Showing posts with label cyber attacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cyber attacks. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Is It Time To Take North Korea’s Cyber Weaponry Seriously?


northkoreacyberattack


Analysts say cyber capabilities have become a key asset in North Korea’s war chest. Pyongyang’s increasingly bold attacks in the virtual space have come in tandem with the hermit nation’s rapidly progressing ballistic missile and nuclear programs and some say that it’s time this is taken very seriously.


The rogue regime has used cyber attacks for a wide range of purposes including hacking adversaries like South Korea and pilfering money. North Korea’s hackers have been accused of carrying out some of the most audacious cyber attacks of the past few years, from siphoning millions of dollars to stealing state secrets.


“North Korea’s cyber weapons are as destructive as its conventional weapons,” Lim Jong-in, a cybersecurity professor at Korea University, told CNN. “Tomahawk missiles can paralyze a major country’s power grid and financial system. So do North Korea’s cyber weapons.” Lim continued, saying: “Cyber experts say North Korea should be ranked among the top 5 in the world. I believe North Korea can steal anything they want through cyber espionage. No country is safe from its cyber espionage.”



In the latest revelation, a member of the South Korean ruling party said Tuesday that North Korea stole classified military documents from a South Korean Defense Ministry database in September 2016. They included a document that included plans to “decapitate” the North Korean leadership.-CNN



But that isn’t all. Cybersecurity firm FireEye said Tuesday that it detected and stopped an attack on US electric companies by people with links to the North Korean government. The skill of these hackers is actually impressive considering they live in a country where the internet is heavily regulated by the government. The citizens living under Kim Jong-Un’s dictatorship only have access to a government-run, heavily censored intranet rather than the full depths of the world wide web. Yet those restrictions have not stopped the hackers from improving their abilities.



“North Korea almost certainly has the capability to conduct disruptive and potentially destructive attacks, as well as more traditional cyber espionage operations,” Bryce Boland, the chief technology officer for Asia-Pacific at FireEye, told CNN. “North Korea has little connectivity and relatively limited reliance on technology, making it less vulnerable to attacks,” he said.


In February 2016, $101 million was fraudulently transferred out of the Bangladesh central bank’s account at the New York Federal Reserve and eventually made its way to the Philippines. Researchers found that the hackers responsible for the theft carefully routed their signal through France, South Korea, and Taiwan to set up their attack server, but made a critical mistake that established a connection to North Korea. Nonetheless, most of the funds have not been recovered.


Analysts also say that North Korea has been preparing similar operations targeting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, as international sanctions make it harder for North Korea to use the dollar.


North Korea’s advancements in their weapons is concerning enough, but add in the actual real threat of a cyber attack, and we could experience a major disruption to our way of life.



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Date: October 11th, 2017
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Thursday, September 21, 2017

A “Contagious” Bluetooth Flaw Makes ALL Your Connected Devices Hackable

A “Contagious” Bluetooth Flaw Makes ALL Your Connected Devices Hackable | A-New-Bluetooth-Flaw-Makes-ALL-Your-Connected-Devices-Hackable | Science & Technology Special Interests


In case you don’t have enough to worry about with hackers getting into our power grids, cyber attacks taking down entire countries, and epic natural disasters, a newly discovered Bluetooth flaw makes nearly all devices that are connected subject to hackers.


Tech Republic reports:


BlueBorne is an attack vector that could affect billions of devices. If you’re running IoS, Android, Windows, and even Linux, your devices could be at risk.




Using BlueBorne, hackers can attack Bluetooth-connected devices over the air, without the device even being paired to the attacker’s device, the post said. Once successfully penetrated, the attacker gains full control over the victim’s device.


So far, Armis Labs has identified eight zero-day vulnerabilities associated with BlueBorne. However, as noted in the post, the firm believes there could be “many more” vulnerabilities waiting to be discovered. BlueBorne can conduct remote code execution and Man-in-The-Middle attacks, for example…


Because BlueBorne is airborne, and can spread from device to device, it is considered “highly infectious” by the researchers. It’s airborne nature also means that it is often targeting the weakest spot in the defense strategy for most modern networks…


The method through which BlueBorne spreads allows it to infect air-gapped networks as well, which was a major concern for the researchers. Additionally, it takes minimal effort on behalf of the attacker, requires no victim interaction, and can remain undetected in many systems…(source)



This makes all of your connected devices vulnerable to cyber espionage, data theft, and ransomware. If your passwords are saved for your bank or credit accounts, you can be easily hacked due to this vulnerability. Anything on your devices is under the control of the hackers.


The report by Armis Security calls this a “comprehensive and severe threat.”



The BlueBorne attack vector requires no user interaction, is compatible to all software versions, and does not require any preconditions or configurations aside of the Bluetooth being active. Unlike the common misconception, Bluetooth enabled devices are constantly searching for incoming connections from any devices, and not only those they have been paired with. This means a Bluetooth connection can be established without pairing the devices at all. This makes BlueBorne one of the most broad potential attacks found in recent years, and allows an attacker to strike completely undetected. (source)



These devices have the potential to be hacked with the Bluetooth flaw


Armis warns that the following devices could be hacked with BlueBorne. And warning, it’s nearly every device out there.



Android


All Android phones, tablets, and wearables (except those using only Bluetooth Low Energy) of all versions are affected by four vulnerabilities found in the Android operating system, two of which allow remote code execution (CVE-2017-0781 and CVE-2017-0782), one results in information leak (CVE-2017-0785) and the last allows an attacker to perform a Man-in-The-Middle attack (CVE-2017-0783).


Examples of impacted devices:



  • Google Pixel




  • Samsung Galaxy




  • Samsung Galaxy Tab




  • LG Watch Sport




  • Pumpkin Car Audio System




Google has issued a security update patch and notified its partners. It was available to Android partners on August 7th, 2017, and made available as part of the September Security Update and Bulletin on September 4, 2017. We recommend that users check that Bulletin for the latest most accurate information. Android users should verify that they have the September 9, 2017 Security Patch Level,Note to Android users: To check if your device is at risk or is the devices around you are at risk, download the Armis BlueBorne Scanner App on Google Play.




Windows
All Windows computers since Windows Vista are affected by the “Bluetooth Pineapple” vulnerability which allows an attacker to perform a Man-in-The-Middle attack (CVE-2017-8628).



Microsoft issued has security patches to all supported Windows versions on July 11, 2017, with coordinated notification on Tuesday, September 12. We recommend that Windows users should check with the Microsoft release at here for the latest information.





Linux
Linux is the underlying operating system for a wide range of devices. The most commercial, and consumer-oriented platform based on Linux is the Tizen OS.




  • All Linux devices running BlueZ are affected by the information leak vulnerability (CVE-2017-1000250).




  • All Linux devices from version 3.3-rc1 (released in October 2011) are affected by the remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2017-1000251).



Examples of impacted devices:


Information on Linux updates will be provided as soon as they are live.



iOS
All iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices with iOS 9.3.5 and lower, and AppleTV devices with version 7.2.2 and lower are affected by the remote code execution vulnerability. This vulnerability was already mitigated by Apple in iOS 10, so no new patch is needed to mitigate it. We recommend you upgrade to the latest iOS or tvOS available.



If you are concerned that your device may not be patched, we recommend disabling Bluetooth, and minimizing its use until you can confirm a patch is issued and installed on your device. (source)



How can you protect yourself?


One of the primary uses of  Bluetooth is for cell phone users so that they can talk hands-free while driving. As well, devices that sync with your computer, like fitness watches, also use Bluetooth technology. You should disable your Bluetooth until this is resolved.








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Tuesday, June 20, 2017

The Russian US Election Hacking Big Lie Got Bigger

The Russian US Election Hacking Big Lie Got Bigger | Russian-Hacking-US-elections | Propaganda Special Interests US News [image: Global Research]According to  Bloomberg News, “Russian Cyber Hacks on (the) US electoral system (are) far greater than previously known.”


A Big Lie – utter rubbish! The CIA, and likely NSA and FBI, can cyberattack targets anywhere, making it appear to have originated elsewhere – outside America from any other designated country.


Despite months of allegations, insinuations and accusations, not a shred of evidence suggests any Russian hacking of America’s November 2016 election or any other US target.



Claims otherwise are Big Lies. Repeated enough gets most people to believe them.


Bloomberg:



“Russia’s cyberattack on the US electoral system before Donald Trump’s election was far more widespread than has been publicly revealed, including incursions into voter databases and software systems in almost twice as many states as previously reported.”



Investigators in Illinois said “cyber intruders tried to delete or alter voter data,” according to Bloomberg – presenting no evidence of Russian involvement in what may or may not have happened, just more baseless claims with nothing verifying them.


In December, Jill Stein’s Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania electoral recount scam ended with her discredited.


In ruling against her, Pennsylvania US District Court Judge Paul Diamond said her hacked election claim “border(ed) on the irrational.”



“(T)here is no credible evidence that any ‘hack’ occurred, and compelling evidence (shows) Pennsylvania’s voting system was not in any way compromised.” Strong stuff!



Stein struck out the same way in Wisconsin and Michigan. No evidence suggests foreign hacking in any of America’s 50 states.


Not according to sources Bloomberg cited, claiming “(d)etails of the wave of attacks, in the summer and fall of 2016, were provided by three people with direct knowledge of the US investigation into the matter. In all, the Russian hackers hit systems in a total of 39 states, one of them said.”


Where’s the evidence? None was presented, just accusations with nothing backing them. Bloomberg cited the dubious Intercept report as proof of Russian hacking.


A previous article debunked what it called a leaked top secret NSA document, claiming without justification that “Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one US voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last November’s presidential election.”


It said the document obtained was anonymously provided, “independently authenticated,” though lacking “ ‘raw’ intelligence on which” NSA claims were made.


An unnamed “US intelligence officer” cautioned about drawing conclusions from its material. Here’s a sample:



“Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors…executed cyber espionage operations against a named US company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions.”


“The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to…launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing campaign targeting US local government organizations.”




Where’s the evidence? Claims without it are groundless. Besides, what motive could Russia have to hack America’s presidential election.


Duopoly government with two right wings rules, dirty business as usual winning all US elections. Russia and other countries have no ability to change things.


Attempting to hack America’s election system would be an exercise in futility – accomplishing nothing.


In Senate Intelligence Committee testimony, Comey repeated the Big Lie about Russian US election hacking, adding:


“They’re coming after America. They will be back.” Most significant from his testimony was admitting he unethically and maybe illegally leaked government memos about Trump to The NYT.


If government property, “a claim for criminal conduct could be made but it would be unlikely under existing precedent,” Law Professor Jonathan Turley explained.



“However, that does not mean that (his) conduct was either lawful or professional,” he added.



“(O)thers have been punished for releasing non-public information to the media…Comey and the FBI were tasked with finding” administration leakers. He’s one of them, discrediting him more than already.


As for claims about Russian US election hacking or anything else in America, ignore them.


Without proof, they’re baseless, part of longstanding Russia bashing – solely for its sovereign independence and opposition to US imperial lawlessness.

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Cyber Attacks Are The Perfect Trigger For A Stock Market Crash

Cyber Attacks Are The Perfect Trigger For A Stock Market Crash | cyber-grenade | Economy & Business Science & Technology Sleuth Journal Special Interests


The world has been stunned over the past few days by the advent of “Ransomware;” the use of sophisticated cyber attacks on vital systems in order to (supposedly) extort capital from target businesses and institutions. I am always highly suspicious whenever a large scale cyber incident occurs, primarily because the manner in which these events are explained to the public does not begin to cover certain important realities. For example, the mainstream media rarely if ever discusses the fact that many digital systems are deliberately designed to be vulnerable.


Software and internet corporate monoliths have long been cooperating with the NSA through programs like PRISM to provide government agencies backdoor access to computer systems worldwide. Edward Snowden vindicated numerous “conspiracy theorists” in 2013 with his comprehensive data dumps, exposing collusion between corporations and the NSA including Microsoft, Skype, Apple, Google, Facebook and Yahoo. And make no mistake, nothing has changed since then.



The level of collusion between major software developers and the establishment might be shocking to some, but it was rather well known to alternative analysts and researchers. The use of legislation like the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to skirt Constitutional protections within the 4th Amendment has been open policy for quite some time. It only made sense that government agencies and their corporate partners would use it as a rationale to develop vast protocols for invading people’s privacy, including American citizens.


The issue is, in the process of engineering software and networks with Swiss cheese-like defenses in the name of “national security,” such exploits make vast spreads of infrastructure vulnerable to attack. I think it likely this was the intention all along. That is to say, the NSA and other agencies have created a rather perfect breeding ground for false flag attacks, real attacks and general crisis.


It should be noted that the Ransomware attacks which struck systems around the world used “Wannacrypt,” derived from an NSA exploit called “Eternalblue.” This program was designed to specifically target Microsoft Windows machines, no doubt using vulnerabilities which Microsoft ENGINEERED into their own software. Now, interestingly, a batch of NSA exploits was published online by a hacker group called “the shadow brokers” only last month. From the information I have gathered so far, it seems that “Eternalblue” was part of that data dump and that the Ransomware incident is directly connected.


Something else that is very interesting about Eternalblue — as CNN notes, similar exploits were used not long ago by the NSA to get backdoor access to financial data within the SWIFT banking system. This was rather odd because through international agreements the NSA already had front door access to such data. However, front door access can be tracked and traced and any illicit activity can be exposed. Therefore, the NSA must have had something more nefarious in mind than simply looking for terrorist activity, such as testing the effectiveness of their own exploits for future use in attacks.


I mention the incident with SWIFT because it brings up a potential danger that I don’t think many people have considered. First, let’s assume for a moment that groups like the “shadow brokers” actually exist and aren’t some kind of NSA created front. These groups are using the considerable weaknesses that corporations like Microsoft put in place for the NSA in order to reap profits through criminal enterprise or to commit terrorist acts. The NSA and its Silicon Valley partners literally created this monster; a monster which has the capacity to attack otherwise secure banking networks like SWIFT.


This begs the question — how much of the global banking system and global stock exchanges are open to attack with these same NSA exploits. I would suggest that ALL of them are.


Second, let’s consider for a moment the possibility that groups like the “shadow brokers” are mostly fraudulent fronts for establishment agencies and elitists. Consider that maybe, just maybe, the NSA is releasing some of these exploits on purpose to the public. Why? Well, one might consider that issue complicated, but to summarize, it may be very advantageous for international banks and governments to deliberately place financial systems at risk.


In my article The Economic End Game Explained, I outline in detail with evidence why the establishment is seeking a major economic crisis within the near term. Organizations like the IMF have been talking excitedly for the past few years about something they call “the great global economic reset.” The details behind this “reset” are rather vague, but the general notion is that the economic systems of today are going to evolve in a painful way and that certain elements of our fiscal structure could be wiped clean altogether. In order for such a “reset” to take place, some kind of crisis event would be needed or would happen inevitably as a consequence.


In order for a new economic system to be entrenched, the old system has to be dismantled; but how can banking moguls and globalist interests succeed in doing this without taking the blame for the ultimate social and geopolitical suffering and carnage that would result? Well, they would need scapegoats.


Some of these scapegoats will be political in origin. For example, the mainstream media has been pumping out non-stop rhetoric suggesting that the next global crisis will be a direct result of the “rise of populism and nationalism” within Western societies. Meaning conservatives, classical liberals and sovereignty champions are the new patsies for economic instabilities that the globalists built into the system long ago.


Some of these scapegoats, though, will be far more illusory and intangible.



It is my belief that agencies like the NSA are unleashing some of their own exploits to the public on purpose. But what does this accomplish?  For one, it makes the use of false flag attacks more viable. If attacks like Ransomware continue to escalate, the public may in a sense become normalized to them. What if one of these attacks targets major financial elements? Say the large networks of algorithmic computers that dominate stock transactions today come under threat; what would be the result? Most likely complete market disaster. And, almost everyone in the world will believe the culprit was some kind of terrorist hacking group, rather than the establishment itself, which has the most to gain from this brand of catastrophe.


Also, the establishment may simply be hoping that if they release enough of these exploits which they have been devising for years, someone will use them to attack the financial system autonomously. That is to say, the establishment does not necessarily need to use false flag attacks to bring down stock markets or banking networks. All they need to do is put the weapons out in the open and wait for someone to fall to temptation and do their dirty work for them.


I would compare this to the act of forcefully injecting millions of Muslim immigrants into western nations without a rational vetting process. If the elites want more terrorism in Europe, for instance, they don’t have to do all the work of forming domestic cells and training the members as they have done in the Middle East with ISIS. All they have to do is leave the front door wide open in the name of “humanitarianism” and allow the enemy to waltz right in.


