Tag Archive for: Adversaries

Chinese state-backed cyberattacks hack off potential adversaries

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Hong Kong, December 5 (ANI): Few doubt that China is responsible for a massive campaign of computer hacking and nefarious cyber activities. Beijing denies any culpability for cyberattacks, calling such accusations “baseless”, but the weight of evidence rests squarely against China.

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, in its 2023 Annual Threat Assessment, recognized the threat: “China probably currently represents the broadest, most active and persistent cyber espionage threat to US government and private-sector networks. China’s cyber pursuits and its industry’s export of related technologies increase the threats of aggressive cyber operations against the US homeland.”If this were not damning enough, the report continued: “China almost certainly is capable of launching cyberattacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure services within the United States, including against oil and gas pipelines, and rail systems.” This assessment was borne out by a Chinese state-sponsored threat group called Volt Typhoon, responsible for attacks this year, some of the largest ever, on American infrastructure. Five Eyes partners publicly disclosed the worrying threat posed by Volt Typhoon in May, since the group’s activities represent far more than the usual espionage conducted by nations. The group preplaced technical implants and achieved long-term access into adversaries’ networks, such prepositioning showing maturity in the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) joint information warfare capabilities.

Pukhraj Singh, Director of the Centre for Epistemic Security, wrote for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI): “The military cyber elements seem to have been extricated from the stovepipes of the theater commands and are ready to produce strategic effects extending beyond the Indo-Pacific. And the integration isn’t just militaristic but also political: the PLA is the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) army. Strategic cyber operations are directly sanctioned by the Central Military Commission, and ultimately authorized by Xi.”Singh further posited: “The intelligence that has trickled through from the Five Eyespoints to interesting doctrinal and strategic developments in…

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GUEST ESSAY: Here’s why castle-wall defenses utterly fail at stopping deceptive adversaries

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When it comes to cyber attacks, most businesses think: “It could never happen to us,” but some plots are just hitting a little too close to home.

Related: T-Mobile breach reflects rising mobile device attacks

DevOps Experience

For instance, if you’ve ever played Grand Theft Auto, you know the goal is quite simply mass destruction: Use whatever resources you have at your disposal to cause as much damage as you possibly can and just keep going.

Not familiar with Grand Theft Auto? Let’s try Super Mario Bros. then. As Mario makes his way through eight increasingly difficult worlds, each of them is protected by a castle. As Mario reaches the end of each castle, he can defeat Bowser.

This is not unlike the mindset of modern cyber attackers – they’re wreaking havoc and becoming pros at finding ways to get away with it.Living-off-the-land (LotL) attacks are providing a way for adversaries to stay under cover. Attackers use tools and features that are already available in the systems they’re targeting so they look like legitimate users — until they steal your crown jewels.

But you can fight back. There are several methods of active defense that companies can utilize to safeguard their networks, and it’s time for CISOs to start picking. To date, the main goal in mind has been to prevent attackers from breaching your defenses and making their way into the castle, but the reality is this approach is flawed.

Israeli

Attackers will get in, it’s only a matter of time. Traditional network security solutions, such as firewalls, are not effective at detecting and stopping lateral attack movement – and that’s where the real damage is done. Many forms of access control and endpoint protection, such as EDR, are nothing more than a checkpoint that provides unfettered access once defeated – like Mario raising a flag after beating a level.

To take the analogy further, only after defeating Bowser does Mario learn that it wasn’t the real Bowser after all and that “our princess is in another castle.” Rather than just keeping Mario out of the castle entirely – i.e. deploying traditional perimeter defenses – in this scenario, Bowser deployed an advanced threat protection by sending…

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Our Adversaries Are Using Cyberwarfare. We Must Be Prepared. – Daily Signal

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Our Adversaries Are Using Cyberwarfare. We Must Be Prepared.  Daily Signal

Adversaries are using cyber in a “gray zone” between diplomacy and war, taking actions that fall short of sparking conventional military retaliation.

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An NSA cyber weapon is reportedly being used against American cities by the very adversaries it was meant to target – Task & Purpose

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An NSA cyber weapon is reportedly being used against American cities by the very adversaries it was meant to target  Task & Purpose

In less than three years after the National Security Agency found itself subject to an unprecedentedly catastrophic hacking episode, one of the agency’s most …

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