CYBERATTACK/RUSSIA/TRUMP ADMIN: “Nearly a month after reports emerged of a massive hack of U.S. government agencies and corporations, the Trump administration announced Tuesday [Jan. 5, 2021 that it had formed a task force to deal with the repercussions of what it officially acknowledged — for the first time — was likely a damaging Russian espionage […]
Category: Cyberwar
12/28/2020
CYBER ATTACK: “We are still learning about the extent of the SolarWinds hack and the vulnerabilities that have been exposed. As I said last week — this attack constitutes a grave risk to our national security. And we need to close the gap between where our capabilities are now and where they need to be […]
12/23/2020
CYBERWAR/JOE BIDEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “This cybersecurity attack happened on Donald Trump’s watch. But rest assured that even if he does not take it seriously, I will.“ ––Joe Biden, Twitter.com, December 23, 2020 4:30 am […]
12/22/2020
CYBERATTACK/RUSSIA/TRUMP ADMIN: “In an age when so much of our lives are conducted online, cyber attacks must be treated as a serious threat by our leadership at the highest levels… Initial indications, including from Secretary Pompeo and Attorney General Barr suggest that Russia is responsible for this breach. It certainly fits Russia’s long history of […]
12/22/2020
CYBERATTACK/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “[T]here is another challenge which my administration will confront on a bipartisan basis — the massive cybersecurity breach against U.S. companies and federal agencies. There is still so much that we don’t know, including the full scope of the breach or the extent of the damage it has caused. But we know […]
12/22/2020
CYBERATTACK/JOE BIDEN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President-elect Joe Biden blasted President Donald Trump’s response to the cyber hack of government agencies and U.S. businesses, saying the administration must publicly identify the culprit of the sophisticated attack and take action in response… Biden welcomed congressional leaders of both parties criticizing the attack and preparing to take action. But […]
12/22/2020
CYBERATTACK/TECHNOLOGY: “It may cost literally billions of dollars to secure our cyberspace. It may take a great deal to get it done. First and foremost, it takes people who are knowledgeable and vigilant about what is happening and how it’s happening. And so I’m just going to do all that need be done. All that […]
12/19/2020
CYBERATTACK/MIKE POMPEO/RUSSIA: “President Donald Trump suggested Saturday [Dec. 19, 2020] that China might have been behind a cyberattack affecting multiple U.S. government agencies and companies, despite Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s allegation hours earlier that Russia was likely behind the attack. A U.S. official confirmed to NBC News on Saturday that White House officials were […]
7/25/2019
CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday [7-25-19] released a wide-ranging report that detailed Russia’s attempts to hack US election infrastructure during the 2016 election, urging states and the federal government to do more to prevent election cyberattacks in the future. The report included a host of recommendations to both the federal […]
6/15/2019
CYBERWAR/MEDIA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Do you believe that the Failing New York Times just did a story stating that the United States is substantially increasing Cyber Attacks on Russia. This is a virtual act of Treason by a once great paper so desperate for a story, any story, even if bad for our Country…..” –Donald Trump, […]
12/19/2018
2016 ELECTION/AFRICAN AMERICANS/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “When Vladimir Putin focused on black voter depression and sowing racial divisions in the 2016 election to help propel Donald Trump into the White House, he engaged in what is, unfortunately, a longstanding and time-tested American practice. Two reports commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee found that a Russian […]
12/18/2018
CYBERWAR/EU/IRAN/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Hackers infiltrated the European Union’s diplomatic communications network for years, downloading thousands of cables that reveal concerns about an unpredictable Trump administration and struggles to deal with Russia and China and the risk that Iran would revive its nuclear program. In one cable, European diplomats described a meeting between President Trump and […]
12/17/2018
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “An all-out social media push by Russia to elect Donald Trump tricked 30 million people into sharing posts and aimed to convince blacks and Latinos not to vote. That’s according to Senate-issued reports that found a ‘sweeping and sustained’ effort to boost Trump’s candidacy at key moments — think debates, conventions […]
12/12/2018
CHINA/CYBERWAR/TECHNOLOGY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Looming indictments against Chinese government hackers are part of a Trump administration push coming this week to highlight Beijing’s rampant theft of intellectual property and campaign of cyber intrusions, according to The Washington Post. In addition to the indictments over digital breaches, which The Wall Street Journal and POLITICO reported last week, […]
11/27/2018
CYBERWAR/ROBERT MUELLER/ROGER STONE/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Draft court filings obtained by CNN outline significant insights into what special counsel Robert Mueller may know about Roger Stone’s efforts to seek documents from WikiLeaks in 2016. Mueller’s office was preparing to tell a federal court that Stone pushed an associate to get documents from WikiLeaks — information […]
11/12/2018
CYBERWAR/ELECTIONS/FRANCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Reflecting reluctance by the Trump administration to limit its options for using offensive and defensive cyberweapons, the United States declined on Monday [11-12-18] to sign a vaguely worded international call to protect civilians against cyberattacks and discourage digital meddling in elections. The United States was one of only a few Western nations […]
11/8/2018
COURTS/CYBERWAR/DEMS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Lawyers for critics suing President Donald Trump’s campaign over its alleged involvement in the hacking of Democratic National Committee emails urged a federal judge in Virginia Thursday to reject a bid by the campaign to have the lawsuit thrown out. The Trump campaign met the suit earlier this year with an eyebrow-raising […]
10/5/2018
CHINA/CYBERWAR/ELECTION/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “White House claims that China is meddling in the midterms do not ring true to experts and cybersecurity firms that have long tracked Beijing’s digital espionage operations and propaganda campaigns…President Donald Trump aired the idea last month that Russia isn’t the only country attempting to undermine the U.S. democratic process. And in […]
9/21/2018
CYBERWAR/DHS/INTELLIGENCE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration touted the National Cyber Strategy it released Thursday [9-20-18] as proof of its commitment to protecting U.S. government networks and critical infrastructure from cyber threats, but the document offered little new information about how President Donald Trump plans to improve U.S. cybersecurity, even as intelligence officials continue to warn […]
9/12/2018
CYBERWAR/MIKE POMPEO/SENATE/STATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “A bipartisan group of senators called out Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the State Department’s failure to meet federal law on cybersecurity standards, including basic protocols used by major internet companies. The lawmakers sent a letter to Pompeo on Tuesday [9-11-18] citing a General Services Administration report that found the State […]
8/21/2018
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/SENATE/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Faced with new evidence that Russian hackers are targeting conservative American research groups and the Senate’s own web pages, key lawmakers from both parties signaled on Tuesday [8-21-18] that they were ready to move forward with punishing new sanctions legislation capable of crippling the Russian economy. And in three separate hearings on Capitol […]
8/17/2018
CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/MILITARY/OBAMA ADMIN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration this week took a major step toward empowering the military to conduct more cyberattacks. President Donald Trump rescinded Presidential Policy Directive 20, an Obama-era document that required high-level discussions between many agencies before the military could conduct significant cyber operations. The change gives the military freer rein to […]
8/15/2018
CYBERWAR/OBAMA ADMIN/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump took steps on Wednesday [8-15-18] to loosen limits on when the U.S. government can deploy cyber weapons against adversaries, reversing Obama-era guidelines, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Trump signed an order reversing Presidential Policy Directive 20 that had mapped out an elaborate interagency process before the […]
8/3/2018
CYBERWAR/ELECTION/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Senior intelligence officials described Russian efforts to interfere in the 2018 midterm elections as deep, real and ongoing, showcasing their efforts to combat a threat President Trump has repeatedly dismissed and played down. ‘We continue to see a pervasive messaging campaign by Russia to try to weaken and divide the United States,’ Director […]
8/2/2018
CYBERWAR/ELECTION/RUSSIA/SANCTIONS/SENATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Republican and Democratic U.S. senators introduced legislation on Thursday [8-2-18] to impose stiff new sanctions on Russia and combat cyber crime, the latest effort by lawmakers to punish Moscow over interference in U.S. elections and its activities in Syria and Ukraine. The bill includes restrictions on new Russian sovereign debt transactions, energy […]
