DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris, France, November 22, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsPARIS, Nov 29 (Reuters) - France's prime minister asked her cabinet to stop using widespread instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram and install widely unknown Olvid, a product of Paris's start-up scene presenting itself as a more secure alternative. In a ministerial circular, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne urged ministers and their top staff to deploy the Olvid app on phones and computers, her office told Reuters on Wednesday, confirming French media reports. Messaging apps like Meta's WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal have increasingly become the go-to tool of communication in the inner circles of French politics, and government officials also use the apps when talking to journalists. President Emmanuel Macron is said to be an avid user of messaging apps himself.

Persons: Elisabeth Borne, Sarah Meyssonnier, Emmanuel Macron, Olvid, Tassilo Hummel, Josie Kao Organizations: French, National Assembly, REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, French

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

If you don't live in the UK, we'll show you how to watch the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special episodes live for free using a VPN. ET / 6:30 p.m. GMTWhat channel is the Doctor Who 60th anniversary special on? You can watch Doctor Who on BBC One if you live in the UK. How to watch Doctor Who episodes for free from anywhereIf you're not in the UK, it's time to familiarize yourself with a VPN. Watch Doctor Who 60th anniversary episodes.

Persons: Who, David Tennant, Donna Noble, Catherine Tate, Ncuti Gatwa, Who's, ExpressVPN, you'll, Insider's Organizations: BBC, Disney, Disney Plus, Hulu Locations: USA, United States

A smartphone with a displayed Intel logo is placed on a computer motherboard in this illustration taken March 6, 2023. Programmable chips sit between Intel's general purpose chips and chips that are designed for a single task and used in everything from encrypting data to 5G wireless telecommunications equipment. Intel said Sandra Rivera, an Intel veteran, will oversee the new unit, which will keep using Intel's factory to make its chips. Programmable chips are used in defense applications such as fighter jets. The deal follows Intel's earlier moves to sell its memory chip unit to SK Hynix and take public part of its Mobileye self-driving car chip unit.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sandra Rivera, Rivera, Pat Gelsinger's, Michael Ashley Schulman, Stephen Nellis, Samrhitha, Shilpi Majumdar, David Gregorio 私たち Organizations: REUTERS, Intel, Nvidia, Devices, SK Hynix, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Running, Capital Advisors Locations: Taiwan, North America, San Francisco, Bengaluru

☆ Tupac, Cocaine, Murder: Henchmen Brothers, Hip-Hop's Forgotten Moguls
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-17 | by ( David Kushner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +39 min

Mario called Tupac. All he could do was listen to her cry as he explained that he didn't know when he'd be back. He didn't speak Spanish, didn't know a soul in Mexico, and had no clue where he would be sent. Mario didn't ask why, and the guy didn't inquire about Mario's predicament. "It's all good, man," Mario told Jimmy.

Persons: Mario Rosemond, Rosemond, Jimmy, Mario, Akon, Sean Kingston, Gucci Mane, Jimmy Rosemond —, Lowell, Lodi Mack, Fletcher, Tupac Shakur, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Jimmy Rosemond, Saul Goodman, Tommy Davis, Mario stammered, It's, Jimmy Jr, Andrea, Constantin, Johnny Nunez, Rikers, —, Slick, Russell Simmons, Benny Medina, Lyor Cohen, Chris Lighty, Mona Scott, Mark Sparks, Shoop, Paul Bergen, Bryce Wilson, Wilson, Mohammed, Tef, Stewart, Little Shawn, Puff Daddy, Pac, Freddie Moore, Moore, Al Pereira, would've, Jimmy wasn't, They'd, didn't, Jimmy didn't, —, Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Wyclef Jean, Garland, Cyrus, THONY BELIZAIRE, Mariah Carey, LL, Missy Elliott, Cent, Tef Stewart, Jimmy Rosemond Jr, Jimmy Sr, Khalil Abdullah, Jimmy Iovine, determinedly, DJ Skee, Mario couldn't, Mario chuckles, he'd, GummyBone, Mario didn't, I'm, freckling, he's, isn't, I've, Jim Brown, Michael K, Williams, Donald Trump, Arturo Holmes, Scott Olson, Trump, Brown, James Rosemond Jr, David Kushner Organizations: FBI, Entertainment, Justice Department, Bronx ., Quad Studios, AP, grandad, Wall, Black Panthers, Junior Mafia, Hollywood, Haiti, Management, Apollo, Lowell, Racing, Interscope Records, Interscope, Feds, Department of Motor Vehicles, DMV, Colombian, York Post, Drug, Administration, NFL, Trump, Stone, Atari Locations: Mexico, Haiti, Brooklyn, Bronx, Cuernavaca, Spanish, Rahway , New Jersey, Port, New York City, Vanderveer Estates, East Flatbush, Rikers, Islam, Miami Beach, New York, New Jersey, East Coast, West Coast, Plainfield , New Jersey, Brandy, Los Angeles, Czar's, Harlem, LA, California, Beverly Hills, San, Tijuana, Mexico City, Colombian, San Diego, Manhattan

