CyberWire Daily

In today's podcast, we discuss reports that suggest US HUMINT collection in Russia has dried up. Russian intelligence services are showing an interest in disrupting a grant of autonomy to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church by the Ecumenical Patriarch. Turkish hacktivism shows up in the US, as journalists' social media accounts are hijacked. A look at Iranian information operations. ISIS limps back into cyberspace. A new point-of-sale malware family is discovered. David Dufour from Webroot on the role of engineers in securing an organization.  For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_27.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Threat intelligence firm Recorded Future recently published research describing espionage activities originating from servers at a major Chinese university, coinciding with international economic development efforts.Winnona DeSombre and Sanil Chohan are authors of the report, Chinese Cyberespionage Originating from Tsinghua University Infrastructure, along with their colleague Justin Grosfelt.The research can be found here: https://www.recordedfuture.com/chinese-cyberespionage-operations/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast, we hear that Google has put the cats out. Secureworks describes an Iranian cyberespionage campaign targeting universities. That DNC phishing campaign is confirmed to be a false alarm caused by a Michigan misstep, but almost fifteen million voter records appear to have been inadvertently exposed in Texas. The US tells Russia to knock off the influence operations, and some suggest a counter-value deterrent strategy to tame the Bears. China warns Australia its new government will face trade retaliation for banning ZTE and Huawei. Reality Winner gets five years, and two Minnesota lawyers go away, too. Ben Yelin From UMD CHHS on attempts by the State Department to establish international norms for behavior for cyber. Guest is Theresa Payton from Fortalice Solutions, addressing hype vs reality when it comes to blockchain, AI, and the IoT.  For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_24.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast, we hear that a phishing attempt against the Democratic National Committee turned out to have been a poorly coordinated red-team exercise. Apache patches a remote code execution vulnerability in Struts. Another exposed AWS bucket. Remcos remote administration tool is being abused by black hats. Dark Tequila goes after customers of Mexican financial institutions. The Lazarus Group is back, and it's getting into Macs for the first time. Joe Carrigan from JHU ISI on Android vs. iOS data privacy. Guest is Oren Falkowitz from Area 1 Security on protection against phishing attempts.  For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_23.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast we hear that Facebook has taken down more inauthentic pages—some are Russian, but others are Iranian. Twitter blocks Iranian accounts for being bogus. Russia denies, again, any involvement in information operations against the US. US Army Cyber Command's boss wonders if his job isn't more "information ops" than "cyber." Bitdefender describes Triout, an Android spyware framework. And some in industry caution the Senate not to expect them to get frisky hacking back. Craig Williams from Cisco’s Talos team, discussing MDM (mobile device management) vulnerabilities. Guest is James Burns from CFC Underwriting on cyber security insurance.  For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_22.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast, we hear that Microsoft has sprung its bear trap, again, and caught Fancy Bear. This time the targets are more to the right than the left. The US Senate holds hearings on cybersecurity—hacking back is expected to be on the table. The UK wants more sanctions on Russia. US Senators are looking into reducing sanctions' collateral economic damage. Operation Red Signature pokes at South Korean supply chains. Intrusion Truth doxes Chinese intelligence officers. Medical device bugs. Rick Howard from Palo Alto Networks with tips buying cybersecurity products. Guest is Travis Rosiek from BluVector on fileless attacks.  For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_21.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast, we hear that an evolved DarkHotel campaign is under way. A new malware dropper is out and about thanks to the Necurs botnet. Researchers demonstrate proof-of-concept exploits. Cyber espionage follows trade. Notes on election meddling. Google and Facebook encounter some regulatory and legal headwinds over data collection. Connected cars know a lot about their drivers, and there's money in those data. Robert M. Lee from Dragos on the notion of cyber attacks as a distraction.  For links to all today's stories, check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_20.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers at Bitdefender have been tracking a bit of complex rootkit malware called Zacinlo that they suspect has been operating virtually undetected for over six years. Bogdan Botezatu is a senior cyber security analyst with Bitdefender, and he describes what they've found.Research link: https://labs.bitdefender.com/2018/06/six-years-and-counting-inside-the-complex-zacinlo-ad-fraud-operation/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast we run through a brief guide to election risks, and the difference between hacking and influence operations. An Alaskan trade mission prompts a wave of Chinese industrial espionage. Misconfigured project management pages may have exposed Canadian and British Government information. Necurs flared up in a short-lived spam campaign against banks this week. Crooks use bogus Fortnite download pages. Final briefs are submitted in Kaspersky's court challenge to its US ban. Emily Wilson from Terbium Labs on her experience getting certified as a fraud examiner. Guest is Marco Rubin from the Center for Innovative Technology, on the security of UAVs and drones.  For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_17.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's podcast we hear that cyber threats to river traffic have intermodal implications. Nation state hacking, Presidential Policy Directive 20, and international norms of cyber conflict. The tragic consequences of overconfidence concerning communications security. Australia's new cyber laws are more legal hammer than required backdoor. A campaign of ATM robbery nets millions worldwide. A cryptocurrency speculator sues the phone company, a spyware firm sues a former employee, and the Dread Pirate Roberts would like a pardon. Johannes Ullrich from SANS and the ICS Stormcast Podcast, on lingering legacy passwords in Office documents. Guest is Phil Neray from CyberX on the National Risk Management Center being spun up by DHS.  For links to all today's stories, check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/August/CyberWire_2018_08_16.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices