Displaying items by tag: North Korea

ANALYSIS A detailed security report from Microsoft somewhat predictably claims that 58% of state-sponsored network attacks in 2020-21 came from Russia.

Britain will launch cyber attacks in response to similar actions by so-called "hostile states" like Russia, the country's Defence Secretary says.

In what appears to be a first, a CIA-bankrolled threat intelligence firm has set up a "tech news" outlet to spread its wares.

Most people in the infosec industry are adamant that attribution is the most difficult part of the process, but Romanian security firm Bitdefender's Daniel Clayton is an exception. The vice-president of global services and support said this was not really the case.

Nine Entertainment is maintaining a no-official-comment policy on the breach of its Sydney network that came to light on 28 March, but the company appears to have no objection to its staff making the wildest of claims about the incident.

It should be somewhat curious to the average individual that all the coverage about the ongoing Microsoft Exchange Server attacks has focused on anything but the entity responsible for these attacks: Microsoft.

CIA-backed threat intelligence firm Recorded Future has issued a document in which it claims that a China-linked group named RedEcho is targeting the Indian power industry. That's the meaning from the headline which is very definitive.

Whenever FireEye, the cyber security firm that just had its crown jewels compromised, publishes a report on some activity by malicious attackers, it always issues a judgment on where they come from – with high confidence most of the time.

The defence industry lobby group Australian Strategic Policy Institute has issued a research paper claiming that state-backed actors are launching more and more online attacks and disinformation campaigns to interfere in foreign elections and referendums.

Microsoft president Brad Smith has called for the barrage of cyber attacks on democracies — not other countries which also face the same issue — to be called out and stopped.

After what seems like an eternity, a security company has dared to mention the unmentionable: the US does have advanced persistent threats or nation-state attack groups which are active.

The prevalence and severity of cyber attacks are increasing at an alarming rate every year, so much so, that statistics estimate that cybercrime will cost the global economy a colossal $6 trillion per year by 2021 - with Australia among the countries most targeted by significant cyber attacks, according to analysis by one software firm.

The US Central Intelligence Agency was given a sweeping authorisation to conduct covert cyber operations in 2018 by US President Donald Trump, and since then has hit Iran and other targets, a report claims.

One good thing about cyber attacks on Australia is the fact that they unearth a large number of highly talented cyber security professionals who have been hiding in the shadows. Given the dearth of talent in this sector, it is indeed a welcome development.

Israel has used just one zero-day vulnerability in attacks it has crafted during the period 2012-19, if research by the security firm FireEye's Mandiant Threat Intelligence group is to be believed.

Russian security outfit Kaspersky says it will continue to provide details of advanced persistent threats (APTs or nation-state actors) no matter the country of their origin, but these details will only be available to customers who subscribe to their services.

Microsoft has unveiled a software solution known as ElectionGuard at a security forum in Aspen, Colorado, even as it said it had informed 10,000 of its customers of being targeted or compromised by nation-state attackers in the last 12 months.

US security firm CrowdStrike has issued its annual Global Threat Report about cyber threats and their incidence, but the 75-page document contains no mention of any American state-based malware, otherwise known as APTs or advanced persistent threats.

Security vendor McAfee has detected the re-use of code associated with Chinese military affiliated hacker group APT1, aka Comment Crew.

The US Department of Justice has filed a criminal complaint against a North Korean cracker named Park Jin Hyok for allegedly being behind a 2104 hack of Sony Pictures and the May 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack.