DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Russia goes all-out with covert disinformation aimed at Harris, Microsoft report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Immediately after the video was posted on Sept. 2, social media users pointed out reasons to be wary. The caution was warranted, according to a new Microsoft threat intelligence report, which confirms the fabricated tale was disinformation from a Russia-linked troll farm. The report builds on previous concerns the U.S. has had about Russian interference in the upcoming election. Notably, some of the recent examples cited in the Microsoft report received significant social media engagement from unwitting Americans who shared the fake stories with outrage. "As the election approaches, people get more heated," Clint Watts, general manager of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center said in an interview.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Francisco's, Joe Biden, Harris, Biden, Clint Watts Organizations: Democratic, Kremlin, Microsoft Locations: San Francisco, Russia, Russian, U.S

☆ Microsoft says Russian operatives are ramping up attacks on Harris campaign with fake videos
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Microsoft said Tuesday that Russian operatives have in recent weeks intensified their online attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign by producing and disseminating videos promoting “outlandish conspiracy theories” aimed at stoking US racial and political divisions. One of the inauthentic videos, which Microsoft said had been viewed millions of times, claimed to show Harris supporters attacking an attendee of a Donald Trump rally. Russian operatives promoted the latter story through a website pretending to be a local San Francisco media outlet, Microsoft researchers said. CNN has requested comment on the Microsoft report from the Harris-Walz campaign and from the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC. Tehran has conducted a covert social media activity in an effort to undercut Trump’s candidacy, US officials have said.

Persons: Kamala Harris ’, Harris, Donald Trump, denigrate, ”, haven’t, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Walz, ‘, Biden, “, ” Clint Watts Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Russian, Ukraine, National Intelligence, Russian Embassy, Democratic, The, Department, Justice Department, Tenet Media, Monday, Trump, FBI Locations: San Francisco, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Washington , DC, Iran, Tehran

☆ Iran steps up influence campaign aimed at US voters with fake news sites, Microsoft says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Iranian operatives have ramped up their attempts to influence and monitor the US presidential election by creating fake news outlets targeting liberal and conservative voters and by trying to hack an unnamed presidential campaign, Microsoft said in research published late Thursday. Microsoft said it notified the campaign of the hacking attempt, but declined to say publicly which campaign it was. CNN has requested comment from the Trump campaign. The Iranian, Russian and Chinese governments routinely deny allegations of election influence operations. As president, Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, and he withdrew from a multilateral deal aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program.

Persons: Donald Trump, ” Clint Watts, ”, Kamala Harris ’, Trump, Joe Biden’s, Russia “, China “, “, Qasem Soleimani Organizations: CNN, Iranian, Microsoft, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, CIA, FBI, National Intelligence, Russian, Ukraine, Service, Department Locations: MAGA, Iran, Savannah , Georgia, Russian, Ukrainian, Trump, Russia, U.S, China

☆ Chinese operatives are using AI photos to trick American voters and turn them against each other, Microsoft says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft warned that China has been using AI-generated images to sow discord among US voters. Microsoft analysts said it was posted by an account suspected of being run as a Chinese influence operation. "This relatively high-quality visual content has already drawn higher levels of engagement from authentic social media users," the analysts warned. Videos of their protests were then "amplified" by social media accounts used by the operatives, Mandiant added. The social media company said it removed all of them.

Persons: Clint Watts, Watts, Liu Pengyu, Mandiant, Meta Organizations: Microsoft, Embassy, Washington , D.C, Service, Analysts, Chinese Communist Party, Liberty, CCP, Facebook Locations: China, Washington ,, Wall, Silicon, North Korea, Xinjiang

WASHINGTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Russian hackers appear to be preparing a renewed wave of cyber attacks against Ukraine, including a "ransomware-style" threat to organizations serving Ukraine's supply lines, a research report by Microsoft (MSFT.O) said on Wednesday. The report, authored by the tech giant’s cyber security research and analysis team, outlines a series of new discoveries about how Russian hackers have operated during the Ukraine conflict and what may come next. “Since January 2023, Microsoft has observed Russian cyber threat activity adjusting to boost destructive and intelligence gathering capacity on Ukraine and its partners’ civilian and military assets,” the report reads. Experts say the tactic of combining physical military operations with cyber techniques mirrors prior Russian activity. These developments have been paired with a growth in more stealthy Russian cyber operations designed to directly compromise organizations in countries allied to Ukraine, according to the report.

Search resuls for: "Clint Watts"

5 mentions found