- SONY BREACH UPDATE: As many are well aware, two weeks ago a hacker group calling themselves “Guardians of Peace” seized the computer system of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Many link the group to North Korea, who denounced Sony’s upcoming movie “The Interview” which centers around two journalists recruited by the CIA to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. North Korea has denied any involvement with the hack, but has said they’re glad it happened. Since then, the group has initiated a number of cyber attacks against the company, revealed Sony employees’ personal information, leaked five unreleased Sony films on the web, and threatened current Sony employees through email. Business Insider has done an excellent job recapping the major events involved in this breach in a timeline accessible here.
- CYBER SECURITY FOR AIRPLANES AND DRONES: Reuters recently reported on the rising cybersecurity risks surrounding airplanes and drones. The Reuters article discusses a recent review of aviation safety published by German insurer Allianz which states: “Cyber terrorism may replace the hijacker and bomber and become the weapon of choice on attacks against the aviation community.” As for commercial drones, whose use is expanding in surveillance, crop dusting, news gathering and sporting events and for which there is no standard international regulation, Allianz states the following: “[t]he potential risks are obvious, namely collision or third-party damage or injury.” The Reuters article goes on to discuss the specific risks to the aviation community as well as the plans to mitigate these risks. Click here for the full article. PREVENTION: In other related news, RT.com reported on a new system that Pentagon-sponsored engineers have developed to shield unmanned aerial vehicles from cyber-attacks. According to the article, the system sounds the alert if a drone starts doing something that it is not supposed to do. For the full RT.com report, click here.
- INTERVIEW WITH DARK WEB SURVIVOR: Despite the numerous governmental crackdowns of dark web black market sites, one black market site that continues to survive is RAMP, which stands for Russian Anonymous Market. Wired was able to interview RAMP’s administrator, who goes by the name Darkside. According to the interview, Darkside has survived primarily for two reasons: the people who run and use the site and the strict rules for membership. The RAMP site is written in the Russian language and caters only to Russian clientele. The rules prohibit any political discussions, because Darkside states that would “attract attention,” and the rules also ban the selling of guns, stolen goods, or pornography. The primary good on their market: drugs. For the full interview by Wired, click here.
- SMARTPHONES WITH PRE-INSTALLED MALWARE: InformationWeek reports that malware was found pre-installed on several popular smartphones. The malware is a Chinese Trojan program dubbed DeathRing, which is disguised as a ringtone application and is loaded in the phone’s system directory from where it is impossible to remove by security vendors. The report warns that while the phones at issue were from low-cost, third-tier vendors in Asia and Africa, “. . . that doesn’t mean it can’t happen here.”
To continue reading more Cyber News Wrap-Ups from this past week:
- CYBER NEWS WRAP-UP:
- New US Cybersecurity Prosecutor Unit: Reuters reports that the U.S. Justice Department is creating a unit within the criminal division to advise on electronic surveillance in cyber investigations and work with the private sector to prevent online crime.
- Taiwan Most Hacked Country: The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Taiwan can claim the dubious honor of being one of the most hacked, if not the most hacked, places in the world. Full the full article, click here.
- Germany Refuses Extradite Hacker: Afterdawn News reports that the German High Court has decided not to permit the extradition of a man once described as the world’s number two hacker to the United States to face prosecution. As for their reasons, the court cited the “extreme length” of the sentence being threatened by U.S. authorities (could face 250 years imprisonment), and the inclusion of a “conspiracy” charge which is incompatible with German laws.
- Medical Device Industry Refusing Cybersecurity Help: DeviceTalk begins their analysis of the medical device industries reaction to US government initiatives to ensure its products are safe from hackers in the following way: “[y]ou can lead a horse to water, it is said, but you can’t make it drink.” According to DeviceTalk, the industry has been less than enthusiastic about collaborative approaches for dealing with cyber threats targeting the medical community.
- Anonymous Takes Down City Websites: Eyesonnews.com reports that the Anonymous hacktivist group crashed Fort Lauderdale governmental websites when demands to lift the cities homeless bans were not met.
- New Cyber Information Exchange Center: Al.com reports that a newly created Information Sharing and Analysis Center will give defense contractors and community first responders a way to share information on cyber intrusion threats.
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