Attackers Get PINs for 101,000 Taxpayers at #IRS #GigaLaw

GigaLaw Daily News

The Internal Revenue Service was the target of an attack that used stolen social security numbers and other taxpayer data to obtain PINs that can be used to file tax returns electronically. The attack occurred in January and targeted an IRS Web application that taxpayers use to obtain their so-called Electronic Filing (E-file) PINs.

Read the article: CNET

Google to Scrub Search Results for European Users

Google will start scrubbing search results across all its websites when accessed from a European country to soothe the objections of Europe’s privacy regulators to its implementation of a landmark EU ruling, a person close to the company said. The U.S. company has been at loggerheads with several European Union data protection authorities since the European Court of Justice ruled in May 2014 that people could ask search engines such as Google and Microsoft’s Bing to remove inadequate or irrelevant information that appears under searches for their name — dubbed the “right to be forgotten.”

Read the article: Reuters

Bill Would Ban States from Blocking Encrypted Phones

The Encrypt Act of 2016, short for Ensuring National Constitutional Rights of Your Private Telecommunications Act, would ensure that states do not have the power to block the sale of encrypted smartphones or require manufacturers to equip their phones with a back door to access private data.

China-Tied Hackers That Hit U.S. Said to Breach United Airlines @Bloombert

by Michael RileyJordan Robertson

July 29, 2015 — 4:00 AM CDT

United, the world’s second-largest airline, detected an incursion into its computer systems in May or early June, said several people familiar with the probe.

 

Photographer: Aaron M. Sprecher/Bloomberg

The hackers who stole data on tens of millions of U.S. insurance holders and government employees in recent months breached another big target at around the same time -- United Airlines.

United, the world’s second-largest airline, detected an incursion into its computer systems in May or early June, said several people familiar with the probe. According to three of these people, investigators working with the carrier have linked the attack to a group of China-backed hackers they say are behind several other large heists -- including the theft of security-clearance records from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management and medical data from health insurer Anthem Inc.

The previously unreported United breach raises the possibility that the hackers now have data on the movements of millions of Americans, adding airlines to a growing list of strategic U.S. industries and institutions that have been compromised. Among the cache of data stolen from United are manifests -- which include information on flights’ passengers, origins and destinations -- according to one person familiar with the carrier’s investigation.

http://goo.gl/D3Xm4r

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U.S. Considers Antitrust Issues in Apple’s New Music Service @GIGALAW

U.S. government antitrust regulators are looking into claims about whether Apple’s treatment of rival streaming music apps is illegal under antitrust law, according to three industry sources. Apple recently launched a new music streaming service, Apple Music. It also provides the App Store platform for competing streaming services including Jango, Spotify, Rhapsody and others.

Read the article: Reuters

Pirate Bay Founders Acquitted in Belgian Court

The founders of The Pirate Bay, arguably the world’s most visible torrenting site, were acquitted by a Belgian court of charges alleging criminal copyright infringement and abuse of electronic communications. “The Pirate Bay Four,” consisting of Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström, have faced an almost comical amount of legal action related to their involvement with the torrenting site, which has proven to be an elusive haven for illegal copyrighted content online.

Read the article: TechCrunch

U.S. Personnel Director Resigns Amid Hack Attacks

Katherine Archuleta, the embattled director of the Office of Personnel Management, resigned in the wake of two massive hack attacks against her agency that compromised the data of more than 21 million Americans. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Archuleta resigned “of her own volition.” He said Archuleta realized that the technology challenges now facing OPM “require a manager with a special set of skills.”

#Cyber attack on #Israeli targets expected for tomorrow ! @JOnline

Israeli security forces are reinforcing protective measures in preparation for a cyber attack, which the hacker group “Anonymous” claims it will carry out tomorrow against Israeli and Jewish targets online.

Apr 06, 2015, 04:24PM | Tom Dolev

http://cdn.jerusalemonline.com/images/AAATom/1cyber060415.jpg

Smartphones and tablets will also be targeted Photo Credit: Reuters / Channel 2 News

Based on the claims of the “Anonymous” group, tomorrow (Tue) Israeli and Jewish online sites are expected to be under a heavy online attack lead by pro-Palestinian hackers.

