hacking Archives - Tennessee Star

Activist Pressure to Nix DOJ Program to Catch Chinese Spies Grows Despite Conviction of Harvard Professor

January 10, 2022January 9, 2022 Admin

Aloose coalition of lawmakers, nonprofits, and academics has continued to pressure the Biden administration to end the so-called China Initiative, despite the Justice Department program to thwart Chinese spies winning a key conviction last month of a high-profile Harvard professor.

The Trump administration launched the China Initiative in 2018 to preserve America’s technological edge. The program, which the Biden administration has so far continued, is designed to identify and prosecute those engaged in hacking, stealing trade secrets, and conducting economic espionage for the Chinese government on U.S. soil.

Charles Lieber, a renowned nanotechnology professor who chaired Harvard’s Chemistry Department, became one of the China Initiative’s most prominent targets. Federal prosecutors accused him of lying to government authorities about multiple links to Beijing.

U.S. Wins Appeal in Case to Extradite Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange

December 12, 2021December 11, 2021 Admin

The U.S. won an appeal in its case to extradite Wikileaks founder Julian Assange from the United Kingdom.

The U.K.’s High Court ruled Friday that Assange could be returned to the U.S. where he will face multiple charges related to espionage and hacking, reversing a lower court’s decision blocking his extradition.

Assange’s fiancee Stella Morris said she plans to appeal the decision as soon as possible, calling the decision a “grave miscarriage of justice,” CNBC reported.

Intelligence Agencies Reportedly Hacked Ransomware Group Responsible for JBS Attack

October 25, 2021October 24, 2021 Admin

Aerial view of a man on a desktop computer with three monitors in front of him

National security agencies in multiple countries reportedly succeeded in hacking ransomware gang REvil, the group responsible for the cyber attack on meatpacker JBS, forcing them offline.

Tom Kellermann, head of cybersecurity strategy at cloud computing company VMWare, told Reuters that intelligence officials in multiple countries worked to stop REvil.

“The FBI, in conjunction with Cyber Command, the Secret Service and like-minded countries, have truly engaged in significant disruptive actions against these groups,” Kellermann, who serves as an adviser to the U.S. Secret Service on cybercrime investigations, told Reuters. “REvil was top of the list.”

Nashville’s WZTV, Other Sinclair Networks Breached in Ransomware Attack

October 19, 2021October 18, 2021 Peter D'Abrosca

Nashville’s Fox News affiliate WZTV was among several Sinclair Media outlets that was victim to a ransomware attack over the weekend, according to Monday reports.

“On October 16, 2021, the Company identified and began to investigate and take steps to contain a potential security incident,” Sinclair said in a statement. On October 17, 2021, the Company identified that certain servers and workstations in its environment were encrypted with ransomware, and that certain office and operational networks were disrupted. Data also was taken from the Company’s network. The Company is working to determine what information the data contained and will take other actions as appropriate based on its review.”

Reported Hacking of Ohio’s Unemployment System Raises Concerns

August 20, 2021August 19, 2021 The Center Square

An Ohio lawmaker wants the state to provide more answers quickly as to why personal information and online portal accounts were compromised on the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services’ website.

Rep. Jeff Crossman, D-Parma, wrote to ODJFS Director Matt Damschroder after witness testimony reported the hacking of personal, online portal accounts allowed bank routing information to be changed and unemployment funds to be redirected.

Hackers Steal over $600 Million in One of the Biggest Crypto-Heists Ever

August 16, 2021August 15, 2021 Admin

Hackers stole over $600 million in digital assets Tuesday from users of cryptocurrency platform Poly Network in one of the largest digital token heists ever.

Poly Network, a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that allows users to trade digital currencies with one another, announced the hack Tuesday. Cybersecurity firm SlowMist, which investigated the hack, said the total value of assets stolen was $610 million.

US Charges Two Iranian Cyber Criminals in Ransomware Scheme

November 29, 2018November 29, 2018 Admin

by Masood Farivar In the first case of its kind, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges Wednesday against two alleged Iranian cybercriminals who used malware to infect the computer networks of U.S. municipalities, hospitals and other organizations in a scheme to extort millions of dollars from the victims. Faramarz…

What You Need to Know About the Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities That Affect Nearly Every Computer.

January 13, 2018January 13, 2018 Admin

Meltdown and Spectre take advantage of the way the processors in phones, computers, and servers operate. We’ll give it to you straight: There is bad news and good news about Meltdown and Spectre, the two new computer vulnerabilities.