☆ Most major companies admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Frank Bajak | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A new study found many car companies can collect and sell your personal data, sparking privacy concerns. Most major manufacturers admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds, with half also saying they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order. Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, their notices reveal. On security, Mozilla's minimum standards include encrypting all personal information on a car. "Sensitive personal information" collected includes driver's license numbers, immigration status, race, sexual orientation, and health diagnoses.

Persons: —, Jen Caltrider, Caltrider, North America —, Albert Fox Cahn, Brian Weiss, Tesla, Mozilla's Caltrider, It's Organizations: Nissan, Service, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, Renault, Dacia, North America —, Harvard's Carr, for Human Rights, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, . House, Associated Press, Alliance, Pew, Big Tech, Facebook, Data Locations: Wall, Silicon, telematics, Europe, North America, U.S, Japan

BOSTON (AP) — Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. Nineteen automakers say they can sell your personal data, their notices reveal. On security, Mozilla's minimum standards include encrypting all personal information on a car. “Sensitive personal information” collected includes driver's license numbers, immigration status, race, sexual orientation and health diagnoses. Mozilla's Caltrider credited laws like the 27-nation European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and California's Consumer Privacy Act for compelling carmakers to provide existing data collection information.

Persons: —, ”, Jen Caltrider, ” Caltrider, North America —, Albert Fox Cahn, Brian Weiss, Tesla, Mozilla's Caltrider, It's Organizations: BOSTON, Mozilla Foundation, Mozilla, Renault, Dacia, North America —, Harvard's Carr, for Human Rights, Alliance for Automotive Innovation, . House, Associated Press, Alliance, Pew, Nissan, Big Tech, Facebook, ”, Data Locations: telematics, Europe, North America, U.S, Japan

☆ EV Charging Networks Prepare for Cyberattacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Catherine Stupp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Efforts to address the security of EV charging stations are in early stages. A U.S. infrastructure law passed in 2021 includes $7.5 billion in funding for states to expand EV charging stations. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ Pro Cybersecurity Cybersecurity news, analysis and insights from WSJ's global team of reporters and editors. Tesla is poised to dominate EV charging in the U.S., and auto manufacturers including General Motors, Ford, Volvo and Rivian signed on to adopt Tesla’s charging standard this year. Last year, the city of Amsterdam for the first time included cybersecurity requirements in a public tender for public EV charging stations.

Persons: ”, van, Biden, cybersecurity, Tomas Bodeklint, Anjos Nijk, ” Nijk, Jay Johnson, ” Johnson, Tesla, Rivian, Teza Mukkavilli, Mukkavilli, BING GUAN, REUTERS ChargePoint, van den, Jaap de Munnik, de Munnik, Catherine Stupp Organizations: European, Research Institutes of Sweden, EV, European Network, Cyber Security, Sandia National Laboratories, “, Nationwide, Sandia, General Motors, Ford, Volvo, Benz Group, N.M, REUTERS, Enza Locations: Europe, U.S, Netherlands, European Union, South Dakota, York, North America, Corona, ElaadNL, Amsterdam, Dutch

☆ Cyber insurance rates drop 10% in June, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - Cyber insurance rates dropped around 10% in June compared with a year earlier, reversing recent sharp rate rises, as claims proved smaller than expected, broker Howden said in a report on Wednesday. Cyber insurance rates more than doubled in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by a rise in so-called ransomware attacks, Howden said. "Everybody is back with appetite for writing cyber insurance," said Shay Simkin, global head of cyber at Howden. Increased competition has contributed to lower rates, Howden said. Cyber insurance premiums totalled more than $12 billion in 2022 versus $10-11 billion in 2021, Simkin said, and Howden forecasts the market to increase to around $50 billion by 2030, given the size of cyber crime.

Persons: Howden, Ransom, Shay Simkin, Simkin, Carolyn Cohn, David Evans Organizations: Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Howden

☆ Cyber insurance rates drop 10% in June -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Persons: Howden, Ransom, Shay Simkin, Simkin, Carolyn Cohn, David Evans Organizations: Thomson Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Howden

The total number of recent victims from the online extortion ring has reached 121 organizations, according to Brett Callow, whose cybersecurity company Emsisoft helps companies respond to digital shakedown attempts. In 2021, Ukrainian authorities announced the arrests of six people tied to cl0p, but it's not clear that they were core members of the group, which continued to hack victims. Plundering file transfer protocols has become increasingly popular as hackers shift from encrypting data to simply stealing files and threatening to release them unless a ransom is paid. Many of the organizations stress that the target of the hack is the file transfer service, not their systems. The FBI said it was "aware of and investigating the recent exploitation of a MOVEit vulnerability by malicious ransomware actors."

Persons: Brett Callow, encrypting, TrendMicro, didn't, Cl0p, Emsisoft, Charles Carmakal, Raphael Satter, Christopher Bing, James Pearson, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: University of California, Siemens Energy, Abbvie Inc, Schneider, Publicly, Sony, Shell PLC, Government, U.S . Energy Department, Alphabet Inc, FBI, Thomson Locations: Los Angeles, Russia, Washington, London

CORPORATE DROPBOXESFTA, GoAnywhere MFT, and MOVEit Transfer are corporate versions of file sharing programs consumers use all the time, like Dropbox or WeTransfer. MFT software often promises the ability to automate the movement of data, transfer documents at scale and provide fine-grained control over who can access what. MFT PROGRAMS CAN BE TEMPTING TARGETSRunning an extortion operation against a well-defended corporation is reasonably difficult, said Recorded Future analyst Allan Liska. "If you can get to one of these file transfer points, all the data is right there. HACKER TACTICS ARE SHIFTINGScooping up data that way is becoming an increasingly important part of the way hackers operate.

Persons: Ransom, GoAnywhere MFT, James Lewis, WeTransfer, Allan Liska, Bam, Liska, Joe Slowik, Huntress, Raphael Satter, Grant McCool Organizations: Software, GoAnywhere, Thomson

☆ Twitter’s new encrypted message feature criticized by security and privacy experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

In addition, encrypted messages may only be sent between two individuals, not groups. Both participants must either have exchanged direct messages in the past, or the recipient of an encrypted message must already follow the sender. Twitter’s former chief information security officer, Lea Kissner, publicly pleaded with Twitter’s current engineering team to improve the feature quickly. And it announced that its goal is to provide a similar level of protection as other privacy-preserving apps that come highly recommended by security experts, such as Signal. The lack of so-called end-to-end encryption makes Twitter’s implementation largely meaningless, security experts said.

☆ Putin is so paranoid about being tracked, he travels in a secret grey train that stealthily blends in with other Russian locomotives, says a former elite Russian security officer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin rides in a train because planes can be tracked, said an FSO officer who defected. The train is indistinguishable from other Russian trains "for stealth purposes," the officer said. His account aligns with previous reports that Putin secretly travels in trains to avoid being tracked. "Same as all the other Russian Railways trains — grey with a red stripe," he said. Karakulov said his team started equipping the train for Putin's operations in 2014 or 2015, per the Dossier Center.

☆ Putin is still worried about COVID-19 and makes his staff quarantine for weeks, says an elite Russian security officer who defected
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Vladimir Putin has still been isolating himself and making staff quarantine, an ex-FSO officer says. The former FSO officer said Putin only allowed staff members to work in the same room as him after a two-week quarantine period, per the Dossier Center. "There is a pool of employees who have been cleared, who underwent this two-week quarantine," Karakulov said. He added that when he left, Putin's staff were already becoming confused by the president's insistence on keeping to old pandemic restrictions. "I have no idea why; he's probably just worried about his health," Karakulov also said.

☆ Putin lives in an 'information vacuum' and never uses a cellphone or the internet, a Russian intelligence officer who defected says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Vladimir Putin lives in an "information vacuum," a Russian defector who accompanied him on trips said. Gleb Karakulov told the Dossier Center that Putin doesn't use a cellphone or the internet. Putin instead gathers information from secret service reports and Russian TV news channels, he said. "He only receives information from his closest circle, which means that he lives in an information vacuum." Putin generally gathers information from secret service intelligence reports, as well as Russian TV news channels, according to Karakulov.

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.

Law-enforcement officials including Attorney General Merrick Garland, speaking, and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco have been dedicating resources to thwarting cyberattacks. Extortion payments from ransomware, a hacking scourge that has crippled hospitals, schools and public infrastructure, fell significantly last year, according to federal officials, cybersecurity analysts and blockchain firms. After ballooning for years, the amount of money being paid to ransomware criminals dropped in 2022, as did the odds that a victim would pay the criminals who installed the ransomware. With ransomware, hackers lock up a victim’s computer network, encrypting hard drives until victims pay.

☆ A judge won't let Sam Bankman-Fried use any messaging apps that auto-delete texts
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A federal judge in New York banned Sam Bankman-Fried from using messaging apps that auto-delete texts. Prosecutors said Bankman-Fried used the encryption app Signal to send messages while detained at his parents' home. "I'm far less interested in the defendant's convenience than the risk of deleting messages," Kaplan said at a hearing Thursday. The terms the parties had proposed would have barred Bankman-Fried from using apps like Signal, which encrypt messages and allow users to delete them automatically after a set period of time. Kaplan was also concerned about Bankman-Fried encrypting messages in a way that would keep them out of the hands of prosecutors.

☆ Chip equipment maker MKS Instruments says it is investigating ransomware attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 6 (Reuters) - MKS Instruments Inc (MKSI.O) said on Monday it was investigating a ransomware attack that occurred last week and affected the semiconductor equipment maker's production-related systems. The company said it was in the early stages of investigating the attack that it identified on Feb. 3, adding that costs related to the incident have not been determined. Ransomware is a form of malicious software deployed by criminals which works by encrypting data, with hackers offering the victim a key in return for payments. MKS said it would temporarily suspend operations at some of its facilities, as part of its containment efforts. Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency warned on Sunday that thousands of computer servers had been targeted by a global ransomware hacking attack targeting VMware (VMW.N) ESXi servers.

☆ Hackers who breached ION say ransom paid; company declines comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Raphael Satter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The hackers who claimed responsibility for the disruptive breach at financial data firm ION say a ransom has been paid, although they declined to say how much it was or offer any evidence that the money had been handed over. Britain's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSC), part of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, told Reuters it had no comment. ABN told clients on Wednesday that due to "technical disruption" from ION, some applications were unavailable and were expected to remain so for a "number of days." ION was removed from Lockbit's extortion website, where victim companies are named and shamed in a bid to force a payout. As of late Friday, Lockbit's extortion website alone counted 54 victims who were being shaken down, including a television station in California, a school in Brooklyn and a city in Michigan.

ION Group, the financial data firm's parent company, said in a statement on its website that the attack began on Tuesday. "The incident is contained to a specific environment, all the affected servers are disconnected, and remediation of services is ongoing," ION Group said, declining requests for further comment. ABN told clients on Wednesday that due to "technical disruption" from ION, some applications were unavailable and were expected to remain so for a "number of days". It added that its staff had to process trades directly with the exchange. Intesa Sanpaolo told clients that its brokerage and clearing operations on exchange-traded derivatives had been "severely hampered" by IT problems at ION and that it was not able to handle orders.

The FBI has infiltrated and disrupted a major cybercriminal group that extorted schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure around the world, a law enforcement official told NBC News. As of Thursday morning, its website on the dark web showed a message saying it had been seized by an international law enforcement coalition, including the FBI and Justice Department. The FBI had secretly gained access to Hive’s network for months and provided victims keys to unlock their data, the law enforcement official said. Previous ransomware attacks have resulted in the release of sensitive information about law enforcement officers and schoolchildren. But as is often the case with such groups, Hive’s core group spoke Russian, said Allan Liska, a ransomware analyst at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The Hive ransomware gang has been disrupted by international law enforcement action, according to a person familiar with the matter and an announcement posted to the group's website. A flashing message posted to Hive's page said: "The Federal Bureau of Investigation seized this site as part of coordinated law enforcement action taken against Hive Ransomware." The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the European law enforcement organization Europol did not immediately return messages seeking comment but the person familiar with the matter said a Department of Justice announcement was coming imminently. Hive is one of a wide range of cybercriminal groups that extort international businesses by encrypting their data and demanding massive cryptocurrency payments in return. "Hive is one of the most active groups around, if not the most active," he said in an email.

WASHINGTON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - The FBI revealed on Thursday it had secretly hacked and disrupted a prolific ransomware gang called Hive, a maneuver that allowed the bureau to thwart the group from collecting more than $130 million in ransomware demands from more than 300 victims. They were then able to alert victims in advance so they could take steps to protect their systems before Hive demanded the payments. In that case, the Justice Department seized some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom after the company had already paid the hackers. The Justice Department said that over the years, Hive has targeted more than 1,500 victims in 80 different countries, and has collected more than $100 million in ransomware payments. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the FBI's operation helped a wide range of victims, including a Texas school district.

Search resuls for: "encrypting"

25 mentions found