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☆ Viral video of ripped-up Pennsylvania ballots is fake and Russian-made, intelligence agencies say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-26 | by ( Zoë Richards | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Russian actors "manufactured and amplified" a recent viral video that falsely showed a person tearing up ballots in Pennsylvania, the FBI and two other federal agencies said Friday. In the video, a person is seen destroying what are purported to be filled-out ballots in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. “The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office will not tolerate any voter suppression, intimidation, or fraud,” the statement added. Darren Linvill, co-director at Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub, attributed the viral video to the Russian disinformation production team known to researchers as Storm-1516. The video’s quality and the use of actors who appear to have West African accents to pose as Black Americans were characteristic of the Russian campaign, Linvill said.

Persons: ”, “, Darren Linvill, Linvill’s, Linvill, ” Linvill, CISA, Donald Trump, Sen, JD Vance, Ohio, Joe Biden's Organizations: FBI, National Intelligence, Infrastructure Security Agency, stoke, Attorney’s, Yardley Borough Police Department, Russian Embassy, Clemson University’s, Storm, NBC, United Nations Locations: Pennsylvania, U.S, Russia, Bucks County , Pennsylvania, Bucks County, Yardley, Russian, Washington, Iran, China

A broad Chinese hacking campaign against U.S. telecommunication networks targeted the phones of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, two sources familiar with the matter say. Another source told NBC News that people affiliated with the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris were also targeted. None of the three sources clarified whether campaign devices were successfully compromised or whether China stole their communications. It is unclear who in the Harris campaign was targeted or if others in the Trump campaign were targeted in addition to Trump and Vance. It's not clear that the hack was an attempt to influence the presidential election.

Persons: Donald Trump, Sen, JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Harris, Trump, Vance, “, ” “, Lumen, Rich Young, ” Young, ”, It's, ODNI Organizations: U.S, NBC News, Trump, FBI, Infrastructure Security Agency, Verizon, Lumen Technologies, NBC, Washington , D.C, National Intelligence Locations: China, People’s Republic of China, U.S, Washington ,, United States, Iran, Russia

☆ 'People are furious': Bezos faces a Washington Post revolt after he reportedly blocked the paper from endorsing Harris
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The paper reported owner Jeff Bezos made the call and that a Harris endorsement was planned. Advertisement"I've seen a lot of angst; people are upset," another Washington Post insider said. The newspaper's editorial guild posted a statement saying Lewis' decision raised concerns that management interfered with the editorial department and readers were canceling their subscriptions. A spokesperson for the Washington Post referred to Lewis' statement and declined to comment on any follow-up questions. Trump has mocked Bezos and the Washington Post, calling him "Jeff Bozo."

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Harris, —, Robert Kagan, Semafor, Donald Trump, Will Lewis, Lewis, y5irP62zFk — Jeffrey Wright 🥜, aron, ears., uzbee Organizations: Service, Washington Post, Washington, ost, ashington Locations: Washington, ashington

☆ Chinese hackers targeted Trump and Vance’s phone data
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Kristen Holmes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The Chinese hackers also targeted people affiliated with the Harris-Walz campaign, another source familiar with the matter told CNN. US officials informed the Trump campaign this week that Trump and Vance were among a group of people whose phones were targeted by the Chinese hackers, one of the sources said. In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung attacked the Harris campaign for allegedly emboldening China. The activity is part of a much broader Chinese hacking campaign that has infiltrated multiple US telecommunications firms in the last several months. US officials have briefed members of the House and Senate intelligence committees on the Chinese hacking campaign.

Persons: Donald Trump, Vance, Harris, Walz, Trump, Steven Cheung, “, CISA “, ” Sen, Mark Warner, Mark Green Organizations: CNN, Senior Biden, U.S, Government, FBI, Infrastructure Security Agency, The New York Times, Justice Department, Trump, Major, Verizon, Lumen, Typhoon, Virginia Democrat, House Homeland Security, ”, Tennessee Republican Locations: China, People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia

☆ A 29-year-old built a cash-flowing real estate portfolio that gave him the option to leave his day job. He explains how he got started and scaled to 14 units.
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-20 | by ( Kathleen Elkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Avery Heilbron left his corporate job in 2024 to pursue real estate full-time. He wanted "the next thing" to be real estate, specifically, selling homes. To maximize rental income, he found a roommate to fill the second bedroom in his unit. Courtesy of Avery HeilbronMostly thanks to his rental income, he felt financially prepared to walk away from a steady paycheck. He works for a real estate agency, but "it feels like I'm doing my own thing.

Persons: Avery Heilbron, Heilbron, —, didn't, Avery, It's, I've Organizations: Service, BI Locations: Boston, Durham, North Carolina, Pinehurst

☆ Leaked documents show US intelligence on Israel’s plans to attack Iran, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-19 | by ( Natasha Bertrand | Alex Marquardt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The US is investigating a leak of highly classified US intelligence about Israel’s plans for retaliation against Iran, according to three people familiar with the matter. One of the documents, which says it was compiled by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, says the plans involve Israel moving munitions around. Any such leak would automatically trigger an investigation by the FBI alongside the Pentagon and US intelligence agencies. The US is already on high alert about Iranian hacking campaigns — US intelligence agencies said in August that Iran had hacked documents belonging to Donald Trump’s campaign. Axios first reported on the leaked documents Saturday.

Persons: ”, Mick Mulroy, Mulroy, Donald Trump’s, Axios, CNN’s Evan Perez, Katie Bo Lillis Organizations: CNN, East Spectator, US, Iran, National Geospatial - Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, FBI, Pentagon, CIA, National Security Council, National Intelligence, National Locations: Iran, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Israel, South Korea, Ukraine

In a case separate from the hush money trial, Daniels was ordered to pay for Trump’s legal fees after she lost a defamation suit she filed against him. Daniels’ lawyer declined the proposal, Maddow reported. Daniels’ lawyer told MSNBC that they ultimately settled on $627,500 but she did not agree to remain silent. In May, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money paid to Daniels. Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen made payments to Daniels in the final stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Persons: Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Daniels, Trump, ”, Maddow, Daniels ’, Steven Cheung, President Trump, Ms, Michael Cohen, Cohen Organizations: Trump, New, MSNBC, ” MSNBC Locations: New York

Matthew Lavietes / NBC News“It’s just been one thing after another,” said Menegias, who has lived at the Twin City mobile home park for 11 years. Matthew Lavietes / NBC NewsMenegias rode out Milton at a nearby hotel on higher ground and returned home on Friday to assess the damage. Matthew Lavietes / NBC NewsBoth said they too were relieved Milton didn’t flatten their home or wash it away completely. This is our life savings.”The Twin City mobile home park in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Friday. Matt Lavietes / NBC NewsLawson said he was “absolutely heartbroken” when he returned to Twin City after Milton.

Persons: Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene, Milton, James William Lawson Jr, Matthew Lavietes “, ”, “ Milton, Menegias, what’s, Ninda, Matthew Lavietes, “, ” Shawn Halladay, Halladay, Matt Lavietes, Jesse Hancock, What’s, Helene, ” Hancock, Ria Blaight, Milton didn’t, Hancock, Blaight, they’re, Lawson, “ They’re, ” Matt Lavietes, Corky Siemaszko Organizations: Twin, NBC, Lakeshore Management, FEMA, Milton, NBC News, Twin City Locations: PETERSBURG, Fla, Twin City, Hurricane, Siesta, St . Petersburg, Coast, Twin, Florida, Pinellas Park, Hancock, Milton, New York City

☆ Trump campaign connected with Elon Musk’s X before it blocked links to hacked materials
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-11 | by ( Liam Reilly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Former President Donald Trump’s campaign connected with Elon Musk’s X last month to discuss hacked Trump campaign materials circulating on the social media platform before X blocked links to the files and banned the independent journalist who published the materials, a person familiar with the matter told CNN. A person familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday that the Trump campaign had a conversation with X officials about the hacked materials before Klippenstein was banned and links to his newsletter were blocked. The person said the campaign did not push X officials to remove links to the materials and that X had made the decision. The New York Times first reported the Trump campaign’s correspondence with X officials in an article on Musk “going all in” to elect Trump. In July, Politico flagged that its reporters had received emails from an individual offering a similar trove of private documents from inside the Trump campaign.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Elon Musk’s, Ken Klippenstein, Sen, JD Vance, Trump, Klippenstein, Klippenstein’s Instagram, Hunter Biden, Musk, reelect Trump, Tucker Carlson, Kamala, Harris, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Elon, CNN, Trump, New York Times, X, Politico, Times, Washington Post, New York, Hunter Biden . Company, Twitter, PAC Locations: New York, ”, New, Pennsylvania

Propagandists seeking to influence elections around the globe have tried to use ChatGPT in their operations, according to a report released Wednesday by the technology’s creator, OpenAI. OpenAI said in its report that this year it has stopped people who tried to use ChatGPT to generate content about elections in the U.S., Rwanda, India, and the European Union. They also used ChatGPT to create social media posts in support of those sites, according to the report. They were part of a larger campaign that repeatedly spammed pro-party posts on X, a documented propaganda campaign that posted messages — often the same few messages — more than 650,000 times. According to OpenAI’s report, they also tried to get ChatGPT to tell them the default login credentials for other companies that provide industrial control systems software.

Persons: OpenAI, It’s, it’s, Donald Trump’s, ChatGPT, —, Washington didn’t, Ben Nimmo, ” Nimmo Organizations: European Union, U.S, Patriotic, United Nations, Treasury Department, Embassy Locations: U.S, Rwanda, India, Iran, Russia, China, Israel, Israeli, Jordan, cybersecurity, Washington

☆ Foreign adversaries will try to cast doubt on election results after Nov. 5, U.S. intel officials say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Foreign adversaries will try to shake Americans’ confidence in the legitimacy of election results in November by giving voice to false claims or spreading their own disinformation about ballot counting, U.S. intelligence officials said Tuesday. In its latest assessment of foreign threats to the election, intelligence officials said the main foreign powers seeking to shape the outcome of the vote — Russia, China and Iran — also were focusing on meddling in congressional and state races. China’s election influence efforts were focused on “tens” of races, with Beijing denigrating particular candidates with a variety of social media and other online activities, the intelligence official added. Officials also said foreign adversaries are getting more skilled at using Americans to spread their manufactured falsehoods. Intelligence officials reiterated that Russia’s disinformation campaign is directed at undermining Vice President Kamala Harris and her fellow Democrats as Moscow seeks to undercut Western support for Ukraine.

Persons: ”, Iran —, “, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden, Biden Organizations: Intelligence, Ukraine, Democratic Locations: Russia, China, Iran, U.S, Cuba, Havana, Ukraine, Kyiv, Beijing, Moscow

☆ Chinese hackers access US telecom firms, worrying national security officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

US officials are concerned about the potential national security damage done by the hacking, which they only recently discovered. US law enforcement agencies request access, through a warrant, to specific portions of that data as part of criminal and national security investigations. US officials have briefed the House and Senate intelligence committees on the Chinese hacking campaign, two sources said. The Chinese hacking team in question is known in the cybersecurity industry as Salt Typhoon. FBI Director Christopher Wray has said that Chinese government-backed hackers outnumber FBI cyber personnel 50 to 1.

Persons: Lumen, Liu Pengyu, Christopher Wray, Antony Blinken, Xi Jinping, Joe Biden Organizations: CNN, Verizon, Lumen, Justice Department, FBI, Embassy, ”, Street Journal, Microsoft, Google Locations: China, Washington, Beijing, Washington ,, Taiwan, California

☆ China-linked security breach targeted U.S. wiretap systems, WSJ reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-05 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

People observe the scenery near Chinese national flags displayed for National Day celebrations on October 3, 2024 in Chongqing, China. National Day Golden Week is a holiday in China commemorates the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. U.S. broadband providers had their networks breached in a cyberattack tied to the Chinese government that targeted wiretap requests, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The cyber breach, carried out by the Chinese hacking group known as Salt Typhoon, poses serious national security risks, the WSJ reported. Read The Wall Street Journal's article here.

Organizations: Wall Street, WSJ Locations: Chongqing, China, People's Republic of China, Western, U.S

The FBI and Microsoft have seized more than 100 web domains they say Russian intelligence used for cyber-espionage, according to court documents unsealed Thursday. The domains were allegedly staging grounds for Russia’s FSB intelligence agency in its ongoing efforts to spy on targets of interest, ranging from the U.S. Department of Energy to Russian nonprofits and media outlets critical of the Kremlin. The Justice Department seized 41 of the web domains, according to the FBI affidavit, and also granted Microsoft control of 66 additional domains the company said were part of the same operation. Intelligence agencies with even moderate cyber capabilities routinely hack foreign targets to gather intelligence. Many of the web domains allegedly used by the FSB were hosted by Virginia-based company Verisign, the court documents said.

Persons: Hillary Clinton’s, Steven Masada, ” Masada, Natalia Krapiva, ” Organizations: FBI, Microsoft, U.S . Department of Energy, Kremlin, Justice Department, United, Russia’s Ministry, Foreign Affairs, NBC News, Microsoft’s Digital, Unit, The Locations: States, United States, Russian, U.S, British, Virginia

MILWAUKEE — Former President Donald Trump has never stopped propagating falsehoods that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. “The Democrat Party is guilty of the Worst Election Interference in American History,” Trump wrote Wednesday on social media after the judge overseeing his federal election interference case in Washington released a redacted filing from special counsel Jack Smith. Trump’s campaign did not provide a response to questions about his repeated use of the “election interference” label. It’s part of an extensive pattern of false election-rigging claims from Trump — beyond his well-documented lies about the 2020 election. He was among the 139 GOP House members who objected to the 2020 election certification.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, ” Trump, Jack Smith, Harris, Biden, Trump’s, “, ”, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Brian Hughes, spokespeople, Steven Cheung, —, Jean Carroll, Joe Biden, Cheung, baselessly, it’s, Obama, Sen, Ted Cruz, Cruz, Clinton, Jesus, “ Dr, Phil ” McGraw, Mike Johnson, we’re, ” Johnson Organizations: MILWAUKEE, Democrat, Fox Nation, Service, United Nations General Assembly, Google, White, Justice Department, White House, Democratic, Federal, Hollywood, New, “ BIG, Trump, Amazon, Trump —, GOP, Cruz “, Iowa, Republican, Allies, Republican National Committee, NBC News Locations: Washington, New York, U.S, Iran, China, Russia, North Carolina, Iowa, Ted Cruz of Texas, California

☆ Justice Department and Microsoft disrupt Russian hacking operations aimed at US officials and civil society
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-03 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —The Justice Department and Microsoft on Thursday announced the seizure of more than 100 web domains that a Russian intelligence agency allegedly used to try to hack current and former US officials, civil-society groups and Russians living in the US. It’s the latest in a series of moves from the Justice Department to expose alleged covert Russian operations targeting US democracy in the runup to the 2024 presidential election. The UK government last year accused the same Russian hacking group of conducting a “sustained unsuccessful attempts to interfere in UK political processes” over several years that hacked politicians, civil servants and journalists. The hackers operate on behalf of Russia’s FSB intelligence agency, the prime successor to the Soviet-era KGB, according to US officials. Another FSB-linked hacking group has posed a direct threat to US critical infrastructure by targeting energy facilities, according to US officials.

Persons: Steven Masada, “, ”, John Scott, Natalia Krapiva Organizations: Washington CNN, The Justice Department, Microsoft, Justice Department, CNN, FSB, University of Toronto’s, Russian Embassy Locations: Russian, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, United States, Washington ,

☆ Olivia Nuzzi accuses ex-fiance of orchestrating blackmail campaign amid RFK relationship
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( Katelyn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Washington CNN —New York magazine writer Olivia Nuzzi is publicly accusing her ex-fiancé Ryan Lizza, a prominent political journalist with Politico, of orchestrating a harassment and blackmail campaign against her after their split and while Nuzzi had a personal relationship with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Lizza, Politico’s chief Washington correspondent and Playbook co-author, wasn’t in attendance at a court hearing Tuesday where Nuzzi was granted a temporary no-contact order against him. Lizza hasn’t responded to the allegations in court, but he did provide a statement to CNN after being informed about the court action. Kennedy only met Olivia Nuzzi once in his life for an interview she requested, which yielded a hit piece.”A spokesperson for Nuzzi declined to comment further. New York magazine declined to comment.

Persons: Olivia Nuzzi, fiancé Ryan Lizza, Nuzzi, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, —, Lizza “, ” Nuzzi, “, ”, Lizza, Playbook, Lizza hasn’t, ” Lizza, wouldn’t, “ Mr, CNN’s Hadas Gold Organizations: Washington CNN — New York, Politico, DC’s, New, CNN, RFK Jr, ” RFK, New York Locations: Washington, New York, Lizza

But Iran’s 2020 election interference efforts stand apart from what have become well-recognized interference patterns, according to an indictment from the Justice Department, Treasury Department sanctions, researchers and media reporting, and comments from current and former U.S. officials. That gave them access to Election Night Reporting (ENR) systems, which provide live updates on unofficial results on Election Day. Fake Proud Boys campaignIn the most bizarre and elaborate foreign influence campaign of 2020, Iranian hackers allegedly staged an entirely fictional cyber-enabled fraud and harassment campaign, according to a detailed 2021 Justice Department indictment. The Iranian hackers did successfully steal some voter data from Alaska’s Online Voter Registration System, but otherwise none of it was true. The hackers tried to post it to various platforms online but it gained little traction.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Hillary Clinton’s, Trump, ”, Brandon Wales, William J, Hartman, It’s, Emennet Pasargad, “, Christopher Wray, National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Alireza Miryousefi, Department’s, Joe Biden, Gretchen Whitmer, Chris Krebs, CISA, Miryousefi Organizations: Democratic, Justice Department, Treasury Department, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, NBC News, Cyber Command, Army, RSA, tinker, U.S, Trump militia, Alaska’s, Stanford University, Google, YouTube, Republican, Trump, National Intelligence, Iran, United Nations, Lee Enterprises, U.S . Capitol, Dominion Voting Systems, FBI Locations: United States, Iran, China, Russia, U.S, Iranian, Tehran, San Francisco, Florida, Moldova, Alaska, American, Omaha, crosshairs, Michigan

☆ Why it's time to take warnings about using public Wi-Fi, in places like airports, seriously
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-29 | by ( Kevin Williams | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Over the years, travelers have repeatedly been warned to avoid public Wi-Fi in places like airports and coffee shops. Airport Wi-Fi, in particular, is known to be a hacker honeypot, due to what is typically relatively lax security. He allegedly set up a fake Wi-Fi network to steal email or social media credentials. How to avoid becoming a victim of this cybercrimeWhen in public places, experts say it's best to use alternatives to public WiFi networks. Alcorn says evil twin attacks are "definitely" occurring with regularity in the United States, it's just rare for someone to get caught because they are such stealth attacks.

Persons: Matt Radolec, Radolec, Today's, Brian Alcorn, you've, Alcorn, Brian Callahan, Callahan, Boingo, Aaron Walton Organizations: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Dallas Fort Worth International, City, Boingo, Australian Federal Police, AFP Locations: Australia, United States, Australian, Perth , Melbourne, Adelaide, Cincinnati, Rensselaer, City of Dallas, North America

U.S. officials have privately said that Trump's campaign was the victim of the attack. Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Brandon Bell / Getty ImagesUnsolicited emails that included the stolen material from Trump’s campaign were then sent to associates of his Democratic political rival. The hack against the Trump campaign is just the latest example of an increasingly brazen approach by Iran that includes alleged murder plots against dissidents and defectors on American soil and an assassination threat against former President Trump, U.S. officials and analysts say. For more than two months, hackers who stole the documents have tried to persuade the American media to write about or publish the files they stole. “I’m just not a believer of the news media as an arm of the government, doing its work combating foreign influence.

Persons: Donald Trump, Brandon Bell, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, Roger Stone, “, Joe Biden’s, Trump, Matthew Olsen, Olsen, —, Sen, JD Vance, Ken Klippenstein, ” Klippenstein, “ I’m, General Merrick Garland, Kent Nishimura, Robert, ”, Robert persona’s, Konstantin Kalashnikov, Elena Afanasyeva, Tenet Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Getty, Democratic, CIA, Defense Department, United Nations, FBI, National Intelligence, Infrastructure Security Agency, Justice Department, NBC News, department’s National Security Division, Trump, Beijing, U.S, NBC, Department of Justice, Justice, YouTube, RT, Tenet Media Locations: Washington, Savannah , Ga, Iran, Fars, U.S, Russia, China, American, R, Ohio, Tennessee

☆ U.S. charges three Iranian nationals in Trump campaign hack
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

United States Capitol building and an Iranian flag are seen at the photo exhibition organized by the Iranian-American community and supporters of the Iranian Resistance at the National mall in Washington D.C., United States. Federal prosecutors on Friday announced criminal charges against three Iranian nationals in connection with a recent hack of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign and other cyberattacks. The charges come amid heightened scrutiny about how foreign actors, especially Iran, China and Russia, are trying to influence the American presidential race between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Officials have said that Iran is working to hurt Trump's campaign, while Russia prefers Trump, who has declined to say he wants Ukraine to win its war against invading Kremlin forces. China, meanwhile, has pushed anti-democracy influence operations but has not clearly sided with either the Republican or Democratic tickets, officials have said.

Persons: Donald Trump's, General Merrick Garland, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, Yasar, Kamala Harris ., Trump's, Garland, Friday's presser Organizations: Capitol, Iranian, National, Washington D.C, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Washington , D.C, U.S, Trump, Democratic, NBC News, Kremlin, Republican Locations: Iranian, Washington, United States, Washington ,, U.S, Iran, China, Russia, Ukraine

CNN —US federal prosecutors on Friday unsealed criminal charges against three Iranian government-linked hackers in connection with a hacking operation aimed at Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar (Yaser) Balaghi are accused of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud for their hacking efforts on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Separately, the US Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on seven people as part of a sweeping response to Iranian efforts “to influence or interfere” in the 2020 and 2024 US presidential elections. The alleged Iranian hack threw a twist in the presidential campaign in August when multiple news outlets reported receiving emails from a pseudonymous email account peddling documents stolen from the Trump campaign. The hacking operation began in June, when the alleged IRGC-linked hackers targeted longtime Trump ally Roger Stone and used access to his email account to target campaign staff.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, Balaghi, “, JD Vance —, Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris ’, Roger Stone, Harris Organizations: CNN, Court, District of Columbia, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, US Treasury Department, Trump, Biden, FBI, The, Department, Washington Post, Fox Locations: Russia, China, Iran, Russian, Ukraine

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin was targeted by a caller who posed as a former top Ukrainian official during a recent Zoom call, according to a notice circulated to Senate offices and obtained by NBC News on Wednesday. According to the notice, the caller's questioning was "likely trying to bate the Senator into commenting on a political candidate." Cardin and his staff ended the call, the notice said, adding that Cardin's office contacted the State Department, which confirmed the caller was not Kuleba. Cardin referred to the caller as a "malign actor" in a statement about the incident his office released Wednesday night. NBC News reported this month that the Justice Department plans to file criminal charges in connection with the hacking of Trump’s campaign, according to two law enforcement officials.

Persons: Ben Cardin, Dmytro Kuleba, Punchbowl, Cardin, ”, bate, “, ” Cardin, Donald Trump's, Joe Biden's Organizations: Foreign Relations, Ukrainian, NBC News, Ukrainian Foreign, State Department, The State Department, Capitol Police, FBI, Justice Department Locations: Iran

☆ I've built a career in ethical hacking. Online scams are getting much, much worse — and AI isn't helping.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-26 | by ( Emma Magnus | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

I liked the idea of doing the same thing, but without the criminal intent: finding those problems and fixing them. This flashy example was made for entertainment, but it still showcased how real criminals use fake profiles, phishing websites, and malware to compromise a person or company. New scams are being developed every dayI see multiple new scams or cyber security problems every day. It's creating better-looking scams, while deepfakes, voice clones, and video filters make it easier to fool people into believing things on the internet. AdvertisementWe're seeing romance scams where scammers are using deepfake video filter tools to pretend to be celebrities, for instance.

Persons: —, Laura Kankaala, I've, cybercriminals Organizations: Service, Business, LinkedIn Locations: Finnish, Finland

☆ Pope expels a bishop and 9 other people from a Peru movement over ‘sadistic’ abuses
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Associated Press | Claudia Rebaza | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

VATICAN CITY Associated Press —Pope Francis took the unusual decision Wednesday to expel 10 people – a bishop, priests and laypeople – from a troubled Catholic movement in Peru after a Vatican investigation uncovered “sadistic” abuses of power, authority and spirituality. It was announced by the Peruvian Bishops Conference, which posted a statement from the Vatican embassy on its website. The statement was astonishing because it listed abuses uncovered by the Vatican investigation that have rarely if ever been punished canonically — such as hacking someone’s communications — and cited the people the pope held responsible. Victims of Figari’s abuses complained to the Lima archdiocese in 2011, though other claims against him reportedly date to 2000. The investigation, published in 2017, found that Figari sodomized his recruits and forced them to fondle him and one another.

Persons: CITY Associated Press — Pope Francis, –, Francis ’, Luis Figari, ”, Figari, Pedro Salinas, Paola Ugaz, Sodalitium, Jordi Bertomeu, Charles Scicluna, Martin Mejia, Jose Antonio Eguren, Francis, Salinas, “ Organizations: CITY Associated Press, Peruvian Bishops Conference, CNN, South, Catholic, Maltese, Associated Press Locations: Peru, Vatican, America, South America, United States, Lima, Rome, Spain, Malta, Lima , Peru, Figari, Piura, Ugaz, Eguren’s, Peruvian

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