News with a historical perspective
The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of being behind Friday’s cyber-attack on dozens of official websites. About 70 government websites were temporarily down, in the largest such attack on Ukraine in four years. Before the sites went offline, a message appeared warning Ukrainians to “prepare for the worst”. Access to most of the sites wasContinue reading “Ukraine cyber-attack: Russia to blame for hack, says Kyiv”
Poland’s most powerful politician has acknowledged that the country bought advanced spyware from the Israeli surveillance software maker NSO Group, but denied that it was being used to target his political opponents. Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling conservative party, Law and Justice, said in an interview that the secret services in many countriesContinue reading “Polish leader admits country bought powerful Israeli spyware”
A Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist accused three former U.S. intelligence contractors of an illegal hack of her phone that was instrumental in her being arrested and later tortured in her home country, according to a lawsuit filed in a U.S. court. Loujain al-Hathloul helped lead a campaign to allow Saudi Arabian women to driveContinue reading “Saudi women’s rights activist says phone hack by U.S. contractors led to arrest -lawsuit”
The tiny Arab nation of Qatar has for years employed a former CIA officer to help spy on soccer officials as part of a no-expense-spared effort to win and hold on to the 2022 World Cup tournament, an investigation by The Associated Press has found. It’s part of a trend of former U.S. intelligence officersContinue reading “World Cup host Qatar used ex-CIA officer to spy on FIFA”
Ukraine has filed charges of espionage and attempted state overthrow against five people who allegedly were part of a hackers group controlled by Russia. The Security Service of Ukraine said Friday that the hackers group known as “Armagedon” was responsible for some 5,000 cyberattacks on Ukrainian state agencies since 2014. The service said it hadContinue reading “Ukraine charges 5 hackers allegedly working for Russia”
Over the last decade, dozens of current and former law enforcement officers, military personnel, and government officials in New Jersey joined a far-right, anti-government militia called the Oath Keepers, according to a WNYC/Gothamist analysis of what appear to be membership rolls obtained by an anonymous hacker. In response, the state’s Attorney General’s office said itContinue reading “Hacked Records Reveal Hundreds Of Oath Keepers Across New Jersey”
Russia was not invited to attend a 30-country virtual meeting led by the United States that is aimed at combating the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, a senior administration official said. Many ransomware gangs operate from Ukraine and Russia, private sector cybersecurity experts say. Some U.S. officials and analysts have said RussianContinue reading “Russia excluded from 30-country meeting to fight ransomware and cyber crime”
Mediapart claims indicate that devices were targeted by NSO’s Pegasus spyware Traces of Pegasus spyware were found on the mobile phones of at least five current French cabinet ministers, the investigative website Mediapart has reported, citing multiple anonymous sources and a confidential intelligence dossier. The allegation comes two months after the Pegasus Project, a media consortium thatContinue reading “Spyware ‘found on phones of five French cabinet members’”
Epik long has been the favorite Internet company of the far-right, providing domain services to QAnon theorists, Proud Boys and other instigators of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol – allowing them to broadcast hateful messages from behind a veil of anonymity. But that veil abruptly vanished last week when a huge breachContinue reading “Huge hack reveals embarrassing details of who’s behind Proud Boys and other far-right websites”
Germany has protested to Russia over attempts to steal data from lawmakers in what it suspects may have been preparation to spread disinformation before the upcoming German election, the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said Monday. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Sasse said that a hacker outfit called Ghostwriter has been “combining conventional cyberattacks with disinformation andContinue reading “Germany protests to Russia over pre-election cyberattacks”
Among the Fray 