridgewater employees and consultants named in the book ended up. Dalio, the book said, wrote into the firm's bylaws that he could never hold that title again. Before that, she was the head of investment research and a co-chief investment officer for sustainability. He's worked at different funds since leaving in 2006, including Larch Lane Advisors and Bonaccord Capital as an investor and business-development professional.

Persons: Rob Copeland's, Ray Dalio, Dalio, —, Bridgewater, Greg Jensen, YouTube Dalio, nixed, Copeland, He's, Jensen, Eileen Murray, Morgan Stanley, David McCormick, Dina Powell, McCormick, Dave McCormick, Michael M, Nir Bar Dea, Stefanova, Dalio's, Paul McDowell, Bob Eichinger, McDowell, Eichinger, Jen Healy, Osman Nalbantoglu, Matthew Granade, Steve Cohen, Steve Cohen's Point72, Bob Prince, politicking, Karen Karniol, Bridgewater Associates Karen Karniol, Vladimir Putin, Bob Elliott, Elliott, James Comey, Winn McNamee, Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Hillary, Britt Harris, Bridgewater's, Julian Mack, L, Michael Partington, Spencer Stuart, Niko Canner, Jon Rubinstein, Beck Diefenbach Jon Rubinstein, Steve Jobs, Tom Adams, Rosetta Stone, J, Michael Cline, Cline, Kevin Campbell, Campbell, Craig Mundie, Bill Gates, Gates, Mundie, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush, David Ferrucci, IBM's Watson, Ferrucci, Keith Alexander, Alexander, Larry Culp, Culp, Jamie Gorelick, conscientiously, Clinton, Jared Kushner, Jesse Horwitz, Comey, Horwitz, Samantha Holland, Perry Poulos, Murray, Joe Sweet, Tara Arnold, Arnold —, Leah Guggenheimer, She's, Charles Korchinski, Harris, Kent Kuran Organizations: New York Times, Bridgewater Associates, Business, Bridgewater, YouTube, HSBC, Broadridge, Life Insurance, Wells, Treasury Department, Republican, Getty, GOP, Israel Defense Forces, Marto, Princeton University, McKinsey, Point72, Bridgewater didn't, Domino Data, CircleUp, FBI, Trump, of, University of Texas Investment Management Co, Apple, Dalio, Health, Cognition, Mundie, National Security Agency, Amazon, General Electric, Boston Globe, Electric, Trump White House, Harvard Law School, —, Hubble, Stefanova's Marto, HBR Consulting, MIO Partners, Burford, Larch Lane Advisors, Bonaccord, Eaton Partners, Stanford, NextEra Energy Resources Locations: Bridgewater, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, China, San Francisco, of Texas, Atlanta, WilmerHale, Asia, India, Shanghai, Singapore, Israel, Africa

☆ How the GOP muzzled the quiet coalition that fought foreign propaganda
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Kevin Collier | Ken Dilanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

A once-robust alliance of federal agencies, tech companies, election officials and researchers that worked together to thwart foreign propaganda and disinformation has fragmented after years of sustained Republican attacks. The most recent setback came when the FBI put an indefinite hold on most briefings to social media companies about Russian, Iranian and Chinese influence campaigns. "We're having some interaction with social media companies," Wray said. "The symbiotic relationship between the government and the social media companies has definitely been fractured." Tech companies are still sharing their findings with each other, a Meta spokesperson told NBC News.

Persons: Christopher Wray, Wray, Sen, Mitt Romney, they're, Mark Warner, Warner, Hillary Clinton's, Barack, CISA, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Hunter, Mark Zuckerburg, Hunter Biden, didn't, Biden, Nina Jankowicz, Jankowicz, Jen, Jim Jordan, Kara Swisher, we're, Elon Musk, wasn't Organizations: U.S, Capitol, Washington , D.C, GOP, FBI, Force, NBC News, Senate Homeland Security Committee, Justice Department, Committee, Republican, Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft, Senate Intelligence, Kremlin, Internet Research Agency, Facebook, Twitter, National Security Agency, Democrats, New, Digital, Republicans, Homeland Security, Wired, Rep, Tech Locations: Washington ,, Silicon Valley, R, Utah, Russia, Iran, China, U.S, Illinois, CISA, New York, Missouri, Louisiana, Ohio, Israel

☆ It's not just Mike Johnson: Porn-tracking software is actually pretty common on the religious right
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Speaker Johnson and his son use software that notifies one of them if the other watches porn. It's actually rather common in religious circles, and there are several different apps for it. There are several different apps — known as "accountability" software — that allow for this sort of monitoring, including Covenant Eyes, Accountable2You, and EverAccountable. Speaker Johnson uses Covenant Eyes, and says in the unearthed clip that he has an accountability partnership with his then-17-year-old son. According to WIRED, the accountability software industry has ballooned into a "multimillion-dollar ecosystem" and includes hundreds of thousands, if not millions of users around the country.

Persons: Johnson, It's, —, Mike Johnson, that's, Stone, Lamar Odom, — he's, it's, Jesus —, Christopher Johnson, who's, Christian, Johnson's, Michael Holm, Holm Organizations: Service, Twitter, Capitol, WIRED, NBA, Southern Baptist Church, Ohio State University, National Security Agency Locations: Louisiana, Washington, DC, Columbus

☆ The Race to Save Our Secrets From the Computers of the Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-22 | by ( Zach Montague | More About Zach Montague | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The danger extends not just to future breaches but to past ones: Troves of encrypted data harvested now and in coming years could, after Q-Day, be unlocked. Current and former intelligence officials say that China and potentially other rivals are most likely already working to find and store such troves of data in hopes of decoding them in the future. Today, the most powerful quantum device uses 433 “qubits,” as the quantum equivalent of transistors are called. That figure would probably need to reach into the tens of thousands, perhaps even the millions, before today’s encryption systems would fall. But within the U.S. cybersecurity community, the threat is seen as real and urgent.

Persons: ”, Glenn S Organizations: National Security Agency, Homeland Security Department Locations: China, Russia, United States

☆ Exclusive: Tech billionaire Peter Thiel was an FBI informant
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Another source close to Thiel told Insider that while they could not confirm that Thiel was a CHS, Thiel did speak to Buma occasionally. "[They] will be either an 'FBI source' or a 'former FBI source' and, in turn, his or her conduct or misconduct will reflect upon the FBI." Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesAs a CHS, Thiel was assigned a code name and an internal serial number to track his reporting. Thiel, Johnson said, was directed by the FBI not to report on his interactions with Donald Trump or other US political figures. Johnson told Insider that he brokered an introduction between Thiel and the FBI special agent who would become his handler.

Persons: Peter Thiel, Trump, Thiel, Johnathan Buma, Charles Johnson, Johnson, MAGA, Donald Trump, Drew Angerer, Scott Horton, Buma, Sen, J.D, Vance of, Blake Masters, —, Vance, Joe Biden's, Vance of Ohio, Anna Moneymaker, Masters, Mithril's, Matt Gaetz, Gaetz's, Ginger Gaetz, Bill Barr, Rudy Giuliani, Alex Wong, Jeffrey Epstein, Enrique Tarrio, Tarrio, Mattathias Schwartz Organizations: FBI, Buma, CHS, Trump, Trump Tower, Republican National Convention, Joe Biden's Department, Getty Masters, Mar, Masters, Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency, US Army, NSO Group, Forbes, Mithril, Clearview's, Committee, Capitol, Founders Fund, Boys Locations: Los Angeles, Germany, United States, New Zealand, Malta, Silicon, Vance of Ohio, Arizona, Palantir, American, Russian, Atlantic City, schwartz79@protonmail.com

☆ U.S.: No Major Cyber Attacks in Israel-Gaza Conflict, Yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-09 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

U.S. intelligence hasn't seen major cyber campaigns in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but such attacks may yet be on the way, Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity at the National Security Agency said Monday. Joyce said there have been minor assaults, including denial of service attacks and defacement of websites, by actors he didn't identify.

Persons: hasn't, Rob Joyce, cybersecurity, Joyce Organizations: National Security Agency Locations: Israel

☆ American economic power is potent but unstable
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Peter Thal Larsen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - For the past 15 years, the iPhone has been a totem of U.S. economic power. If the country is cooling on the $2.8 trillion company, it’s a potent indicator of increasingly frosty relations with the United States. Perhaps most significantly, the U.S. government realised it could use the internet to spy on adversaries and the financial system to subdue them. The tendency of capitalism to produce a handful of giant companies, many of them headquartered in the United States, helped successive administrations exert their authority. A complete severing of economic links between China and the United States is hard to imagine.

Persons: Norman Angell, Thomas Friedman, Vladimir Putin, Edward Snowden, Henry Farrell, Abraham Newman, Johns Hopkins SAIS, Putin, Biden, ”, Farrell, Newman, Donald Trump, ” Farrell, Allen Lane, Jeffrey Goldfarb, Aditya Sriwatsav Organizations: Reuters, Apple, World Trade Organization, New York Times, National Security Agency, U.S . Treasury, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown University, WTO, Huawei, BNP, Biden Administration, Intel, U.S ., European, United, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, United States, France, Russian, U.S, North Korea, Iran, New York, Washington, Sudan, Cuba, Ukraine, America, Russia, Germany, United, Europe

☆ CEO, ex-NSA hacker says ‘people hate’ this advice—but it’s your ‘single biggest’ protection from scams
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

"Everybody hates multi-factor authentication," cybersecurity expert and former government hacker Kyle Hanslovan tells CNBC Make It. Microsoft has claimed that multi-factor authentication can prevent 99.9% of cyberattacks on personal accounts. Fewer than half of U.S. small business-owners require employees and customers to use multi-factor authentication, according to the Cyber Readiness Institute. They're more likely to choose the path of least resistance whenever they come across an obstacle, like an extra step for authentication, Hanslovan says. "If you [use multi-factor authentication] and choose that app, you're almost ahead of most of the pack and attackers will move to somebody who's the slowest one."

Persons: Kyle Hanslovan, Huntress, Hanslovan, I've, you've, Warren Buffett Organizations: CNBC, U.S . Air Force, National Security Agency, Air National Guard, Microsoft, Duo Security, Cyber Readiness, Mobile, Google Locations: U.S

☆ US FCC chair says China's Quectel, Fibocom may pose national security risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jonathan Newton/Pool via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked U.S. government agencies to consider declaring that Chinese companies including Quectel (603236.SS) and Fibocom Wireless (300638.SZ) pose unacceptable national security risks, according to letters seen by Reuters. Federal funds cannot be used to purchase equipment from companies on the list, and the FCC will not authorize new equipment from companies deemed national security threats. Rosenworcel wrote the FBI, the Justice Department, the National Security Agency, the Defense Department and other agencies on Sept. 1, forwarding the request from the lawmakers. She added the FCC can update the Covered List "only at the direction of national security authorities." Last year the FCC voted to revoke China Unicom’s U.S. unit, Pacific Networks and ComNet’s authorization to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns.

Persons: Jessica Rosenworcel, Jonathan Newton, Mike Gallagher, Krishnamoorthi, Rosenworcel, David Shepardson, Jonathan Oatis, David Gregorio Our Organizations: U.S . Senate Commerce, Science, Transportation Committee, Federal Communications Commission, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Federal Communications, U.S, Fibocom Wireless, Reuters, Republican, China, FCC, FBI, Justice Department, National Security Agency, Defense Department, Huawei, ZTE, Hytera Communications Corp, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology, Zhejiang Dahua Technology, Pacific Networks, Embassy, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Quectel, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China, U.S, United States, Washington

☆ Former U.S. Cyber Director Inglis Joins Advisory Firm Hakluyt
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +3 min

Chris Inglis, the former U.S. national cyber director who left the White House in February, has joined London-based corporate advisory firm Hakluyt & Co.Inglis, a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and the National Security Agency, was the first person to serve as national cyber director. His role in the White House was relatively short-lived. After being confirmed by the Senate in June 2021, he left the job in February 2023, a month before the release of his former office’s flagship National Cybersecurity Strategy. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. In addition to Hakluyt, Inglis has also rejoined Paladin Venture Capital, an investment company where he was employed before his most recent stint in the federal government, as a senior strategic adviser.

Persons: Chris Inglis, Hakluyt, Inglis, ”, Cybersecurity, Varun Chandra, Chandra, ChatGPT, it’s, ” Inglis, James Rundle Organizations: U.S, White, Hakluyt & Co, U.S . Air Force, National Security Agency, Senate, Cybersecurity, NSA, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Infrastructure Security Agency, Paladin Venture Capital, Hakluyt Locations: London, cyberattacks, james.rundle

☆ Officials found suspected Chinese malware hidden in various US military systems. Its intended use is disruption rather than surveillance, a 'disturbing' change in intent, experts say.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | Katie Hawkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Suspected Chinese malware has been identified in several US military systems. US officials told the Times that investigations into Chinese malware had been underway for several months and that the malicious code had infiltrated US military systems across the country and abroad. Previous cyberattacks typically aimed to surveil US operations, experts told the Times. "China is steadfast and determined to penetrate our governments, our companies, our critical infrastructure," the deputy director of the National Security Agency, George Barnes, said at the Intelligence and National Security Summit earlier this month. Now, experts say this new wave of malicious code has the ability to disrupt US military and civilian operations.

Persons: George Barnes, Rob Joyce, cybersecurity, Antony Blinken, Adam Hodge, Biden Organizations: Service, The New York Times, Microsoft, Andersen Air Force Base, Times, National Security Agency, Intelligence and National Security, NSA, CNN, State Department, House, National Security Locations: China, Wall, Silicon, The, Guam, United States

The names of the U.S. senator, the state senator and the state judge targeted were not disclosed. The disclosure by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) followed a secret court order reauthorizing the use of Section 702 - the part of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that allows the FBI to scour the vast troves of intelligence data for information that might be useful for its own investigations. Despite the missteps, the FBI was praised by the judge involved for doing "a better job" at curbing surveillance abuses. That skepticism only deepened when an earlier court order - declassified in May - revealed that the FBI had improperly searched for the foreign intelligence database more than a quarter million times over several years. Last year, an alleged Iranian agent was charged with trying to arrange the assassination of former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Chris Wray, John Bolton, Raphael Satter, Matthew Lewis Organizations: FBI, U.S, National Intelligence, U.S . Foreign Intelligence, Federal Bureau of, National Security Agency, U.S . House, Microsoft, U.S . National Security, Thomson Locations: U.S, Taiwan, United States, Asia, Washington

Search resuls for: "The National Security Agency"

25 mentions found