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Social media giant Meta announced Monday that it is banning Russian media outlet RT, days after the Biden administration accused RT of acting as an arm of Moscow’s spy agencies. “After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets. U.S. officials then accused RT of carrying out covert information warfare operations around the world on behalf of Russia's spy agencies. The Biden administration is imposing sanctions on a state-funded broadcaster that oversees RT, TV-Novosti; another state media company, Rossiya Segodnya; and its director, Dmitry Kiselyov, officials said. Meta started limiting Russian state-controlled media two years ago.

Persons: Biden, ”, James Rubin, Rossiya, Dmitry Kiselyov, cybercrimes, Meta Organizations: Meta, State Department, State, Global, Novosti, U.S . Justice Department, Democratic National Committee, Facebook Locations: Ukraine, Africa, Germany, Berlin, France, Paris, U.S, Russia

☆ Biden to announce new efforts to curb gender-based violence
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is A Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

President Joe Biden on Thursday will commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act by announcing new efforts to curb gender-based violence, senior administration officials said. Klein said the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday will also announce a new office targeting gender-based violence that will help survivors get secure housing and economic stability. The initial legislation, which was passed through a bipartisan crime bill in 1994, included the first National Domestic Violence Hotline. Biden's American Rescue Plan also included investments targeting gender-based violence. The Family Violence Prevention and Services Act program reported that roughly $1 billion in supplemental funding has supported 252 tribes, 1,500 domestic violence programs and 1,400 sexual assault programs.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Jennifer Klein, Klein Organizations: Council, Justice Department, The Justice Department, Department of Housing, Urban, Prevention

☆ How to avoid the top scam of 2023: The internet has 'really supercharged' it, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Vasily Pindyurin | fStop | Getty ImagesConsumers lost a record $10 billion to fraud in 2023, and imposter scams were the most prevalent swindle, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Nearly 854,000 people filed complaints to the FTC about imposter scams in 2023. Consumers lost $2.7 billion to such scams in 2023, according to FTC data. In addition to financial loss, "we know fraud causes significant emotional and psychological harm," he added. Fraud victims lost $1.9 billion and $1.4 billion via these payment channels, respectively, in 2023.

Persons: Vasily Pindyurin, Hardeep Rai, Rai, —, fraudsters, Breyault Organizations: fStop, Getty, Federal Trade Commission, Consumers, FBI

☆ What is catfishing and what can you do if you are catfished?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Sen Nguyen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole. A 2019 study found that young LGBTQ+ men in rural America experiencing catfishing on dating apps felt angry and fearful. She also emphasized the need to recognize today’s loneliness epidemic, which “leads people to perhaps be more susceptible to catfishing scams,” she said. Catfishing is not explicitly a crime, but the actions that often accompany catfishing, such as extortion for money, gifts or sexual images are crimes in many places. In the US, romance scams resulting from catfishing have among the highest reported financial losses of internet crimes as a whole.

Persons: CNN —, Nev Schulman, “ Megan ”, Schulman, Evita, scammers, Catfishing, Snapchat, ”, Ngo Minh Hieu, Chong, Hieu, Wang, “, It’s, Fangzhou Wang, ” Wang, Maryna, WeChat Organizations: CNN, Cybersmile Foundation, Federation University, Fraud Intelligence, INTERPOL, Research, US Federal Trade Commission, SMS, University of Texas, Arlington, Getty, Facebook, UNICEF Locations: Alaska, Australia, Singapore, Southeast Asia, France, Germany, India, cryptocurrency, Vietnamese, America, catfishing, China, Cybersecurity, Australian

☆ Companies have an 'incredible need' for this in-demand skill, says Google exec—and it pays over $100,000 a year
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that the number of cybersecurity jobs will grow 32% in the next decade — much faster than the average for occupations overall. "Employers are really struggling to find people who are comfortable working in cybersecurity, but there's this incredible need and demand for people with these skills," says Gevelber. It's one of the reasons Gevelber founded Grow with Google, the tech giant's skilling initiative, in 2017. The online program provides lessons and certifications for in-demand skills like cybersecurity and data analytics. Other colleges and organizations, including Amazon Web Services, Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania, offer comparable cybersecurity certificates.

Persons: Lisa Gevelber, Gevelber Organizations: FBI, of Labor Statistics, Employers, Google, Amazon Web Services, Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania Locations: U.S, cybersecurity

CNN —The Chinese government has built up the world’s largest known online disinformation operation and is using it to harass US residents, politicians, and businesses—at times threatening its targets with violence, a CNN review of court documents and public disclosures by social media companies has found. Victims face a barrage of tens of thousands of social media posts that call them traitors, dogs, and racist and homophobic slurs. While tech and social media companies have shut down thousands of accounts targeting these victims, they’re outpaced by a slew of new accounts emerging virtually every day. As part of a mission “to manipulate public perceptions of [China], the Group uses its misattributed social media accounts to threaten, harass and intimidate specific victims,” the complaint states. In the past, the Spamouflage network mostly focused on issues domestically relevant to China.

Persons: –, Xi Jinping, Biden, Mike Gallagher, Chen Pokong, ”, Chen, “, Spamouflage’s, Liu Pengyu, ” Liu, Jiayang, Darren Linvill, hasn’t, Fan, Communist Party playbook, Mandiant, Nancy Pelosi, ” Ben Nimmo, George Floyd’s, Ben Nimmo, Lindsay Gorman, Gorman, ” Linvill, Linvill, Spamouflage, Jiajun Qiu, Qiu, ” Qiu Organizations: CNN, US State Department, FBI, Communist Party, Meta, Google, ”, CCP, US Department of Justice, Department, DOJ, China’s Ministry of Public Security, Group, New Yorker, telltale, Media, Clemson University, Capitol, Department of Homeland Security, Marshall Fund’s Alliance, Securing Democracy, YouTube Locations: United States, Beijing, San Francisco, China “, New York, China, New York City, America, Washington, Hong Kong, US, Texas, Virginia, Manassas , Virginia

☆ Aura Sells Cybersecurity to Regular People
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Kim S. Nash | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Hari Ravichandran, chief executive of Aura, wants families—from children to their grandparents—to take charge of their personal cybersecurity. Ravichandran spoke with WSJ Pro about Aura’s challenges, and how it uses artificial intelligence to make cybersecurity invisible. With cybersecurity, people don’t think about a lot of the basic views from which your data can get exploited. In a grandparent scam, for example, somebody calls pretending to be your grandson or a granddaughter saying, “Hey, I’ve been kidnapped. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors.

Persons: Hari Ravichandran, Aura, —, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Robert Downey Jr, Ravichandran, Jack Plunkett, it’s, “, I’ve, Kim S, Nash Organizations: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hollywood, DreamWorks, Southwest Locations: kim.nash

☆ Nicaragua dissident Felix Maradiaga and Berta Valle on fighting for justice and family life
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Melissa Mahtani | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Many were accused of treason or involvement in “illicit activities” for having contact with foreign journalists or human rights’ organizations that the Ortega regime views as a threat. He gave me, for example, the name of our international human rights lawyer, Jared Genser, who became my angel through all of this. Both spoke at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in May, where Maradiaga was awarded the 2023 Courage Award. Those Nicaraguans who only are asking for the protection of basic human rights and human dignity. “After all this work that we do as human rights defenders, there’s a private life that also has to be taken care of.

Persons: CNN — It’s, Felix Maradiaga, –, Maradiaga, Berta Valle, Berta, I’m, Washington ’, ”, “, Félix, Daniel Ortega –, Ortega, ” Maradiaga, ‘, ’ Maradiaga, Daniel Ortega, Ned Price, ” Price, Valle, Jared Genser, It’s, he’s, “ It’s, Alejandra, ” Valle, Nicaragua –, I’ve, that’s, Pope Francis, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Kara, Murza, pic.twitter.com, —, there’s Organizations: CNN, State Department, Nicaraguan, Geneva, Human Rights, Democracy, US State Department, Dulles International Airport, UN, Oslo Freedom, Catholic Church, Central American, National Assembly of Locations: United States, Valle, Nicaragua, Washington, Miami, American, Nicaraguan, Oslo, National Assembly of Nicaragua, China, Hong Kong, Venezuela, Cuba, Afghanistan, Ukraine, “

☆ Nicaragua accuses Catholic Church of money laundering, freezes accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

May 27 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan police said on Saturday they are investigating several dioceses of the Catholic Church for money laundering, a day after local media reported that the bank accounts of parishes in the Central American country had been frozen. Investigations "confirmed the unlawful removal of resources from bank accounts that had been ordered by law to be frozen," the police said in a statement. Ortega's government has intensified attacks against the Catholic Church in the wake of 2018 anti-government protests in which some 360 people died after what human rights groups call police repression. The police statement said the bank accounts were linked to religious figures convicted of treason and other crimes, and that the investigations confirmed the funds entered the country irregularly. "People have their bank accounts here, this is how they carried out their work," Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes said in an article posted on news website despacho505.com.

