Tag Archive for: Americans

US says it disrupted a China cyber threat, but warns hackers could still wreak havoc for Americans


FBI Director Christopher Wray, center, testifies during a House Select Committee focusing on China on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington.
FBI Director Christopher Wray, center, testifies during a House Select Committee focusing on China on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, in Washington.Mariam Zuhaib/AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials said Wednesday they disrupted a state-backed Chinese effort to plant malware that could be used to damage civilian infrastructure, as the head of the FBI warned that Beijing is positioning itself to disrupt the daily lives of Americans if the United States and China ever go to war.

The operation, announced just before FBI Director Chris Wray addressed House lawmakers, disrupted a botnet of hundreds of U.S.-based small office…

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NSA is buying Americans’ internet browsing records without a warrant


Image Credits: Brooks Kraft LLC / Corbis / Getty Images

The U.S. National Security Agency is buying vast amounts of commercially available web browsing data on Americans without a warrant, according to the agency’s outgoing director.

NSA director Gen. Paul Nakasone disclosed the practice in a letter to Sen. Ron Wyden, a privacy hawk and senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Wyden published the letter on Thursday.

Nakasone said the NSA purchases “various types” of information from data brokers “for foreign intelligence, cybersecurity, and authorized mission purposes,” and that some of the data may come from devices “used outside — and in certain cases, inside — the United States.”

“NSA does buy and use commercially available netflow data related to wholly domestic internet communications and internet communications where one side of the communication is a U.S. Internet Protocol address and the other is located abroad,” Nakasone said in the letter.

Netflow records contain non-content information (also known as metadata) about the flow and volume of internet traffic over a network, which can reveal where internet connections came from and which servers passed data to another. Netflow data can be used to track network activity traffic through VPNs and can help identify servers and networks used by malicious hackers.

The NSA did not say from which providers it buys commercially available internet records.

In a responding letter to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which oversees the U.S. intelligence community, Wyden said that this internet metadata “can be equally sensitive” as location data sold by data brokers for its ability to identify Americans’ private online activity.

“Web browsing records can reveal sensitive, private information about a person based on where they go on the internet, including visiting websites related to mental health resources, resources for survivors of sexual assault or domestic abuse, or visiting a telehealth provider who focuses on birth control or abortion medication,” said Wyden in a statement.

Wyden said he learned of the NSA’s domestic internet records…

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Cyber ​​Security Gaps Expose Latin Americans to Online Fraud | Technology | Cyber ​​Attacks | Investments | Cryptocurrencies | Scams |


Realizing she was out, Gabriella Batalha didn’t think much of it Instagram, It wasn’t until the next day that she discovered her account was full of ads Investments Inside Cryptocurrencies High performance.

The 27-year-old lawyer from Rio de Janeiro had to pay 200 reais (about US$40) to restore his account. “consultant” He says he found a guy on YouTube who might be a scammer. “It took me two days to recover my account and I was very stressed”He explained.

Patalha was not the only one. Online scams on the rise in Brazil 65% Last year, there were more than 200,000, according to data from the Brazilian Public Security Yearbook published last month.

Also Read: Application Loans: Three Precautions to Avoid Scams and Extortion

Across Latin America, online fraud and cyberattacks are “at an all-time high,” said cybersecurity firm Tenable, posing an urgent problem for the well-connected region.

Recent advances in technology inclusion in Latin America have created new opportunities for fraud, experts say, as the epidemic spurs a trend toward mobile banking and shopping using payment systems like Brazil’s most popular PIX.

The region is increasingly online. In 2022, the 77.9% Compared to Latin America and the Caribbean, people used the Internet 74.8% Above the previous year and world rate 66.3%According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

According to a report by Internet security company Kaspersky, half of Latin American Internet users spend an average of six hours a day on social networks.

“Growing dependence on new technologies has made it easier for cybercriminals to attack more often”said Kerry-Ann Barrett, cybersecurity expert at the Organization of American States (OAS).

Threats are becoming more complex and costly, costing the region billions a year, Barrett noted.

In Peru, a gang defrauded a construction company of more than $62,000 by posing as a bank on a fake website, the attorney general’s office said.

In Mexico, fraudsters have targeted unsuspecting victims with fake job offers via text messages, prompting victims to share sensitive personal data, according to local press reports.

“Latin America is a priority target…

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Cyberterrorism, China top list of international concerns for Americans, Gallup says


Most Americans deem cyberterrorism as the most critical threat to the United States, a new poll from Gallup says. File photo by SP-Photo/Shutterstock
Gallup’s latest survey on world affairs found that 74% of respondents believe Iran developing nuclear weapons is the second most critical threat to the United States. In regards to North Korea developing nuclear weapons, 73% said it is also a critical threat. File photo courtesy of the North Korean Official News Service/UPI
Republicans were far more likely to perceive immigration as a critical threat to the United States than Democrats according to the latest Gallup survey on world affairs. File photo by Pat Benic/UPI
Democrats responded at an 85% rate that climate change is a critical threat compared to 21% of Republicans who answered the same way in the latest Gallup survey on world affairs. File photo courtesy of NASA/UPI

March 22 (UPI) — Most Americans view cyberterrorism as the most critical threat to the United States, a new poll from Gallup says.

Gallup’s poll on world affairs measured how important respondents perceive 11 potential threats to the country. Cyberterrorism overwhelmingly outpaced the other topics, with 85% of respondents calling it a “critical threat.”

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Responses to cyberterrorism were consistent across political party lines, with 86% of both Democrats and Republicans calling it a critical threat. About 79% of Independents answered this way.

“Americans continue to cite cyberterrorism as the leading critical threat to U.S. vital security interests, as they have since 2021,” Mohamad Younis of Gallup wrote. “Before that, international terrorism and the development of nuclear weapons by Iran and North Korea ranked highest. But concern about each of these has ebbed over the past decade.”

The Department of Defense shares in the concerns about cyberterrorism. In a 2022 report, the department said that while state actors like China and Russia are commonly considered the most likely adversaries in cyber warfare, independent criminal organizations also pose a significant…

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