7/31/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/DHS/MIKE PENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Vice President Mike Pence directly criticized Russia for the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 US elections during a speech Tuesday [7-31-18] in New York City…The vice president added that Russia’s goal was to sow discord and division and weaken the American people’s faith in democracy. Pence was the keynote speaker at […]
7/31/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/DHS/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Federal security officials have created a new level of defense aimed at protecting banks, energy companies and other structures from massive cyberhacking attempts, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen announced Tuesday [7-31-18] in New York. The announcement of the National Risk Management Center, a physical space that was created inside DHS, […]
7/31/2018
CYBERWAR/DHS/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday [7-31-18] the creation of a new center aimed at guarding the nation’s banks, energy companies and other industries from major cyberattacks that could cripple critical infrastructure. The launch of the National Risk Management Center was unveiled by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen at a government-hosted cyber […]
7/27/2018
CYBERWAR/ELECTION/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/SOCIAL MEDIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “With the midterm election only a few months away, government officials working to counter election interference from Russia have been operating with no strategy from the top, including from President Donald Trump’s fractured National Security Council, leaving each agency to fend for itself without White House support or direction, according […]
7/27/2018
CYBERWAR/ELECTION/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “U.S. President Donald Trump will convene his national security advisers on Friday [7-27-18] for a high-level meeting on election security, less than four months until Americans vote to determine whether his fellow Republicans maintain control of Congress. The White House meeting comes amid new accusations of Russian meddling in U.S. elections. […]
7/19/2018
CYBERWAR/FBI/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Three of the top cybersecurity officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation are retiring from government service, according to people familiar with the matter—departures that come as cyberattacks are a major concern for the country’s security agencies. Senior U.S. intelligence officials warn that the country is at a ‘critical point’ facing unprecedented […]
5/29/2018
CYBERWAR/DHS/FBI/NORTH KOREA: “The U.S. government on Tuesday [5-29-18] released an alert with technical details about a series of cyber attacks stretching back to at least 2009 that it blamed on the North Korean government. The warning is the third from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation about hacking operations dubbed […]
3/27/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A Cambridge Analytica whistleblower said on Tuesday [3-27-2018] that Canadian company AggregateIQ worked on software called Ripon which was used to identify Republican voters ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election. AggregateIQ did not immediately respond to request for comment on the remarks by Christopher Wylie, a whistleblower formerly of British […]
3/27/2018
CYBERWAR/PAUL RYAN/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The United States and its allies should condemn Russia for meddling in elections and launching cyber attacks, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Tuesday and commended unity shown over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian spy in Britain. Ryan was speaking in the Czech Republic, whose government was one […]
3/26/2018
CYBERWAR/PAUL RYAN/RUSSIA/TRUMP PEOPLE: “The former head of a federal agency helping U.S. states protect election systems from hackers has been hired for a similar role within the Trump administration after being passed up for reappointment by Republican Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House. Matthew Masterson, a member of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission who […]
3/23/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/DEMS/GOP/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Friday [3-23-2018] promoted the House Intelligence Committee’s findings on Russian meddling in the 2016 election as a way to vindicate himself from the investigation into potential collusion between his campaign and Russia…The committee voted along party lines Thursday [3-22-18] to release the Republican report on Russian meddling, […]
3/21/2018
CYBERWAR/IRAN/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration announced criminal charges and sanctions Friday [3-23-18] against Iranians accused in a hacking scheme to pilfer sensitive information from hundreds of universities, private companies and American government agencies. The nine defendants, accused of working at the behest of the Iranian government-tied Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, hacked the computer […]
