Archives
Cyber Round Up: REGIN Malware; Egyptian Cyber Army; Potential Iran Cyber Attacks; State-Sponsored Hackers VS Human Rights Groups
REGIN – Top-tier espionage malware that Symantec and Kaspersky reports indicate was created by a nation state has been described as a highly sophisticated back door-type Trojan that is customizable with an extensive range of capabilities depending on the target. Stay tuned to Crossroads Blog this week for an in-depth look at “The Five Ws […]
Cyber Round Up: DOJ Pushes for Increased Hacking Abilities; Google Appeals Turkish YouTube Blackout; Microsoft Ends “Snooping” Practices
The DOJ is advocating for less stringent standards to obtain warrants to hack the computers of criminal suspects, the Wall Street Journal Blog reports. “The Justice Department effort is raising questions among some technology advocates, who say the government should focus on fixing the holes in computer software that allow such hacking rather than exploiting them.” […]
Mt. Gox Goes Under Fostering Further Bitcoin Debate
Mt. Gox, once a leader in bitcoin exchange handling as much as eighty percent of the world’s bitcoin trades, filed for bankruptcy in Tokyo District Court last week leaving many concerned over the future of the digital currency, reports the Washington Post, Reuters, Information Week, and others. Bitcoin is a digital currency and monetary transfer […]
Cyber Round Up: NSA Round Up; GCHQ’s Webcam Controversy; Alleged UK Hacker to Fight Extradition
According to the Associated Press, Lauri Love, the 28-year-old British man accused of hacking into certain United States government networks, is fighting attempts to extradite him to the United States in order to face trial. The charges against Love, which include computer hacking, aggravating identity theft, and attacking the Federal Reserve, carry a sentence of […]
Cyber Round Up: LinkedIn App Sparks Privacy Concerns; NSA Civilian Employee “Tricked” Into Giving Snowden Passwords; New Trojan Horse Emerges
Late last year, LinkedIn released “Intro,” an application for iOS and Android that basically routes all user emails through the LinkedIn servers and pastes the sender’s LinkedIn profile into the email. Hacker News reports that, in light of controversy due to privacy concerns, the app will be shut down early next month. Although LinkedIn pledged […]
Cyber Roundup: Terrorism Defendants Challenge the U.S. Gov and Hackers File Suit Against German Gov; Update on Lavabit’s Challenge to Civil Contempt Order
In October of last year, Lavabit challenged a civil contempt order issued after the service refused to hand over its encryption key that would have allowed the government to conduct surveillance on Edward Snowden. According to the Washington Post, at the beginning of this month, the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments on the issues. Orin […]
USA Today: “The Case for Forecasting Cyberattacks”
In an interesting essay published by USA Today last week, John Pirc, research vice president of NSS Labs, discusses forecasting cybersecurity to prevent hacks. Referencing data released by Mandiant—which shows that 96 percent of data breaches are discovered by third-parties “and that victimized organizations are breached for 416 days, or about 13 months, on average”—Pirc […]
Snapchat Hacked, Hires Lobbying Firm
Last week, the smartphone application “Snapchat” that allows users to send short-lived photos and videos to friends, reported that it was hacked, exposing millions of phone numbers and user names. The company released a statement in a blog post, according to CNN, saying it plans to update the app’s security. To do so, the company […]
Cyber Roundup: Route Hijacking Ups Its Game; Advice from a “White Hat Hacker”; Australian Government Data Found on Privately Sold Memory Cards
A recent research study revealed that memory cards being sold on the Internet contained sensitive Australian government data. According to the study, “It is evident that actions must be taken by second[-]hand auction sites[] and the media to raise awareness and educate end-users on how to dispose of data in an appropriate manner.” A December […]
Barrett Brown and His Legal Team Get Slapped with a Gag Order
Nearly a year after he is arrested and charged with a seventeen-count indictment for, among other alleged crimes, concealing evidence and disseminating stolen information, Barrett Brown is once again making the headlines. The Guardian reports that, prior to his arrest in September of last year, Brown was a fairly well known journalist specializing in the […]