Two weeks ago it was cyberattacks on the Irish power grid. Last month it was a digital assault on U.S. energy companies, including a nuclear power plant. Back in December a Russian hack of a Vermont utility was all over the news. From the media buzz, one might conclude that power grid infrastructure is teetering on the brink of a hacker-induced meltdown.
CS Digest Section: Most Popular
FBI Arrests Another Hacker Who Visited United States to Attend a Conference
The FBI has arrested a Chinese citizen for allegedly distributing malware used in the 2015 massive OPM breach that resulted in the theft of personal details of more than 25 Million U.S. federal employees, including 5.6 Million federal officials' fingerprints. Yu Pingan, identified by the agency as the pseudonym "GoldSun," was arrested at Los Angeles
Putin says the nation that leads in AI ‘will be the ruler of the world’
Russian president Vladimir Putin has joined the war of words concerning the international race to develop artificial intelligence. Speaking to students last Friday, Putin predicted that whichever country leads the way in AI research will come to dominate global affairs.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/9/4/16251226/russia-ai-putin-rule-the-world
Secret Chips in Replacement Parts can Completely Hijack Your Phone’s Security
People with cracked touch screens or similar smartphone maladies have a new headache to consider: the possibility the replacement parts installed by repair shops contain secret hardware that completely hijacks the security of the device.
The Ghostly Radio Station That no One Claims to Run
In the middle of a Russian swampland, not far from the city of St Petersburg, is a rectangular iron gate. Beyond its rusted bars is a collection of radio towers, abandoned buildings and power lines bordered by a dry-stone wall. This sinister location is the focus of a mystery which stretches back to the height of the Cold War.
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170801-the-ghostly-radio-station-that-no-one-claims-to-run
China Drone Maker Steps Up Security After U.S. Army Ban
Chinese drone maker SZ DJI Technology Co Ltd is tightening data security on its drones after the U.S. Army ordered its members to stop using DJI drones because of "cyber vulnerabilities," a company official told Reuters on Monday.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-drones-dji-idUSKCN1AU294
Hacking A $1500 ‘Smart Gun’ With $15 Magnets
I think we should stop going crazy over the smart things unless it's secure enough to be called SMART—from a toaster, security cameras, and routers to the computers and cars—everything is hackable. But the worst part comes in when these techs just require some cheap and easily available kinds of stuff to get compromised. Want example? It took just
Researcher: Metadata the ‘Most Potent Weapon’ Against Critical Infrastructure Security
The threat is what might be called "weaponized metadata," and the risks are detailed extensively in a new report, Metadata: The Most Potent Weapon in this Cyberwar, recently published by the Institute for Critical Infrastructure Technology (ICIT), a Washington, D.C.-based cybersecurity think tank. ICIT produces many publications annually, but the 28-page
DOE Receives First Installment of Anti-cyberwarfare Networking Technology
Veracity Industrial Networks said it has delivered on the first phase of its contract with the Department of Energy to provide SDN-based network infrastructure designed to help the U.S. industry, including power utilities, defend against cyberattacks. After several recent hacking events that many security analysts believe were instances of cyberwarfare,
Over 14 Million Verizon Customers’ Data Exposed On Unprotected AWS Server
Verizon, the major telecommunications provider, has suffered a data security breach with over 14 million US customers' personal details exposed on the Internet after NICE Systems, a third-party vendor, mistakenly left the sensitive users’ details open on a server.
