NSA shares zero-trust guidance to limit adversaries on the network

source: bleepingcomputer.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page)  |  image: nsa.gov

 

The National Security Agency is sharing new guidance to help organizations limit an adversary’s movement on the internal network by adopting zero-trust framework principles.

A zero-trust security architecture requires strict controls for accessing resources on the network, be they inside or outside the physical perimeter, to minimize the impact of a breach.

Compared to the traditional IT security model, which presumes that everything and everyone on the network is trusted, the zero-trust design assumes that a threat already exists and does not allow free rein inside the network. 

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Fidelity customers’ financial info feared stolen in suspected ransomware attack

 

source: the register.com (submitted by FAN, Steve Page)  |  image: pixabay.com

 

Criminals have probably stolen nearly 30,000 Fidelity Investments Life Insurance customers’ personal and financial information — including bank account and routing numbers, credit card numbers and security or access codes — after breaking into Infosys’ IT systems in the fall.

According to Fidelity, in documents filed with the Maine attorney general’s office, miscreants “likely acquired” information about 28,268 people’s life insurance policies after infiltrating Infosys.

“At this point, [Infosys] are unable to determine with certainty what personal information was accessed as a result of this incident,” the insurer noted in a letter [PDF] sent to customers. However, the US-headquartered firm says it “believes” the data included: names, Social Security numbers, states of residence, bank accounts and routing numbers, or credit/debit card numbers in combination with access code, password, and PIN for the account, and dates of birth.

In other words: Potentially everything needed to drain a ton of people’s bank accounts, pull off any number of identity theft-related scams — or at least go on a massive online shopping spree.

LockBit claimed to be behind the Infosys intrusion in November, shortly after the Indian tech services titan disclosed the “cybersecurity incident” affecting its US subsidiary, Infosys McCamish Systems aka IMS. It reported that the intrusion shuttered some of its applications and IT systems [PDF].

This was before law enforcement shut down at least some of LockBit’s infrastructure in December, although that’s never a guarantee that the gang will slink off into obscurity — as we’re already seen.

Russian Hackers Stole Microsoft Source Code—and the Attack Isn’t Over

source: wired.com  |  image: pexels.com

 

In January, Microsoft revealed that a notorious group of Russian state-sponsored hackers known as Nobelium infiltrated the email accounts of the company’s senior leadership team. Today, the company revealed that the attack is ongoing. In a blog post, the company explains that in recent weeks, it has seen evidence that hackers are leveraging information exfiltrated from its email systems to gain access to source code and other “internal systems.”

It is unclear exactly what internal systems were accessed by Nobelium, which Microsoft calls Midnight Blizzard, but according to the company, it is not over. The blog post states that the hackers are now using “secrets of different types” to breach further into its systems. “Some of these secrets were shared between customers and Microsoft in email, and as we discover them in our exfiltrated email, we have been and are reaching out to these customers to assist them in taking mitigating measures.”

Nobelium is responsible for the SolarWinds attack, a sophisticated 2020 supply-chain attack that impacted thousands of organizations that downloaded a compromised software update, and led to the compromise of around 100 organizations, including major US government agencies like the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, Justice, and Treasury.

According to Microsoft, it has found no evidence that its customer-facing systems were breached.

Communication devices found on Chinese-made cranes in US ports

 

source: newsnationnow.com (contributed by FAN, Steve Page)  | image: pixabay.com

 

A congressional investigation into Chinese-built cargo cranes at U.S. ports has uncovered concerns about potential national security risks.

According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, some of the cranes were found to contain communications equipment, including cellular modems, that could be accessed remotely.

Lawmakers worry about the threat of espionage and disruption posed by these cranes, which are predominantly manufactured by ZPMC, a Chinese company.

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 A Titanic Geopolitical Struggle Is Underway

 

source: axios.com, contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey  |  image: pexels.com

There are many ways to explain the two biggest conflicts in the world today, but my own shorthand has been that Ukraine wants to join the West and Israel wants to join the Arab East — and Russia, with Iran’s help, is trying to stop the first, and Iran and Hamas are trying to stop the second.

While the two battlefronts may look very different, they actually have a lot in common. They reflect a titanic geopolitical struggle between two opposing networks of nations and nonstate actors over whose values and interests will dominate our post-post-Cold War world — following the relatively stable Pax Americana/globalization era that was ushered in by the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet bloc, America’s chief Cold War rival.

Yes, this is no ordinary geopolitical moment.

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What to know about China’s cyber threats?

source: axios.com, contributed by FAN, Bill Amshey  |  image: pixabay.com

 

China has become the top hacking threat in 2024 with a recent series of attacks targeting critical U.S. infrastructure.

Why it matters: It’s rare for public officials to share as many details as they have in recent weeks about ongoing cyber threats — underscoring just how concerned the Biden administration is about a Beijing-backed cyberattack.

Driving the news: The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Agency, and the FBI released an advisoryWednesday detailing how the Volt Typhoon hacking group is infiltrating the U.S.

The advisory presented a stark picture of the “persistent” threat, with China having access to some infrastructure for “at least five years.”

  • Typical malware detection tools can’t detect these hackers’ movements.
  • And in some cases, Volt Typhoon had enough access to tamper with basic essential services, like water and energy controls.

The big picture: This is just the latest example of Chinese hackers targeting not only U.S. infrastructure, but also American businesses in the last year.

  • But keeping tabs on everything going on — or even recalling what all has happened — has become a daunting task.

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SpaceX Launched Military Satellites Designed to Track

Hypersonic Missiles

source: wired.com  |  image: pexels.com

 
The prototype satellites hitched a ride on a Falcon 9 rocket.

 

Two prototype satellites for the Missile Defense Agency and four missile-tracking satellites for the US Space Force rode a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into orbit Wednesday from Florida’s Space Coast.

These satellites are part of a new generation of spacecraft designed to track hypersonic missiles launched by China or Russia and perhaps emerging missile threats from Iran or North Korea, which are developing their own hypersonic weapons.

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Humanizing a popular holiday with AI

source: https://www.armstrongeconomics.com, contributed by FAN, Steve Jones  |  image: armstrongeconomics.com

 

In his submission, Steve writes “This video is rather interesting from the technology point of view as well as how people are viewed from their image.    I think the impact of a first impression , body language, and  eye contact are more important now-a-days than a handshake.    Similarly the smile gesture and body language is just as important as appearance.”

This short video will undoubtedly “wow!” you…and probably make you want to view it at least a couple of times.  It’s AI at its finest and worthy of a look-see!  Click on the image below.  It’ll take you to the source site where the video resides!

 

NASA’s new supersonic jet goes so fast it can’t have a windshield. Here’s how pilots will fly it

source: fastcompany.com  |  image: nasa.gov

 

Today NASA is officially trotting out the finished version of an experimental aircraft that looks like a stretched-out arrowhead. Painted in red, white, and blue, the plane is called the X-59, and it has a lofty goal: to fly faster than the speed of sound over land, but do so in a quiet enough way that no one below is startled by a sonic boom. (You can watch the event here.)

The aircraft’s most noticeable feature is a nose that measures 38 feet long, which represents more than one-third of its total length of 99 feet and 7 inches. Tucked into a compartment behind that nose will be space for one pilot. But because the cockpit sits totally flush with the top surface of the aircraft—it’s embedded in the body of the plane—there is no forward windshield for the test pilot to look out of when they fly. Instead, they’ll fly using a camera system and a screen inside the cockpit to reveal what’s in front of them. 

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Russian Intelligence Is Pushing False Claims of U.S. Biological Testing in Africa, U.S. Says

 

source: https://www.wsj.com, contributed by FAN Chuck Miller  |  image: pexels.com

 

Media disinformation operation with Wagner Group link takes aim at American influence on continent

 

WSJ: Michael R. Gordon, Gabriele Steinhauser, Dustin Volz, and Ann Simmons

Russian intelligence agencies are trying to undermine U.S. influence in Africa by spreading disinformation that Africans have been the unwitting test subjects in Pentagon biological research programs and casting aspersions on Western public-health programs, U.S. officials said. 

The effort is part of a Russian campaign to counter the U.S. in Africa and Latin America as Washington and Moscow battle for public opinion around the world. 

At the heart of the Russian campaign is “African Initiative,” an online news service set up late last year that has used social media to promote criticism of Western public-health efforts in Africa and convened a conference in which participants disparaged Western pharmaceutical companies.

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