The frequent cyber threat on Israeli targets is expected to intensify tomorrow, according to the announcement by pro-Palestinian groups and hackers that an integrated and timed attack will take place tomorrow on the virtual scene.

For the past few days, the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and National Cyber Bureau have been preparing for the attack, which is expected to also target smartphones and tablets, in addition to Israeli government and military offices. Initial signs of the online attack were recorded several days ago, as the official website of the “Meretz” party was vandalized.

“The attacks focus on organizations identified with the target country, whether because they provide services to it or whether they are bodies representing the government,” explained “2BSecure” CEO, Alon Mantsur. “The declared goal is to try and damage Israeli websites by harming secrecy, availability or the completeness of information, and thus disrupting the lifestyle of residents of the State of Israel and spreading panic.”

http://goo.gl/l9u1bE

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#BREAKING @CNBC US Centcom Hacked by #ISIS

#Hacking tutorials, identity documents gain popularity on black market

'Guarantees' for stolen merchandise, as premium credit cards flood market.

by Robert Lemos - Dec 17 2014, 3:26pm CST

The price of illegal goods and information for sale on underground Internet sites has remained mainly stable.

While the Sony hack hogs media headlines and stolen credit card details are sold nearly everywhere, counterfeit documents and how-to-hack tutorials are some of the fastest growing sellers on online underground marketplaces, according to an annual study of prices published by Dell Secureworks on Monday.

A scan of a Social Security card along with a name and address costs about $250, for example, with supporting documents—such as a credit card statement or utility bill—costing another $100. A fake driver’s license lists between $100 and $150. In total, a would-be identity thief could get all the information they needed to access health services, obtain government assistance, or apply for financial credit for under $500.

Overall, illicit sites are now selling more types of identity documents than last year, when the researchers—Joe Stewart and David Shear of Dell Secureworks—conducted their first study. The increase is, in part, because proof of identity is required by more organizations and financial institutions, Shear said.

“We believe that this is definitely contributing to the growth of the counterfeit-documents business in the hacker markets,” David Shear, a network security analyst with Dell SecureWorks, said in an e-mail interview with Ars. “We believe that as the proof-of-identity requirements become more stringent, the market for these counterfeit documents will continue to grow, so in turn, the data contained in passports, Social Security cards, driver’s licenses, and utility bills will be sought after more.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2014/12/hacking-tutorials-identity-documents-gain-popularity-on-black-market/

US Officials link #Sony #Hacking to North Korea

In a remarkable shift, the Obama administration and the Castro government agreed to a series of moves aimed at opening up Cuba to real, high-speed, Internet access. Cuba and the United States, the White House said, have agreed to begin allowing communications devices and telecommunications services to move between the two countries.

·         Read the article: The Washington Post

U.S. Officials Link North Korea to Hacking at Sony

American officials have concluded that North Korea was “centrally involved” in the hacking of Sony Pictures computers, even as the studio canceled the release of a far-fetched comedy about the assassination of the North’s leader that is believed to have led to the cyberattack. Senior administration officials, who would not speak on the record about the intelligence findings, said the White House was debating whether to publicly accuse North Korea of what amounts to a cyberterrorism attack.

·         Read the article: The New York Times

BREAKING - #Hackers Post Internal Sony Documents Online

Just as Sony Pictures Entertainment appeared to be recovering from a crippling online attack last month, the studio found itself confronting new perils. Sony was newly rattled by the leak of internal documents, one of which contained the pre-bonus annual salaries of senior executives, showing 17 who earn more than $1 million a year.

·         Read the article: The New York Times

U.K. Tax Proposal Targets High-Tech Firms

The U.K. government took aim at tech companies and other international firms, proposing a 25% tax on profits on “economic activity” that is shifted overseas. Treasury chief George Osborne said in his autumn budget statement to Parliament that he wanted to make sure “big multinational businesses pay their fair share.”

·         Read the article: The Wall Street Journal

House Subcommittee Delays Net Neutrality Hearing

A key House panel has delayed a hearing on the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to write new Internet traffic rules aimed at assuring “net neutrality.” The U.S. House of Representatives Communications and Technology subcommittee had been expected on Dec. 10 to quiz all five FCC commissioners about so-called net neutrality rules that would regulate the how Internet service providers (ISPs) manage web traffic that travels through their networks.

·         Read the article: Reuters

MEDIA - IranIan Hackers Target Airports in 16 Countries

State-sponsored Iranian hackers have launched cyber attacks on major infrastructure including oil and gas companies in 16 countries, according to a new report.

The regime's campaign of computer warfare has been named Operation Cleaver after the named of some of its malicious software, an 87-page dossier by US group Cylance revealed.

The report said: "As Iran's cyber warfare capabilities continue to morph, the probability of an attack that could impact the physical world at a national or global level is rapidly increasing.

"This team displays an evolved skillset and uses a complex infrastructure to perform attacks of espionage, theft and the potential destruction of control systems and networks."

Over a two-year period, researchers at Cylance claim to have documented at least 50 attacks by Operation Cleaver on energy infrastructure, airports and airlines, as well as governments across 16 countries.

Earlier attacks from Iran have focussed on American and Middle East targets, but now the geographical footprint is wide, the report said, ranging from Canada to South Korea, with a notably heavy concentration in the oil-rich Gulf.

http://goo.gl/scpCck

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Hacker Defense: How to Make Your Law Firm a Harder Target

PRESENTED BY 

You’re supposed to be protecting your clients. But what if you’re the problem? It’s up to you to protect your client’s most sensitive information if you want to keep that client, and your reputation.

In security, you are only as strong as your weakest link. A recent FBI investigation has shown that a company’s weakest link might be its law firm. Every law firm keeps valuable and sensitive information on each of its clients—information that hackers would love to get access to. And that makes the firm an attractive target.

It is up to law firms to protect both themselves and their clients with security measures that keep up with increasing risk. The firm can’t risk losing the trust of its clients. Here are some important ways that individual lawyers, and their firms, can improve the security of the information entrusted to them.

Read more: http://www.law.com/resources#ixzz3Jj3Vibe4

Chinese Hackers Infiltrate Health System Network – Information of 4.5 Million Individuals Stolen

Hackers Could Face Life Sentences in U.K.

Any cyberattackers who cause 'loss of life, serious injury or damage to national security' could face full sentence

• Tom Brewster
• theguardian.com, Wednesday 4 June 2014 14.20 EDT
• Jump to comments (14)

The serious crime bill was proposed in Wednesday's Queen's speech. Photograph: Wpa Pool/Getty Images

The UK government has said it wants to hand out life sentences to anyone found guilty of a cyberattack that has a catastrophic effect, under plans announced in the Queen's speech.

Any hackers that manage to carry out "cyberattacks which result in loss of life, serious illness or injury or serious damage to national security, or a significant risk thereof" would face the full life sentence, according to the serious crime bill proposed in Wednesday's Queen's speech.

As well as targeting cyberterrorists, the new offence in the proposed update to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 would also hand harsher sentences to those hackers carrying out industrial espionage, believed to be a growing menace affecting UK business.

http://goo.gl/mHggUL

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Microsoft Says U.S. ‘Hacked Links’ Between Data Centers

Microsoft's Brad Smith says the US government ought to end bulk collection of phone data, reform FISA court, and stop hacking data centers.

by Charles Cooper

Microsoft legal chief Brad SmithGetty Images

Microsoft's top lawyer verbally gobsmacked the United States government on Wednesday, proposing a laundry list of surveillance reforms he says ought to get instituted immediately.

"It's now apparent that the government intercepted data in transit across the Internet and hacked links between company data centers," Brad Smith, Microsoft's general counsel, wrote in a blog post today. "These disclosures rightly have prompted a vigorous debate over the extent and scope of government surveillance, leading to some positive changes. But much more needs to be done.

http://www.cnet.com/news/microsofts-top-lawyer-tells-uncle-sam-to-back-off-on-surveillance/

Hacker Released from Jail for ‘Extraordinary Cooperation’

A New York man who helped authorities infiltrate the world of computer hacking and disrupted 300 cyberattacks that included the United States military, courts and private companies was given a greatly reduced sentence and allowed to walk free. Federal prosecutors had sought leniency for the hacker, Hector Xavier Monsegur, citing what they called his “extraordinary cooperation” in helping the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  The man was part of the group Anonymous and used his knowledge of the shadowy hackers to disrupt planned attacks.

http://goo.gl/bcGWx9

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EBay's Massive Security Breach: What It Means for You

IMAGE: ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES

BY SAMANTHA MURPHY KELLY

eBay is the latest victim of a cyberattack — and if you are one of the 145 million users with an active account, or even one of the many millions more with inactive accounts, you may well be affected.

While eBay is urging users to update their passwords immediately (here's how to do that), many are left wondering what this means for their data and what they can do to keep it safe.

SEE ALSO: How to Protect Yourself From the Heartbleed Bug

http://goo.gl/kBVHnN

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97 Arrested Worldwide in Malware Operation

BY ANTHONY DEUTSCH AND JOSEPH AX

AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK Mon May 19, 2014 5:25pm EDT

(Reuters) - Authorities arrested about 100 people as part of a global crackdown on malicious software used to infect half a million computers, U.S. and European authorities said on Monday.

The software, created by an organization called "BlackShades," allows hackers to control other people's computers remotely, recording keystrokes, stealing passwords and gaining access to their personal files.

In some cases, users employed the inexpensive software, known as BlackShades' Remote Access Tool or RAT, to take over the computers' cameras and spy on their owners, U.S. officials said at a press conference in New York. They said in other cases, users sent a ransom note, requiring payment before unlocking their victims' documents.

http://goo.gl/UqnVkJ

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DOJ brings first-ever cyber-espionage case against Chinese officials

Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday announced a first-of-its-kind criminal cyber-espionage case against Chinese military officials the Justice Department charges hacked into major U.S. companies to steal trade secrets -- though Holder could not say whether the five defendants stand a chance of ever seeing the inside of a U.S. courtroom. 

Holder, in announcing the indictment against five Shanghai-based officials, acknowledged that the defendants have never set foot in the United States. 

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Pressed on whether there's any hope the Chinese government would hand over the officials, Holder said only the "intention" is for the defendants to face the charges in a U.S. court, and he hopes to have Chinese government cooperation. 

http://goo.gl/ZWCL1O

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FEDS Seek to Loosen Rules on Hacking Computers

By Chris Strohm 

Photographer: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

The proposal arrives at a precipitous time for a government still managing backlash to electronic-spying practices by the National Security Agency that were exposed last year by former contractor Edward Snowden.

A U.S. proposal to expand the U.S. Justice Department’s ability to hack into computers during criminal investigations is furthering tension in the debate over how to balance privacy rights with the need to keep the country safe.

A committee of judges that sets national policy governing criminal investigations will try to sort through it all. It’s weighing a proposal made public yesterday that would give federal agents greater leeway to secretly access suspected criminals’ computers in bunches, not simply one at a time.

http://goo.gl/sL1s4I

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Attacker Exploits Hearbleed Bug in Attack

By NICOLE PERLROTH

 APRIL 18, 2014, 1:46 PM

• 
  

Within 24 hours of the Heartbleed bug’s disclosure last week, an attacker used it to break into a major corporation, security experts said Friday.

Using Heartbleed, the name for a flaw in security that is used in a wide range of web servers and Internet-connected devices, the attacker was able to break into an employee’s encrypted virtual private network, or so-called VPN, session.

From there, the hacker or hackers used the Heartbleed bug about 1,000 times until successfully extracting information like passwords to get broader access to the victim’s network, said researchers at Mandiant, a cybersecurity firm.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/04/18/heartbleed-internet-security-flaw-used-in-attack/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

Cyber insurance becoming more mainstream

Cadie Thompson | @CadieThompson

20 Hours Ago

CNBC.com

COMMENTSStart the Discussion

Smeel Photography | E+ | Getty Images

No company is safe these days from a cyberattack. And that's good news for the insurance business.

Read MoreWhat cyberthreats are costing US companies

Increasingly companies are trying to hedge costs associated with attacks on their networks by purchasing cyber insurance. Not only are more start-ups and established insurance providers getting into the cyber insurance business, but more companies including mom and pops are paying for insurance against cybercriminals.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101591858