☆ U.S. seizes website selling malware that stole computer data
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Zeba Siddiqui | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SAN FRANCISCO, March 9 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities said on Thursday they seized an internet domain that was selling malicious software criminals used to steal data from and take control of victims' computers. The site sold NetWire, a type of malware called a 'remote access trojan' (RAT), which is "a sophisticated program capable of targeting and infecting every major computer operating system," the statement said. It allows covert surveillance, creating a "'backdoor' for administrative control and unfettered and unauthorized remote access to a victim’s computer, without the victim’s knowledge or permission," according to court records filed in Los Angeles the statement cited. It was unclear how many times the malware had been bought off the seized website. The seizure comes as U.S. authorities work on improving collaborations with other countries on investigating cybercrimes, which are often cross-border.

A Michigan woman was arrested after she sent months of harassing text messages to two teenagers, including her daughter, officials said Thursday. From Sept. 13, 2021, to Feb. 20, Licari sent hundreds of "mean" text messages to her daughter and a boy she had been dating, Isabella County Sheriff Michael Main wrote in a report. "The messages are specific in nature indicating that they may be from someone who they know," according to the report. Licari said that "she got caught up in sending the messages and it just continued," the report added. The stalking counts carry a maximum penalty of five years behind bars and the computer counts up to 10 years in prison.

☆ FTX lawyer says a substantial amount of crypto assets are missing or stolen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Zahra Tayeb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A substantial amount of assets tied to FTX are either missing or stolen, a company lawyer said. In a bankruptcy hearing, the lawyer said FTX initiated cyberattack controls in response. "What we have here is a worldwide, international organization, but which was run as a personal fiefdom of Sam Bankman-Fried," Bromley added. Bromley said FTX was in "constant communication" with the US Department of Justice and the cybercrimes unit of the US attorney's office in Manhattan over the missing assets, per The Journal. Meanwhile, Bankman Fried apologised to employees over his failed crypto exchange and the damage it has caused in a Tuesday letter, saying he "didn't mean for anything of this to happen."

☆ Reported Ransomware Incidents, Costs Soared in 2021, Treasury Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( James Rundle | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. banks flagged ransomware-related transactions adding up to more than $1 billion in 2021, the Treasury Department said, although risk experts said that barely scratches the surface of cybercrime’s true economic scale. In 2020, such transactions totaled $416 million across 487 reports. FinCEN is an arm of the Treasury that analyzes financial data to identify money laundering, terrorist financing and other crimes. Reports from the first six months of 2021 alone exceeded the total for all of 2020, FinCEN said, noting that around 75% of incidents in 2021 stemmed from Russia-based cyber actors. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors.

☆ A 'dystopian horror story.' Inside the thriving underground market for used Amazon seller accounts that's causing chaos, identity theft, and distrust in the company's massive online marketplace
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Rob Price | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

On Telegram and forums like Swapd and PlayerUp, a gray market for secondhand Amazon seller accounts thrives. On public Telegram groups, Amazon account sellers openly advertise their goods and how they've passed Amazon's verification checks. She'd never had an Amazon seller account and sold jewelry directly through her website. Amazon is asleep at the wheel"Amazon is asleep at the wheel," Jason Boyce, a consultant for Amazon sellers, said. AI engineer François Chollet has been plagued by counterfeiters selling fake copies of his books via Amazon accounts with stolen identities.

☆ Exclusive: Former top FBI official involved in Trump-Russia investigation under scrutiny by federal prosecutors for his own ties to Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A former high-level FBI agent who was involved in the investigation into the Trump campaign's contacts with Russia during the 2016 election has himself come under scrutiny by federal prosecutors for his ties with Russia and other foreign governments. A witness subpoena obtained by Insider indicates information that federal prosecutors were seeking about former FBI official Charles McGonigal. "It's very rare that former FBI people at all, and certainly former senior FBI people, wind up as grand-jury targets," the official said. McGonigal used his official FBI letterhead to try and arrange a business meeting with Edi Rama, the prime minister of Albania. Since he left the FBI, McGonigal has continued to trade on his expertise in counterintelligence.

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