USA

How US Authorities Tracked Down the North Korean Hacker Behind WannaCry

ZDNet

“On September 6, the US Department of Justice formally charged a North Korean programmer for some of the biggest cyber-attacks in recent years. According to a 179-page DOJ indictment, the US believes that Park Jin Hyok, a 34-year-old North Korean, is one of the many individuals behind a long string of malware attacks and intrusions, such as:

• The WannaCry ransomware outbreak of 2017;
• Attempts of hacking US defense contractor Lockheed Martin in 2016;
• The 2016 Bangladesh Central Bank cyber-heist;
• The breach at Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2014;
• Breaches at US movie theatre chains AMC Theatres and Mammoth Screen in 2014;
• A long string of hacks of South Korean news media organizations, banks, and military entities across several years, and;
• Hacks of banks all over the world from 2015 through 2018.”

DHS Secretary Cites Cyber ‘Pandemic’ in Call for Congress to Pass Stalled Legislation

TheHill

“Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass legislation to reorganize a DHS cyber division as a full-fledged agency as the measure struggles to gain support in the Senate.”

Lawmakers Demand More Action from Top Twitter, Facebook execs – Axios

NIST’s Next Framework Focuses on Protecting Consumers’ Privacy

Nextgov

“The National Institute of Standards and Technology, or NIST, will be gathering public feedback for the effort beginning with an Oct. 16 public workshop in Austin, Texas, according to a news release… alongside an annual meeting of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, NIST said. “ Most privacy fact sheet

Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information Tech Support – Scams

Russian accused of Hacking the Data of 80 Million People Extradited to US

CNNPolitics

“(CNN)Federal authorities on Friday announced the extradition of a Russian man who they say took part in an extensive computer-hacking campaign that included the largest theft of customer data from a US financial institution in history. Andrei Tyurin, 35, who was extradited from the country of Georgia, faces several charges stemming from the scheme, which targeted American financial institutions, brokerage firms and financial news publishers, among other US companies, according to a statement from the Manhattan US attorney’s office.”

Australia

Australian Government Appoints Elbit Systems to Train Defence in Cyber

ZDNet

“The federal government said Elbit will provide an interim cyber range, network design, and build; cyber range training; and teaching materials. Under the contract, 49 cyber warfare specialists that graduated from the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) inaugural Accelerated Defensive Cyber Training program will use the new cyber training range to develop and maintain their skills.”

Canada

Ottawa Probes Huawei Equipment for Security Threats

The Globe and Mail

“The Canadian government has publicly acknowledged it has been conducting security tests since 2013 on telecommunication equipment sold in Canada by Chinese giant Huawei, a company the United States and Australia regard as a potential tool for state-sponsored cyberspying.”

WestJet Exec on the Evolving Cybersecurity Threats

Via Satellite

“The cyber threat to airlines is growing as hackers use more and more sophisticated techniques to gain access to valuable customer data. Devon Smibert, director of cybersecurity at Canadian airline WestJet spoke on Sept. 5 at the Aviation Festival in London about the cyber challenges facing an airline such as WestJet, as the challenges are relevant to customers in the satellite sector.” ’Our friends at IATA say that the annual global revenues for the airline industry is $754 billion,’ Smibert said. ’The cyber crime industry is double of the airline industry. Hackers are extremely well funded, and largely act with impunity. A lot of these hackers operate in countries where there is tacit compliance. In North Korea, you have a State that has severe economic sanctions against them, and they use cyber to generate revenues. It is $1.5 trillion business with very low risk.’”

China

China’s Cybersecurity Market to Reach $15 Billion by 2022

Gooruf Beta

“China’s cybersecurity market is expected to reach RMB100 billion (US$14.6 billion) by 2022, nearly tripling from the current RMB35 billion (US$5.1 billion), said a Chinese cybersecurity expert at the China Internet Security Conference (ISC) yesterday. (04.09.2018)”

EU

EU to Crack Down on Online Terrorism and Cyber Threats

The National

“The European Union is poised to adopt sweeping new powers against abuse of internet technologies, including measures to ensure the rapid removal of online terrorist message and an overhaul of regulations designed to counter cyber security threats.”