CyberWire Daily

Phone spearphishing is catching on after the Twitter hack. Taiwan blames China for hacking government agencies. FritzFrog botnet is cryptomining, for now. Whoever’s behind GoldenSpy is trying to cover their tracks. WastedLocker ransomware is successful without stealing data. The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence releases its final report on Russian interference with the 2016 election. Joe Carrigan looks at shady SIM cards. Our guest is Nathan Jones from WhiteCanyon Software on secure data destruction. And an AI company exposes millions of medical records. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/161 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Suspected patriotic hacktivists are defacing websites. A cryptomining worm is stealing AWS credentials. Cruise company Carnival suffered a ransomware attack that involved data theft. US measures against Huawei are expected to make things much more difficult for the Chinese company. Ben Yelin on new tools tracking cyber data on US borders. Our guest is Jesse Rothstein from ExtraHop on what happens to enterprise security when the network goes dark. And a look at the organizational structure of North Korea’s hacking units. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/160 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

North Korea harasses defectors. Researchers have been exploiting a bug in Emotet to inoculate systems against the malware for the past six months. CISA warns of KONNI spearphishing. RedCurl APT conducts corporate espionage. The US announces more restrictions on Huawei’s access to US-made chips. Chris Novak from Verizon on the evolving role of cyber insurance. Rick Howard on data loss prevention. And Australian schools are without email after an unpleasant experience with Reply-All. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/159 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Founder and CEO Stu Sjouwerman takes us on a journey of how his career developed from starting a software service company to currently focusing on the infosec side of the business where his team essentially helps to create human firewalls. Stu talks about learning all aspects of the business while creating startups and suggests you learn to speak the language of the area you are looking to get into. He even touches on predicting the future and taking over the world. Our thanks to Stu for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teachers, students, admin, parents: The education sector has possibly the most diverse user base, each requiring its own user privileges, access requirements, and behavioral trends. Yet besides this, there are a number of unique challenges to securing an educational environment, including ensuring broad attack surface protection, minimal false positives, and maintaining a cost-effective security posture. Join us in as we chat with Kevin Ford, Chief Information Security Officer for the state of North Dakota, about these challenges for securing statewide educational institutions and their networks. Later, we will be joined by Steve Salinas, Head of Product Marketing at Deep Instinct and Matthew Fredrickson, Director of IT at Council Rock School District, in what should be a steep learning curve on protecting educational environments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bitdefender researchers have recently found the APT group StrongPity has been targeting victims in Turkey and Syria. Using watering hole tactics to selectively infect victims and deploying a three-tier C&C infrastructure to thwart forensic investigations, the APT group leveraged Trojanized popular tools, such as archivers, file recovery applications, remote connections applications, utilities, and even security software, to cover a wide range of options that targeted victims might be seeking. Joining us on this week's Research Saturday to discuss the research is Bitdefender's Liviu Arsene. You can find the research here: StrongPity APT – Revealing Trojanized Tools, Working Hours and Infrastructure Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An update on Fancy Bear and its Drovorub rootkit. Karma Panda, a.k.a. CactusPete, is scouting Eastern European financial and military targets with the latest version of a venerable backdoor. How criminals and terrorists exploit COVID-19, and how law enforcement tracks them down. Caleb Barlow from Cynergistek covers security assessments and HIPAA data. Our guest is Ryan Olson from Palo Alto Networks on the 10th Anniversary of Stuxnet. And those celebrity endorsed investment scams aren’t actually endorsed by celebrities, and they’re not actually good investments. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/158 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NSA and FBI release a detailed report on a GRU toolset. North Korea’s Operation Dream Job phishes in Israeli waters. CISA warns of COVID-19 loan relief scams. Malek Ben Salem from Accenture with highlights from their 2020 Security Vision report. Our guest is Mike Hamilton from CI Security, who clears the air on election security and the shift to absentee status. And crooks are using infection and job loss as retail phishbait. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/157 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Regional rivals tussle in cyberspace, and governments have it out with dissidents and the opposition. Market penetration as an instrument of state power. TikTok gets more unwelcome scrutiny over its privacy practices. Joe Carrigan on a credential harvesting phishing scheme using Zoom as bait. Our guest is Avi Shua from Orca Security on accidental vulnerabilities. And suppressing creepware is apparently harder than it looks. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/156 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Belarus shuts down its Internet after its incumbent president’s surprising, perhaps implausible, no...really implausible landslide reelection. Papua New Guinea undergoes buyer’s remorse over that Huawei-built National Data Centre it sprung for a couple of years ago. Versions of Chrome found susceptible to CSP rule bypass. Zoom is taken to court over encryption. Patch Tuesday notes. Ben Yelin looks at mobile surveillance in a Baltimore criminal case. Carole Theriault returns to speak with our guest, Alex Guirakhoo from Digital Shadows with a look at dark web travel agencies. And card-skimmers hit a university’s online store. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/155 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A network mapping tool that pings IP addresses looking for a response and can discover host names, open communications ports, operating system names and versions. Written and maintained by Gordon Lyon, a.k.a. Fyodor, it is a free and open source software application used by both system admins and hackers alike and has been a staple in the security community for well over two decades. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released an appreciation of the goals of election interference among three principal US adversaries, Russia, China and Iran. Anomali offers a look at the ransomware-as-a-service market with its research on Smaug. The CyberWire’s Rick Howard continues his exploration of incident response. Andrea Little Limbago from Interos on cyber regionalism. And the tangles that need to be untangled in the TikTok affair, with a deadline looming less than a month from now. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/154 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cyber threat intelligence analyst Selena Larson takes us on her career journey from being a journalist to making the switch to industrial security. As a child who wrote a book about a green goldfish who dealt with bullying, Selena always liked investigating and researching things. Specializing in cybersecurity journalism led to the realization of how closely aligned or similar skills are required from an investigative journalist and a cyber threat intelligence analyst. Our thanks to Selena for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Cyberbunker” refers to a criminal group that operated a “bulletproof” hosting facility out of an actual military bunker. “Bullet Proof” hosting usually refers to hosting locations in countries with little or corrupt law enforcement, making shutting down criminal activity difficult. Cyberbunker, which is also known as “ZYZtm” and “Calibour”, was a bit different in that it actually operated out of a bulletproof bunker. In September of last year, German police raided this actual Cyberbunker and arrested several suspects. While most of the group's assets were seized during the initial raid, the IP address space remained and was later sold to Legaco Networks. Before being shut down, Legaco Networks temporarily redirected the traffic to the SANS Internet Storm Center honeypots for examination. Joining us on this week's Research Saturday from SANS Technology Institute is graduate student Karim Lalji and Dean of Research Johannes Ullrich to discuss their experiences. The research and blog post can be found here: Real-Time Honeypot Forensic Investigation on a German Organized Crime Network Cyberbunker 2.0: Analysis of the Remnants of a Bullet Proof Hosting Provider Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump issues Executive Orders restricting TikTok and WeChat in the US. A Chinese APT has been active in industrial espionage against Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Intel sustains a leak of sensitive company intellectual property. Rewards for Justice communicated to Russian and Iranian individuals by text message. Coordinated inauthenticity from Romanian actors, probably criminals. Magecart moves to homoglyph attacks. Craig Williams from Cisco Talos on ransomware campaigns making use of Maze and Snake malware. Our guest is Monica Ruiz from the Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative on the potential for a volunteer cyber workforce. And, sorry Fort Meade--there are limits to telework. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/153 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The US announces five new lines of effort for the Clean Network program, and none of them are exactly mash notes for Beijing. The US is also offering rewards of up to ten million dollars for information about foreign computer crimes aimed at interfering with US elections. Australia’s new cybersecurity strategy is out. Maze may have hit Canon. Rob Lee from Dragos addresses speculation of an ICS supply chain back door. Our guest is Theresa Lanowitz from AT&T Cybersecurity on 5G security threats to businesses. And a bail hearing is disrupted by Zoom-bombing. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/152 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NSA, yes, NSA, has some privacy advice. Interpol offers its take on where cybercrime is going during the time of the pandemic. Iran’s Oilrig is getting clever with its data exfiltration. The FBI would like to know when you’re finally going to move on from Windows 7--like, c’mon people. Joe Carrigan looks at pesky ads from the Google Play store. Our guest is Bobby McLernon from Axonius on how federal cybersecurity is particularly vulnerable during the shutdown. And a not-guilty plea from one of the three alleged Twitter hackers, along with some notes on how whoever dunnit dunnit. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/151 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The US attributes the Taidoor remote access Trojan to the Chinese government. Sources tell Reuters that documents used in an attempt to influence the last British general election were taken from the compromised email account of the trade minister. Pegasus spyware is found deployed against churchmen and political opposition figures in Togo. China denounces the American smash-and-grab of TikTok. Ben Yelin looks at international law and attribution. Our guest is Ameesh Divatia from Baffle on misconfigured databases being attacked within just hours after coming online. And the Blackbaud ransomware attack continues to affect new victims. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/150 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft is in talks to acquire TikTok as the US hints that it may be considering action against other Chinese software companies. Three young men have been charged in the Twitter hack. An apparent distributed denial-of-service attack turns out to have been a glitch. We welcome Verizon’s Chris Novak to the show. Rick Howard talks incident response. And updates on the Garmin hack suggest shifts in the ransomware threat. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/149 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Director of Security Engineering at Marqeta and Host of Hacker Valley Studio podcast Chris Cochran describes his transitions throughout the cybersecurity industry, from an intelligence job with the Marine Corps, to starting the intelligence apparatus for the House of Representatives, then on to leading Netflix's threat intelligence capability. Chris points out that when pivoting to different roles and responsibilities, you must rely on your own strengths to move forward and bring value to your work Our thanks to Chris for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NortonLifeLock Research Group (NRG) released a prototype browser extension called BotSight that leverages machine learning to detect Twitter bots in real-time. The tool is intended to help users understand the prevalence of bots and disinformation campaigns within their Twitter feeds, particularly with the increase in disinformation of COVID-19. Joining us on this week's Research Saturday to discuss this tool is Daniel Kats from NortonLifeLock Research Group. You can find the research here: Introducing BotSight Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An update on social engineering at Twitter. A quick look at the phishing kit criminal market. The European Union sanctions individuals and organizations in Russia, China, and North Korea for involvement in notorious hacking campaigns. North Korea’s North Star campaign is back and dangling bogus job offers in front of its marks. Deceptikons snoop into European law firms. Zully Ramzan from RSA on Digital Contact Tracing. Our guest is Tom Kellermann from Vmware Carbon Black on top financial CISOs analyzing the 2020 attack landscape. And both NSA and NIST have some advice on shoring up your security. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/148 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday’s antitrust hearings in the US House of Representatives focus on Big Tech’s big data as something open to use in restraint of trade. And there are questions about community standards as well. The BootHole vulnerability may not represent an emergency, but it will be tough to fix. Android malware masquerades as COVID-19 contact-tracers. The FBI warns against Netwalker ransomware. China says it didn’t hack the Vatican. Justin Harvey from Accenture demystifies red teaming. Our guest is Christopher Ahlberg from Recorded Future on trends in threat intelligence. And somebody’s spoofing a British MP: he’s looking at you, Peoples Liberation Army. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/147 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alleged Russian influence operations described by US intelligence services. “Ghostwriter” targets the Baltic region with anti-NATO false narratives. Chinese intelligence is said to have compromised Vatican networks. Loss of customer PII seems the costliest kind of data breach. VPN bugs represent a risk to OT networks. Big Tech comes to Capitol Hill, virtually. Michigan’s online bar exam knocked offline, briefly, by a cyber attack. Joe Carrigan on password stealers targeting gaming. Our guests are Troy Smith and Mike Koontz from Raytheon on defending communications operations across cloud platforms. And a superseding indictment for two ex-Twitterati charged with snooping for Saudi Arabia. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/146 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cloudflare says that reported Ukrainian breaches aren’t its issue. Trend Micro describes a new and unusually capable strain of malware. Garmin is reported to have obtained a decryptor for WastedLocker ransomware. Third-party risk continues in the news, as do misconfigured databases that expose personal information. Huawei’s CFO alleges misconduct by Canadian police and intelligence agencies. Ben Yelin examines the EFF's online Atlas of Surveillance. Dave DeWalt with SafeGuard Cyber on the evolving threat landscape as folks return to the workplace. And the Twitter incident seems to have been a problem waiting to appear. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/145 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A vigilante appears to be interfering with Emotet’s payloads. A fintech breach is blamed on a third-party service provider. A list of Cloudflare users is dumped online. There’s a going-out-of-business sale over at the Cerberus cybergang. Malek ben Salem from Accenture Labs on DeepFake detection. Our own Rick Howard gathers the Hash Table to sort some SOCs. And Garmin, restoring its services after last week’s attack, may have been the victim of Evil Corp’s WastedLocker ransomware. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/144 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Privacy and data security lawyer, Dominique Shelton Leipzig shares that she has always wanted to be a lawyer, ever since she was a little girl. She talks about what her role is with clients in protecting and managing their data, sometimes adhering to up to 134 different data protection laws for global companies. Learn that not a lot has changed for an African-American woman partner at an Amlaw 100 firm as far as diversity during Dominique's career, and how Dominique suggests young lawyers should address those odds. Our thanks to Dominque for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 29, 2020, the Salt management framework, authored by the IT automation company SaltStack, received a patch concerning two CVEs; CVE-2020-11651, an authentication bypass vulnerability, and CVE-2020-11652, a directory-traversal vulnerability. On April 30, 2020, researchers at F-Secure disclosed their vulnerability findings to the public, with an urgent warning for Salt users - patch now. Before the weekend was out, criminals were deploying malware and targeting vulnerable Salt installations, successfully affecting operations at Ghost, DigiCert, and LineageOS. The malware is a cryptominer, but there is an additional component, a Remote Access Tool written in Go called nspps. Researchers at Akamai have also observed in-the-wild attacks on Salt vulnerabilities. Joining us on this week's Research Saturday is Larry Cashdollar, Senior Security Response Engineer at Akamai, to discuss this issue. The research can be found here: SaltStack Vulnerabilities Actively Exploited in the Wild Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CISA and NSA warn of a foreign threat to US critical infrastructure. A look at what the Bears have been up to lately. The Blackbaud extortion incident shows its ripple effects. An awful lot of Twitter employees had access to powerful admin tools. China orders a US consulate closed in a tit-for-tat response to the closure of China’s consulate in Houston. Andrea Little Limbago on cyber in a re-globalized world system. Our guest is Dominique Shelton Leipzig from Perkins Coie LLP on the CA Consumer Privacy Act. And DJI drones may be a bit nosey. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/143 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twitter updates the news of last week’s incident: the attackers seem to have accessed some direct messages. France’s partial permission for Huawei to operate in that country now looks like a ban with a 2028 deadline. A quiet cryptominer. The cyber threat to British sport. Awais Rashid from the University of Bristol on cyber security and remote working. John Ford from IronNet Cybersecurity with updated 2020 predictions and cyber priorities. And bosses and employees see things differently, cyberwise. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/142 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Meowing” is now a thing: the automated discovery and wiping of exposed and unprotected databases. The US indicts two Chinese nationals on eleven counts of hacking and reports evidence that Chinese intelligence services are now using cybercriminals as contractors. Mike Schaub from CloudCheckr on why COVID-19 has ignited modernization projects for government agencies. Joe Carrigan on counterfeit Cisco routers. The US State Department tells China to close its consulate in Houston. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/141 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament has rendered its report on the Russian cyber threat. Trend Micro reports on the workings of the cyber criminal underground economy. Ben Yelin on U.S. Customs and Border Protection collecting license plate data. Our guest is Kevin O'Brien from GreatHorn on the role of business policies in security to keep users safe during high-risk events. And it turns out that Russia has no hackers whatsoever: Moscow’s Finance Minister says so, so you can take that to the bank. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/140 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Notes on last week’s Twitter hack, and on the allure of original gangster and other celebrity usernames. Using marketing databases for intelligence collection. The US Government mulls a ban on TikTok. Johannes Ullrich from SANS on Google Cloud storage becoming a more popular phishing platform. Our own Rick Howard on security operations centers, and a preview of the latest episode of his CSO Perspectives podcast. And more reaction to alleged Russian and Chinese attempts to hack COVID-19 biomedical research. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/139 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Computer security writer, podcaster and public speaker Graham Cluley describes learning to program on his own from magazines, creating text adventure games for donations, and his journey from programming to presenting and writing with a bit of tap dancing on the side. Along the way, Graham collaborated with others and learned to communicate so that all could understand, not just techies. Our thanks to Graham for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers at Symantec spotted a Sodinokibi targeted ransomware campaign in which the attackers are also scanning the networks of some victims for credit card or point of sale (PoS) software. It is not clear if the attackers are targeting this software for encryption or because they want to scrape this information as a way to make even more money from this attack. Joining us in this week's Research Saturday to discuss the report is Jon DiMaggio of Symantec. The research can be found here: Sodinokibi: Ransomware Attackers also Scanning for PoS Software, Leveraging Cobalt Strike Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Twitter hack is looking more like high-grade, low-end crime. It also worries people over the disinformation potential it suggests. People care, they really do, that someone hacked COVID-19 biomedical research (we’ll explain). Australia joins the UK, Canada, and the US in blaming Russia for Cozy Bear’s capers. Russia says it didn’t do nothin’. Rob Lee from Dragos with thoughts on the Ripple 20 vulnerabilities on industrial control systems. Our guest is Sal Aurigemma from University of Tulsa on fake ANTIFA twitter accounts. And CISA’s serious about getting the Feds to apply Tuesday’s Windows patch. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/138 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twitter sustained a major incident in which celebrity accounts were hijacked yesterday. It seems to have been a social engineering caper, but it’s motivation, nominally financial, remains unclear. British authorities call out Russia for an influence campaign mounted during last year’s elections. Cozy Bear is back, and sniffing for COVID-19 biomedical intelligence. Craig Williams from Cisco Talos on Dynamic Data Resolver, a plugin that makes reverse-engineering malware easier. Our guest is Ashlee Benge, formerly from ZeroFox, on emerging and persistent digital attack tactics facing the financial services industry. And Chinese intelligence services are spearphishing Hong Kong Catholics. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/137 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 2018 Presidential finding authorized extensive CIA cyber operations against Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea. Wattpad may have been breached. The SEC asks its registrants to take steps to protect themselves against ransomware. Free VPNs’ databases found exposed. Joe Carrigan on privacy vs. security on Android devices. Our guest is Chris Deluzio from Pitt Cyber on election security. And Beijing woofs in the direction of London over the UK’s Huawei ban. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/136 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The British Government decides to ban Huawei. More on the malware associated with Golden Tax software package. The Molerats appear to be behind some spyware misrepresenting itself as a secure chat app. The Porphiex botnet is back distributing a new ransomware strain. The odd case of the Data Viper breach. Ben Yelin tracks a ruling from the DC circuit court on the release of electronic surveillance records. Our guest is Ann Johnson from Microsoft discussing her keynote at RSA APJ, The Rise of Digital Empathy. And SAP has a patch out--if you’re a user, CISA advises you to take this one seriously. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/135 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump says he authorized US Cyber Command’s retaliation against Russia’s Internet Research Agency for midterm election meddling. North Korean financially motivated hacking as a sign of internal power dynamics. TrickBot accidentally deploys a new module. TikTok, privacy, and security. LinkedIn hacker convicted. Justin Harvey from Accenture on what should and shouldn’t go in emails. Our guest is Matt Davey from 1password on the under-celebrated role of IT in the work from home transition. And advice to alleged criminals on the lam: give ‘em a low silhouette. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/134 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cybersecurity and disinformation researcher Bilyana Lilly shares her career path from studying where she was always a foreigner to an expert on the Russian perspective. While studying international law in Kosovo, Bilyana realized there are no winners in war. Through her work, she hopes to bring a greater understanding of Russia's strategic thinking. Our thanks to Bilyana for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Built into virtually every hardware device, firmware is lower-level software that is programmed to ensure that hardware functions properly. As software security has been significantly hardened over the past two decades, hackers have responded by moving down the stack to focus on firmware entry points. Firmware offers a target that basic security controls can’t access or scan as easily as software, while allowing them to persist and continue leveraging many of their tried and true attack techniques. Joining us on this week's Research Saturday is Maggie Jauregui, security researcher at Dell, to discuss this issue. The research can be found here: Three firmware blind spots impacting security Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unpatched and beyond-end-of-life systems are (again) at risk. Conti ransomware appears to be steadily displacing its ancestor Ryuk in criminal markets. Are privacy laws as consumer friendly as they’re often taken to be? There may be some grounds for doubt. German security services warn of the espionage potential of Chinese companies’ data collection. Huawei skepticism grows in Germany, Canada, and the UK. Zully Ramzan from RSA on zero trust. Our guest is Conan Ward from QOMPLX on the unfortunate reality of cyber insurance in light of the 3rd anniversary of NotPetya. And Ray Hushpuppi says the Feds didn’t extradite him; they kidnapped him. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/133 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook takes down more coordinated inauthenticity. Preinstalled malware is found in discount phones available under the FCC’s Lifeline program. The Evilnum APT continues its attacks against fintech platforms and services. Joker Android malware adapts and overcomes its way back into the Play store. FreddieMac discloses a third-party databreach. Johannes Ullrich from SANS on defending against Evil Maids with glitter. Our guest is Rohit Ghai from RSA with a preview of his keynote, Reality Check: Cybersecurity’s Story. And the Royal Military College of Canada’s hack attack remains under investigation. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/132 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Natanz blast looks like traditional sabotage. CISA releases its strategy for securing industrial control systems. Authorities in Germany seize DDoSecrets’ server pursuant to a US request. Microsoft takes down COVID-19-themed BEC and phishing infrastructure. FBI Director denounces China’s cyberespionage. Joe Carrigan helps review personal privacy measures for ios and Android. Rick Howard speaks with Steve Moore from Exabeam with insights from a year spent interviewing CISOs. And some DDoS and ransomware attempts. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/131 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Explosions at Iranian nuclear sites remain unexplained, but look increasingly like conventional sabotage as opposed to cyberattacks. The Cosmic Lynx gang sets a high bar for business email compromise. The Purple Fox exploit kit gets an upgrade. Ben Yelin describes a 5th amendment compelled decryption case that may be headed to the Supreme Court. Our guest is Hugh Thompson, Chairman of the RSA Conference Program, on the human element of cyber security and lessons learned shifting a conference online. And a network of coordinated inauthenticity and fictitious personae is found pushing an Emirati official line. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/130 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An Iranian nuclear installation may have been hacked. Or maybe not, but in any case it was damaged. Huawei gets more skeptical looks. European police round up hundreds of online contraband dealers. Thomas Etheridge from CrowdStrike on the increased need for speed, scale, and remote investigative and recovery services. Our guest is Tobias Whitney from Fortress Information Security on the Asset to Vendor Network (A2V). And an accused Nigerian money-launderer (and an admitted influencer) is now in US custody, facing Federal charges. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/129 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CEO, Matt Devost, describes many firsts in his career including hacking into systems on an aircraft carrier at sea. He shares how he enjoys solving hard problems and the red teamer perspective, and how he was able to translate those into a career. For those interested in cybersecurity, Matt advises opportunities for self-directed learning including heading down to your basement and building your own lab. Our thanks to Matt for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Evil Corp seems to have been shuffling through some newspaper sites. Don’t take the gangs’ communiqués at face value, but some appear to be trolling for unprotected MongoDB databases. A look at Taurus, an information-stealer being sold in criminal-to-criminal markets. Chinese law and online security. The EARN-IT Act is being debated. Justin Harvey on “Smishing”. Our guest is Jeff Styles from FireMon on COVID-19 increasing misconfiguration risks. And there’s trouble in Tilted Towers. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/128 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

EvilQuest ransomware found in pirated versions of Little Snitch app. Out-of-band patches from Microsoft and Oracle. Extensive Chinese surveillance of Uighurs described. Hong Kong and the world react to China’s new National Security Law. The US FCC finds both Huawei and ZTE are threats to national security. Joe Carrigan on password stealers that target gaming. Our guest is Kiersten Todt from the Cyber Readiness Institute on how COVID-19 has changed small business security and what to expect going forward. And Britain rethinks its position on Huawei and 5G infrastructure. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/127 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices