Tag Archive for: congress

Congress prods DICT for briefing on recent hacking tries from China

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Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Monday called for an immediate briefing from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the recent cyberattacks on several Philippine government websites purportedly from Chinese hackers, saying this was an issue on national security.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard on Monday assured the public that its website is secure following reports of attempted cyberattacks over the last month.

In a statement, PCG spokesperson Rear Admiral Armando Balilo said an investigation into the possible hacking of their website began a month ago after the DICT reported the attempt to break into their website.

“So far, we have not monitored anything. Our website remains secure,” Balilo said.

DICT Undersecretary for connectivity, cybersecurity and upskilling Jeffrey Ian Dy reported that cybersecurity experts prevented the hacking of government websites and email addresses by China-based cybercriminals, and that one of these attacks was an attempt to take down the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) website.

“I express deep concern regarding the recent cybersecurity breaches in government agencies, as reported by the DICT. The revelation that hackers, suspected to be operating from China, have infiltrated the email systems and internal websites of various government agencies, is a matter of national security and public interest,” Romualdez said.

“The fact that these breaches have targeted critical domains such as cabsec.gov.ph, coastguard.gov.ph, cpbrd.congress.gov.ph, dict.gov.ph, doj.gov.ph, and ncws.gov.ph, in addition to the private domain of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, signifies a dire need for an immediate and comprehensive response,” the Speaker added.

The leader of the 310-strong House of Representatives said that the Philippines should not allow these cyberattacks on government websites to go unchecked.

“An attack on our internet systems is not only a threat to our government but also a robbery of our own home. We must not miss it and we must fight it,” the lawmaker from Leyte said.

“In light of these alarming developments, I am calling on the…

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The US Congress Was Targeted With Predator Spyware

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The media consortium, along with security researchers from Amnesty International and Google’s Threat Analysis Group, were able to show Vietnam’s connection to the Predator hacking campaign through documents they obtained that detail the Vietnamese government’s contract with Intellexa in 2020, and later an extension of the deal to allow the use of the Predator software. The internal documents went so far as to capture the response of Intellexa’s founder, Israeli former military hacker turned entrepreneur Tal Dilian, when the deal was announced: “Wooow!!!!” Vietnam’s government would later target French officials with Predator before this year’s campaign targeting US congressmen.

Despite efforts by Israel and other nations to cut off funding to Hamas in recent years, the group raised millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency before the past weekend’s attack that killed more than a thousand Israelis. An analysis by The Wall Street Journal found that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah had collectively raised hundreds of millions in crypto over the past several years, with $41 million going to Hamas specifically. Given that the Journal learned of that funding in part through Israeli seizures of crypto accounts, however, it’s not clear how much of that money was frozen or seized versus how much might have actually been successfully laundered or liquidated by Hamas and other groups. 

In response to the weekend’s attacks, the Israeli government and the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, both announced that a new round of Hamas crypto accounts had been frozen. Though crypto has helped Hamas and other groups move funds across borders, its traceability on blockchains has presented a challenge for designated terrorist groups. In 2021, for instance, Hamas asked its supporters to stop making donations via cryptocurrency, due to the ease of tracking those transactions and unmasking contributors.

Last year, Reuters reporters Chris Bing and Raphael Satter published an investigation into Aviram Azari, an Israeli private investigator who is accused of using mercenary hackers to gather intelligence on the critics of major corporations involved in lawsuits…

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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew faces off with Congress, hoping to stave off possible ban over security fears

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WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers grilled the CEO of TikTok over data security and harmful content Thursday, responding skeptically during a tense committee hearing to his assurances that the hugely popular video-sharing app prioritizes user safety and should not be banned.

Shou Zi Chew’s testimony came at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.

In a rare bipartisan effort to reign in the power of a major social media platform, Republican and Democratic lawmakers pressed Chew on a host of topics, ranging from TikTok’s content moderation practices, how the company plans to secure American data from Beijing, and its spying on journalists.

“Mr. Chew, you are here because the American people need the truth about the threat TikTok poses to our national and personal security,” Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, said in her opening statement. “TikTok has repeatedly chosen a path for more control, more surveillance and more manipulation.”

Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and denied allegations that it’s a national security risk. He reiterated the company’s plan to protect U.S. user data by storing all such information on servers maintained and owned by the software giant Oracle.

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said.

On Wednesday, the company sent dozens of popular TikTokers to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers to preserve the platform. It has also been putting up ads all over Washington that promise to secure users’ data and privacy, and create a safe platform for its young users.

TikTok has been dogged by claims that its Chinese ownership means user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government or that it could be used to promote narratives favorable to the country’s Communist leaders.

In 2019, the Guardian reported that TikTok was instructing its moderators to censor…

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TikTok CEO faces off with Congress over security fears

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WASHINGTON – The CEO of TikTok will make a high-profile appearance Thursday before a U.S. Congressional committee, where he’ll face a grilling on data security and user safety while he makes his own case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn’t be banned.

Shou Zi Chew’s testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has acquired 150 million American users but is under increasing pressure from U.S. officials. TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have been swept up in a wider geopolitical battle between Beijing and Washington over trade and technology.

Chew, a 40-year-old Singapore native, is making a rare public appearance to counter the volley of accusations that TikTok has been facing. On Wednesday, the company sent dozens of popular TikTokers to Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers to preserve the platform. It has also been putting up ads all over Washington that tout promises of securing users data and privacy and creating a safe platform for its young users.

Chew plans to tell the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce that TikTok prioritizes the safety of its young users and deny allegations that the app is a national security risk, according to his prepared remarks released ahead of the hearing.

TikTok has been dogged by claims that its Chinese ownership means user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government or that it could be used to promote narratives favorable to the country’s Communist leaders.

“We understand the popularity of Tiktok, we get that,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. “But the President’s job is to make sure again that the Americans, national security is protected as well. ”

For its part, TikTok has been trying to distance itself from its Chinese origins, saying that 60% percent of its parent company ByteDance is owned by global institutional investors such as Carlyle Group. ByteDance was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in Beijing in 2012.

“Let me state this unequivocally: ByteDance is not an agent of China or any other country,” Chew said.

A U.S. ban on an app would be unprecedented and it’s unclear how the government would go about…

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