A report took a look at the widespread use of facial recognition technology, evaluating the 100 most populated countries and comparing their use of the tech in governments, police departments, airports, schools, banks, workplaces and public transportation.
The Kimsuky APT—also known as Thallium, Black Banshee, and Velvet Chollima— continues to target the South Korean government, according to the Malwarebytes Threat Intelligence team, who is actively monitoring this actor and has been able to spot phishing websites, malicious documents, and scripts that have been used to target high profile people within the government of South Korea. The structure and TTPs used in these recent activities align with what has been reported in KISA’s report.
MI5 has warned about spies luring people on LinkedIn. At least 10,000 U.K. nationals have been approached by fake profiles linked to hostile states, on the professional social network LinkedIn, over the past five years.
China has had a tough 2020. Intellectual property rights infringement, stealing university and U.S. government-funded research, spys routed out in public, Hong-Kong takeover, Human-right abuses, Coronavirus cover-ups, supply-chain bog downs, and the list goes on. The conclusion is that China has lost its luster with businesses in the United States and abroad. These issues are not new; instead, they have reached a boiling point where the international business community is getting leary of putting too many eggs in China’s basket. The U.S. government has certainly done its share to bring many of these things to light. And while this is happening, and companies look elsewhere to move, the possibilities of increasing North America manufacturing has become more attractive than ever.
According to a task force study regarding Capitol security led by retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honore and appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Capitol building and staff is marred with several weak points that can be strengthened to boost effective security.
In order to combat cybersecurity threats, the Biden administration and state governors across the country should immediately work to foster deeper relationships with the private sector. Tech and government certainly don’t always get along, but the threats we face now require a national effort that would rival the Space Race of the 1960s. This can be done through state and federal governments offering financial incentives to businesses that prioritize the development and integration of cybersecurity measures, amplified communication from the government concerning the importance of cybersecurity, as well as the potential bolstering of compliance standards to minimize threats and the negative impact of breaches.
New Lookout Threat Report: 70% of government-focused mobile phishing attacks sought to steal credentials in 2020.
February 24, 2021
Lookout Inc. released its Government Threat Report, which examines the most prominent mobile threats affecting federal, state and local governments in the United States. Lookout data reveals that U.S. government organizations are increasingly targeted by credential stealing mobile attacks and exposed to hundreds of vulnerabilities from outdated operating systems and risky apps.
Some 200 individuals have been charged with federal offenses connected to the siege at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Among them are at least 15 examples of family affiliated extremism. These instances include: five sets of husbands and wives; two cases of fathers and sons, mothers and sons, brothers, and cousins; and an instance of father/daughter and brother/sister participation. Although of a different strain and less serious offenses—none specifically terrorism nor involving murder —such kin-connected radicalism is neither a new phenomenon nor one unique to the United States or elsewhere.
As lawmakers and law enforcement continue to unravel the events and impact of the crisis at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, January 6th, attention is turning to identification and prosecution of those that illegally entered, attacked, and looted the Capitol and the offices of the legislature housed there. We’re learning more about the litany of security failings and it is imperative that we take the lessons offered by this example and make the changes they demand now, at our state capitol buildings, as well as in our businesses.