This strategy gives the establishment plausible deniability while also giving them the crisis environment they secretly desire.


Our economy and the economies of most nations today stand upon a razor’s edge. Historically negative data is now reported weekly. Hard and “soft” data indicates a massive downturn is lurking under the surface. In fact, the ONLY elements of the economy which remain “positive” are stocks and some currencies. This is what we call a bubble scenario. The globalists have managed to stretch equities markets for years on the back of untold stimulus measures, but this illusion is quickly coming to an end.


Central banks are backing away from quantitative easing and steadily increasing interest rates, removing cheap debt as a tool to prop up stocks. The era of easy money is almost over. It seems to me that this is a perfect time for a trigger event that is completely unrelated to the financial elites, an event that will distract the public away from their culpability. This is not to say that a cyber attack on our market networks will be the only trigger event or distraction, but I am starting to think it will be a primary measure, no doubt while the world is mesmerized by James Comey “memos” and other such nonsense.


The NSA and other organizations have handcrafted global networks to fail, and not just fail, but fail spectacularly leaving maximum destruction in their wake. I do not think this was done without foresight. Events like Ransomware might only be the beginning. Watch this trend carefully, and be extra vigilant if cyber attacks begin to target financial institutions and systems. If this does happen, the “great economic reset” may not be far away.



This article was republished from Alt-Market.com.


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Sunday, May 21, 2017

Technology Is The Master Of Modern Slavery

Technology Is The Master Of Modern Slavery | techno-slaves | Government Control Science & Technology Sleuth Journal Society Special Interests


By: Tom Chatham, Project Chesapeake |


The recent cyber attack on computers worldwide is just the latest wakeup call to the future we are blindly building for ourselves. The vast majority of humanity embraces technology like it is their next breath of air. Without it, they feel like they will die.


Technology is a double edged sword that we wield that must be handled with care less we cut off one of our own limbs. Technology allows us to be more productive and work faster than without it but as we embrace more technology to relieve us of many manual tasks we must not let it rule our very existence.



Technology must be used as a lever, not a crutch. When we give up our ability to function in daily life and allow technology to rule our every move, we ultimately give up our freedom. To allow technology to dictate what we can do and when we can do it is to reduce ourselves to nothing more than compliant slaves to it.


When a hospital cannot perform operations or even see patients because their computers are down or we cannot communicate or travel because of computer hacking, we have allowed technology to become a crutch that prevents us from falling on our faces in its absence. When we cannot buy food or fuel or depend on electrical power for basic needs we have become too dependent on the technology we invented to assist us.


The use of technology is a good thing that allows us to move forward and build things we never dreamed of before but when it becomes a weakness, we need to reexamine our use of it. If we become so dependent on technology that we cannot function without it we are preparing ourselves for a doomsday scenario when it eventually fails and we are helpless to care for ourselves.


It is only logical to have backup systems to utilize in the event our technology fails for some reason. This is the whole reason we have people to warn us before hand such as the EMP Commission to tell us we are in danger if certain events happen. Technology provides us with many good things but it also leaves us susceptible to many bad things as well if we ignore our responsibility to use it wisely and not become too dependant on it.


Many people today can actually have withdrawal symptoms if they lose access to their technology for any length of time. This should be an alarm to society but most just brush it off as fear mongering. When the loss of technology causes a business to completely stop operations, that should be an indication they do not have sufficient backup systems to fall back on.


One of the prime tenants of the prepper movement is that they have multiple backup systems to rely on if technology stops working. This is just a logical step taken by people that have taken the time to analyze the threats posed by the loss our technology and determine action is warranted for the preservation of life following certain events. The less technology you require to take care of daily activities, the more freedom you have to live a normal life.


Most people still do not take the threat of technological disruptions to society seriously. They think that if something happens, someone will fix it and life will go on as normal. What they refuse to contemplate is if something happens and nobody can fix it. As society moves along this technological road they become more dependent on it and the risk to their lives increases as they lose the ability to do basic tasks. Hopefully this latest cyber attack will instill in people the need to have backup systems in place to continue their daily activities and live life as a free person and not be a slave to the technology they so eagerly seek.