3/21/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/DHS/NATIONAL SECURITY: “The Trump administration’s Homeland Security chief told Congress on Wednesday [3-21-18] that the U.S. government has made significant strides in better protecting the election system after a Russian campaign of hacking and misinformation during the 2016 election. Kirstjen Nielsen, the secretary of Homeland Security, testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee that information […]
3/21/2018
CYBERWAR/LEGAL/POLITICS: “The Senate on Wednesday [3-21-18] is expected to give final approval to landmark legislation aimed at curbing online sex trafficking by limiting federal immunity for internet platforms. The vote—which comes as public discontent rises over abuse of tech companies’ systems—would be a rare political defeat for the technology industry, which has become a powerful […]
3/15/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/TREASURY: “The Trump administration on Thursday [3-15-18] issued for the first time sanctions against Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections and for cyberattacks, targeting the Kremlin’s intelligence agencies and individuals indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for their role in election interference. In sanctioning five entities and 19 individuals, the U.S. […]
3/15/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA/STEVE MNUCHIN/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/UK: “The Trump administration on Thursday [3-15-18] issued for the first time sanctions against Russia for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and for cyberattacks, targeting the Kremlin’s intelligence agencies and individuals indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for their role in election interference. In sanctioning five entities […]
3/8/2018
CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/NORTH KOREA/TURKEY: “Suspected North Korean hackers blitzed Turkish financial institutions and a government organization last week, seeking intelligence for a future heist, a new report says. The attacks on March 2 and 3, identified by cyber researcher McAfee LLC in a Thursday [3-8-18] report, attempted to lure targets with faux links to a popular cryptocurrency […]
3/8/2018
CYBERWAR/GOP/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Weeks after Donald Trump was elected president, Russia-backed online ‘trolls’ flooded social media to try to block Mitt Romney from securing a top job in the incoming administration, a Wall Street Journal analysis shows. The operatives called the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, then a contender for secretary of state, a ‘two headed […]
3/7/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “All the Facebook account Black4Black asked for was some personal information about Ajah Hales and other Cleveland-area small-business owners. In exchange, she was told her cosmetics company, and her fellow African-American entrepreneurs, would receive free promotion on social media and in a new and influential directory of black-owned businesses… The fake directory is […]
3/6/2018
CYBERWAR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration could impose new sanctions on Russian entities as soon as next week, a senior administration official told CNN. Among the entities being considered for sanctions is the Internet Research Agency, a Kremlin-linked Russian troll group, the official said. The Internet Research Agency was at the heart of a […]
3/6/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Tuesday [3-6-18] that Russia had ‘no impact on our votes’ in the 2016 presidential contest but vowed to combat any attempts to meddle in the 2018 midterms. It was Trump’s most forceful attempt to date at dissuading Russia from continuing its election interference efforts, though he again […]
3/6/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The top U.S. intelligence official said on Tuesday [3-6-18] President Donald Trump’s administration is ‘actively engaged’ in efforts to prevent Russian efforts to influence the November midterm elections, even as he warned of Moscow’s continuing ‘malign activities.’… Coats and other U.S. intelligence officials have warned repeatedly that Russia is already trying […]
3/5/2018
CYBERWAR/FOREIGN POLICY/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “A Belarusian escort with close ties to a powerful Russian oligarch said from behind bars in Bangkok on Monday [3-5-18] that she had more than 16 hours of audio recordings that could help shed light on Russian meddling in United States elections. The escort, Anastasia Vashukevich, said she would hand over the […]
3/5/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/OBAMA ADMIN/RUSSIA: “Why did the Obama Administration start an investigation into the Trump Campaign (with zero proof of wrongdoing) long before the Election in November? Wanted to discredit so Crooked H would win. Unprecedented. Bigger than Watergate! Plus, Obama did NOTHING about Russian meddling.” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, Mar. 5, 2018 08:22am […]
3/4/2018
CYBERWAR/POLITICS/RUSSIA/STATE/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “As Russia’s virtual war against the United States continues unabated with the midterm elections approaching, the State Department has yet to spend any of the $120 million it has been allocated since late 2016 to counter foreign efforts to meddle in elections or sow distrust in democracy. As a result, not one […]
3/1/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/ENERGY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A Russian-backed propaganda group used social media in an attempt to disrupt the U.S. energy industry and influence energy policy, according to a new congressional staff report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Unlike other Russian campaigns to stir political unrest in the U.S., this effort by the tech-savvy Internet Research […]
2/27/2018
CYBERWAR/DEFENSE/NSA/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The head of the National Security Agency told lawmakers Tuesday [2-27-18] that he hadn’t been formally asked by President Donald Trump to take steps to disrupt Russian election hacking activity at its source. Adm. Mike Rogers was asked by Sen. Jack Reed (D., R.I.) during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee […]
2/27/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has chosen the digital director of his 2016 campaign to lead his 2020 re-election effort, further advancing an unusually early campaign process. The campaign on Tuesday [2-27-18] said Brad Parscale was taking control ‘as the advanced planning for the 2020 race begins.’ Mr. Trump formally filed to run […]
2/27/2018
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “US Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers told lawmakers on Tuesday [2-27-18] that he has not been granted the authority by President Donald Trump to disrupt Russian election hacking operations where they originate. Asked by Democratic Sen. Jack Reed if he has been directed by the President, through the defense secretary, to […]
2/16/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/FBI/LEGAL/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Three Russian companies and 13 Russian nationals were indicted Friday [2-16-18] on charges of engaging in a widespread effort to interfere in the 2016 presidential election, providing the most comprehensive official account to date of a sweeping, multimillion-dollar effort by Moscow to upend U.S. politics and set Americans against each other. The […]
2/15/2018
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/UK/UKRAINE: “The White House on Thursday [2-15-18] blamed Russia for a massive cyberattack last year that crippled computer networks at multinational firms world-wide, vowing the hack would be met with ‘international consequences.’ A White House statement on the cyberattack came a day after the U.K. formally blamed Russia. The Kremlin called the accusations ‘baseless.’ An […]
2/13/2018
CYBERWAR/POLITICS/RUSSIA/VOTING: “As the midterm elections approach, Russia is likely to throw more propaganda at Americans, using people sympathetic to their messages and fake personalities on social media — many of them run by bots — to sow further political and social divisions in the United States, American intelligence chiefs said on Tuesday [2-13-18]. The intelligence […]
2/13/2018
ARMY/CYBERWAR/NOMINATIONS/NSA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump on Tuesday [2-13-18] nominated Lt. Gen. Paul Nakasone, the leader of the Army’s digital warfighting arm, to helm the National Security Agency. The move, which was long expected, will also put Nakasone atop U.S. Cyber Command, the Defense Department’s digital warfighting unit, once he is confirmed by the Senate. […]
2/8/2018
2016 ELECTION/BUSH [W.]/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Former President George W. Bush said Thursday [2-8-18] that there is ‘pretty clear evidence that the Russians meddled’ in the 2016 presidential election, a seeming rebuke of President Donald Trump, who has at times questioned the intelligence community’s assessment that the Kremlin is to blame. ‘Whether (Russia) affected the outcome is another […]
2/7/2018
CYBERWAR/POLITICAL FIGURES: “Equifax Inc. failed to disclose that hackers gained access to consumers’ passport numbers, according to a report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s office on Wednesday [2-7-18]. The company said that is because it didn’t happen. The Democratic senator from Massachusetts released the report following a four-month investigation by her office into the Equifax breach. […]
2/7/2018
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/REX TILLERSON/RUSSIA/STATE: “Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned that any Russian interference in November’s midterm elections would ‘invite consequences,’ but suggested the United States is still vulnerable to such meddling… Tillerson said the Trump administration is seeing signs of meddling in European elections, as well as elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere, and suggested they […]
2/5/2018
CYBERWAR/SEC/TRADE DEALS: “Digital currencies such as bitcoin were in the spotlight again on Tuesday [2-6-18] as lawmakers in the U.S. Senate questioned top markets watchdogs over how to better regulate the highly volatile and risky emerging asset class. Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities […]
2/2/2018
CYBERWAR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA: “A Russian programmer who had been arrested in Spain in a high-profile case that pitted the U.S. against Russia on Friday pleaded not guilty to charges of running a vast network of computers for criminal purposes. Pyotr Levashov, described by the U.S. Justice Department as one of the world’s most sophisticated hackers, is […]
1/23/2018
CYBERWAR/GOP/INTELLIGENCE/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA: “Senior U.S. congressional Democrats urged social media companies on Tuesday [1-23-18] to investigate reported actions by automated Russia-linked accounts, in connection with a Republican memorandum that was said to be critical of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of President Donald Trump’s ties with Russia. Senator Dianne Feinstein, a senior member of the Senate […]
1/18/2018
CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE: “The U.S. Senate on Thursday [1-18-18] voted to reauthorize for six years a key surveillance law, sending a bill that permits a wide range of electronic spying to President Donald Trump for his approval. With the bill’s passage, Congress rejected an attempt by a coalition of conservative Republicans, civil libertarians and liberal Democrats to […]
1/16/2018
CYBERWAR/FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR: “A newly drafted United States nuclear strategy that has been sent to President Trump for approval would permit the use of nuclear weapons to respond to a wide range of devastating but non-nuclear attacks on American infrastructure, including what current and former government officials described as the most crippling kind of cyberattacks. […]
1/12/2018
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “The suspected Russian hackers accused of breaching the Democratic National Committee and meddling in France’s presidential election are now targeting the U.S. Senate, according to new research. Since last June, the hacking group known as ‘Fancy Bear’ has been setting up fake websites mimicking the Senate’s login server, hoping to trick Senate staffers into […]
1/12/2018
ARMY/CHINA/CYBERWAR: “The U.S. Army said it removed surveillance cameras made by a Chinese state-backed manufacturer from a domestic military base, while a congressional committee plans to hold a hearing this month into whether small businesses face cybersecurity risks from using the equipment. Fort Leonard Wood, an Army base in Missouri’s Ozarks, replaced five cameras on […]
1/3/2018
CYBERWAR/LEGAL/NSA: “A veteran cybersecurity specialist for the National Security Agency and other intelligence organizations, accused of taking thousands of secret documents home over two decades, has decided to plead guilty later this month to a single charge that could carry a 10-year sentence. But under the terms laid out by prosecutors, the intelligence contractor, Harold […]
12/18/2017
CYBERWAR/DHS/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration formally accused North Korea on Monday [12-18-17] night of creating the WannaCry cyberattack that briefly paralyzed the British health system and placed ransomware on computers in dozens of countries around the world. President Trump’s homeland security adviser, Thomas P. Bossert, wrote in an op-ed published in The Wall […]
12/18/2017
CYBERWAR/DHS/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab filed suit against the U.S. government on Monday [12-18-17], demanding that the Department of Homeland Security rescind a ban on Kaspersky software in U.S. government computers. Kaspersky’s complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, alleges that DHS deprived the cybersecurity firm’s due process rights under the Constitution by […]
12/11/2017
CYBERWAR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA: “A telecom software company has agreed to resolve a criminal investigation of its use of uncleared Russian nationals working in Russia on a U.S. defense project by implementing a security plan that American officials hope will serve as a new industry model. The Justice Department said Monday [12-11-17] it had agreed not to […]
12/4/2017
CONSUMER PROTECTION/CYBERWAR/MICK MULVANEY: “The Trump administration’s interim director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said he has frozen the agency’s collection of personal information due to cybersecurity concerns, a step in changing policies criticized by the financial industry. Mick Mulvaney, who is splitting his time as acting CFPB director and the White House’s budget chief, […]
12/4/2017
CYBERWAR/GOP/HOUSE OF REPS: “Two fundraising staffers for the National Republican Senatorial Committee who broke into the computer servers of the House GOP campaign arm resigned late last week, Republican sources said. The staffers, Laura Kleffner and Krista Madaio, had previously worked at the National Republican Congressional Committee. POLITICO first reported last week that the NRSC […]
11/27/2017
CRIME/CYBERWAR/LEGAL: “Three Chinese people have been indicted in the U.S. for allegedly hacking into the email account of a Moody’s Analytics economist and stealing confidential business information from German electrical engineering giant Siemens AG , according to an indictment unsealed Monday [11-27-17]. The hackers targeted an unnamed ‘influential economist’ at Moody’s and forwarded the economist’s […]
11/22/2017
CYBERWAR/LEGAL/NSA: “A federal judge threw out two long-running lawsuits challenging the National Security Agency’s collection of phone records under a surveillance program that Congress curbed in 2015. The 2013 lawsuits, filed by conservative legal activist Larry Klayman, alleged the government violated the Constitution when it gathered millions of Americans’ phone records so it could search […]
11/6/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Kremlin-backed support for Donald Trump’s candidacy over social media began much earlier than previously known, a new analysis of Twitter data shows. Russian Twitter accounts posing as Americans began lavishing praise on Mr. Trump and attacking his rivals within weeks after he announced his bid for the presidency in June 2015, […]
11/2/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/RUSSIA: “The Justice Department has identified more than six members of the Russian government involved in hacking the Democratic National Committee’s computers and swiping sensitive information that became public during the 2016 presidential election, according to people familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors and agents have assembled evidence to charge the Russian officials and […]
11/1/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Russian operatives targeted users on Facebook Inc. by race, religion and interests such as gun ownership, the Confederate flag and Ivanka Trump’s jewelry line, according to advertising data released by lawmakers Wednesday as part of congressional investigations into Russian manipulation on social media around the U.S. election. The ads targeted groups on opposite […]
10/31/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/POLITICS/RUSSIA: “Senators pressed representatives from three technology giants to explain why they didn’t recognize Russia-linked accounts earlier, as the officials struck a contrite tone about the role their services played in stoking political tensions during the 2016 campaign… The officials also faced questions about voter-suppression efforts and whether Silicon Valley can or should police […]
10/31/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/POLITICS: “A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators plans to introduce legislation on Tuesday [10-31-17] seeking to boost the cyber defenses of state election systems, after warnings from senior U.S. officials that future elections may be vulnerable to foreign interference. The Securing America’s Voting Equipment, or SAVE, Act is the latest attempt by lawmakers to […]
10/30/2017
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Workers behind Russian-linked Facebook Inc. accounts helped organize or finance real-life events before and after the 2016 election, often working directly with U.S. activists and playing both sides of the same hot-button issue—even on the same day. In July 2016, as outrage swelled over fatal shootings in Dallas and Minneapolis, alleged social-media agitators tied […]
10/23/2017
CYBERWAR: “Hackers looking to exploit sensitive information for profit are increasingly targeting the nation’s schools, where they are finding a relatively weak system to protect a valuable asset: student data. Cyberthieves have struck more than three dozen school systems from Georgia to California so far this year, stealing paychecks and data or taking over networks […]
10/22/2017
CYBERWAR/DHS/ENERGY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/POLICE: “The Department of Homeland Security plans to close a New York-based laboratory that has helped the city’s Police and Fire Departments develop systems to detect nuclear and biological threats, a move that some local officials fear could hamper efforts to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks. The radiological program that the laboratory, the […]
10/21/2017
CYBERWAR/FAKE NEWS/MEDIA: “Keep hearing about ‘tiny’ amount of money spent on Facebook ads. What about the billions of dollars of Fake News on CNN, ABC, NBC & CBS?” -Donald Trump, Twitter.com, October 21, 2017 03:06pm […]
10/19/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/NIKKI HALEY/RUSSIA/UN: “U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said Thursday that interference in U.S. elections by another nation ‘is warfare,’ telling an audience in New York that such meddling has become Russia’s go-to tactic… While President Donald Trump has questioned at times whether or not the Russian government was behind a campaign […]
10/18/2017
CYBERWAR/JOHN MCCAIN/POLITICS: “A proposal to require social-media companies to disclose information about political advertising on their platforms has drawn the support of a key Senate Republican. Sen. John McCain (R, Ariz.), a longtime proponent of stricter political advertising disclosure rules and spending restrictions, has signed onto a bill being written by two Senate Democrats that […]
10/18/2017
CYBERWAR/FOREIGN POLICY/JAMES MATTIS/MILITARY: “U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis this week asked Congress to halt pending legislation that would compel the U.S. to alert foreign governments when the Pentagon has decided to combat certain cyber attacks, according to a letter sent to lawmakers. The letter, sent to members of Congress on Tuesday and seen by […]
10/16/2017
CYBERWAR/DHS: “The Trump administration on Monday [10-16-17] will order federal agencies to adopt common email security standards in an effort to better protect against hackers, a senior Department of Homeland Security official said. DHS Assistant Secretary for Cybersecurity Jeanette Manfra, speaking at an event in New York, said the agency would issue a binding directive […]
10/13/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Twitter has deleted tweets and other user data of potentially irreplaceable value to investigators probing Russia’s suspected manipulation of the social media platform during the 2016 election, according to current and former government cybersecurity officials. Federal investigators now believe Twitter was one of Russia’s most potent weapons in its efforts to promote Donald […]
10/12/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “Facebook Inc. will publicly disclose the types of people targeted by Russian-backed ads during and after the 2016 presidential election, operating chief Sheryl Sandberg said. In an interview Thursday [10-12-17]with Axios, Ms. Sandberg acknowledged Facebook’s platform was manipulated in a way it shouldn’t have been during the election. She said the company was […]
10/11/2017
CYBERWAR/RUSSIA: “The Russian government used a popular antivirus software to secretly scan computers around the world for classified U.S. government documents and top-secret information, modifying the program to turn it into an espionage tool, according to current and former U.S. officials with knowledge of the matter. The software, made by the Moscow-based company Kaspersky Lab, […]
10/10/2017
CYBERWAR: “Driver’s license data for around 10.9 million Americans were compromised during the breach of Equifax Inc.’s systems, according to people familiar with the matter. The license information was accessed by hackers who also took vital personal information, including Social Security numbers, of potentially 145.5 million Americans. Not all those people would have had license […]
10/10/2017
CYBERWAR/NORTH KOREA/SOUTH KOREA: “Suspected North Korean hackers stole sensitive military secrets, including joint U.S.-South Korean plans detailing how to eliminate the Pyongyang leadership, during an attack on Seoul’s defense data system last year, a South Korean lawmaker said. Rhee Cheol-hee, a member of the ruling Democratic Party, said in an interview with local media published […]
10/9/2017
CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA: “Google has found evidence that Russian agents bought ads on its wide-ranging networks in an effort to interfere with the 2016 presidential campaign. Using accounts believed to be connected to the Russian government, the agents purchased $4,700 worth of search ads and more traditional display ads, according to a person familiar with the company’s […]
10/9/2017
ARMY/CYBERWAR/MILITARY/RUSSIA: “The Army is preparing to unveil a new approach for fighting future wars that combines space, cyberspace and traditional combat, in preparation for conflicts short of all-out war that require attacks or counterstrikes in uncertain situations, officials said. A document on the new approach being released on Monday [10-9-17] also will caution that decisive […]
10/6/2017
CYBERWAR/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “Kaspersky Lab ZAO, the Russian firm behind the popular eponymous antivirus program, is facing scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers who are calling for hearings amid fresh accusations its software was exploited by Russian hackers as part of a massive data theft from the National Security Agency. In the 2015 incident, Russian hackers targeted an […]
10/6/2017
CYBERWAR/NATIONAL SECURITY/RUSSIA: “Russian software developer Kaspersky Lab said Friday [10-6-17] it had become a ‘pawn in a geopolitical conflict’ between Russia and the U.S., following the disclosure its software was used to help Russian intelligence steal secrets from the U.S. National Security Agency. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported the theft of highly classified […]
10/5/2017
CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA: “In the latest case of an insider removing sensitive data from the nation’s largest intelligence agency, Russian hackers obtained classified documents that a National Security Agency employee had taken and stored on his home computer. Investigators believe the hackers may have penetrated the computer by exploiting Kaspersky Lab antivirus software, a Russian brand widely […]
10/4/2017
2016 ELECTION/CYBERWAR/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA: “The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday [10-4-17] warned political candidates to expect Russian operatives to try to sow chaos and manipulate upcoming elections in November and in 2018. At a news conference, Senators Richard Burr, the committee’s chairman, and Mark Warner, its vice chairman, broadly endorsed the conclusions of American […]