Tag Archive for: congress

Pro-Russia hackers claim disruption of US Congress website

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Pro-Russia hackers claimed responsibility for a cyberattack that briefly interrupted access to a website for U.S. Congress on Thursday night.Related video above: Make sure your home security system is ‘secure’ from hackersAccess to Congress.gov was intermittently disrupted from around 9 p.m. ET Thursday until the website was restored to normal operation “just after” 11 p.m. ET, April Slayton, director of communications for the Library of Congress, which runs the website, told CNN.”The Library of Congress used existing measures to address the attack quickly, resulting in minimal down time,” Slayton said in an email. “The Library’s network was not compromised and no data was lost as a result of the attack.”A Russian-speaking hacking group known as Killnet claimed responsibility for the hack on their Telegram channel. The post included a screenshot of an error message on Congress.gov overlaid with an image of President Joe Biden with a puzzled look on his face.The hackers used a popular tactic known as a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS), according to Slayton, which floods computer servers with phony web traffic in an attempt to knock websites offline. Congress.gov displays information on bills, hearings and other deliberations of Congress.While DDoS attacks can have material consequences, such as when customers can’t access banking websites, they are sometimes more about making a statement and getting noticed.In the prelude to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February, the White House blamed Russian military intelligence for a series of DDoS attacks on Ukrainian government websites.The war in Ukraine has triggered a wave of pro-Russia and pro-Ukrainian hackers who have made political statements and targeted infrastructure in the two countries.Killnet last week claimed responsibility for DDoS attacks on websites of government agencies and private firms in Lithuania. The hackers said it was retaliation for Lithuania blocking the shipment of some goods to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad.U.S. officials have been on high alert for months for retaliatory Russian cyberattacks after the Biden administration imposed stiff sanctions on Russia for its invasion of…

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Dotgo launches Universal RCS at Mobile World Congress 2022

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BARCELONA, Spain, Feb. 28, 2022 /CNW/ — Dotgo®, a Gupshup company, and leading provider of Rich Communication Services (RCS) and RCS business messaging (RBM) solutions, announced the launch of Dotgo Universal RCS™ at Mobile World Congress 2022, Barcelona. The launch expands RCS to iPhone and other non-RCS devices, providing global brands the ability to reach more customers with engaging rich media mobile messaging solutions, including video, audio, and enhanced security features.

There are 6.64 billion smartphone users in the world today. RCS is currently used globally on 1.2 billion devices, by 500 million monthly active users. RBM enables brands to send rich and interactive messages with images, GIFs, videos, and carousels, along with suggested replies and suggested actions to customers, from a verified sender id, with a trust mark. However, its reach is currently limited to Android devices with an RCS client, inhibiting businesses from reaching consumers using iPhones or other Android devices without an RCS capable client. Dotgo’s Universal RCS Solution enables businesses to overcome this barrier and send RCS messages to everyone.

For non-RCS device users, the solution automatically sends an SMS with a link to an RCS experience on the browser. With this, Dotgo is empowering businesses to deliver a rich communication experience to all their customers, increasing user engagement across the board. This innovative solution supports the complete suite of RCS features: including rich media such as images, video, carousels, along with suggested actions/replies and user-initiated messages, enabling 2-way conversational experiences. Users can see the trust mark, the verification details, and access the Bot Store to discover and engage with other brands. 

“Dotgo’s Universal RCS solution delivers an RCS business messaging experience to all iPhone and Android users. By extending the reach of RCS to iPhones, we are accelerating the transformation of business messaging from plain transactions and notifications on SMS, to rich 2-way conversational experiences,” said Surinder Singh Anand, CTO, Dotgo. “The solution is designed to ensure a seamless enablement of Universal RCS…

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IBM Announces Advances and New Collaborations in AI-Powered Automation, 5G Connectivity and Security at Mobile World Congress Los Angeles

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ARMONK, N.Y., Oct. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Today IBM (NYSE: IBM) announced new collaborations and expanded partner relationships to further the company’s capabilities in hybrid cloud, AI, network automation and security at Mobile World Congress Los Angeles (MWC LA). These innovations highlight IBM’s role in helping the telecommunications industry evolve as 5G and Edge Computing redefine how business and consumers connect.

IBM continues to make major strides in helping CSPs adopt AI and automation on open hybrid cloud platforms, as well as standards to remain in control of where and how they deploy their network services, edge computing, and enterprise offerings. By leveraging IBM’s AI-powered automation software, such as IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation, and services through IBM Consulting, IBM will help drive innovation for CSPs through its systems integration capabilities; the application of technology to create ever more intelligent workflows; and support modernizing applications so enterprises can deliver at scale in a world of hybrid cloud environments.

At MWC LA, IBM is announcing the following innovations, which are designed to equip businesses for the next stage of their digital journeys:

  • A new collaboration between Boston Dynamics and IBM is focused on delivering data analysis at the edge to help companies address worker safety, optimize field operations, and boost maintenance productivity in industrial environments such as manufacturing facilities, power plants and warehouses. Enabled by AI and hybrid cloud innovations from IBM Research, IBM Consulting will develop edge payloads that integrate with Spot, the agile, mobile robot from Boston Dynamics. Boston Dynamics and IBM will announce these new innovations during the joint keynote at Mobile World Congress LA. For more information, read the blog: https://newsroom.ibm.com/Boston-Dynamics-and-IBM-Join-Forces-to-Bring-Mobile-Edge-Analytics-to-Industrial-Operations
     
  • Cisco and IBM are expanding their relationship, and will integrate key offerings, including IBM Cloud Pak for Network Automation and Cisco Crosswork Network Automation software, to enable orchestration and management of virtual 5G networks. For more…

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Opinion | Ransomware attacks are crippling cities, schools and hospitals. Congress can help.

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Ransomware attacks use malicious software to lock a target out of its files — until the target pays to regain access to its own computers. The extortion will continue as long as it is profitable, and today too many of those paralyzed by these intrusions fork over the cash to get back to business as usual. The Treasury Department last fall issued an advisory that paying ransom could violate sanctions laws, if the ransom is paid to a designated cybercriminal. Congress should eventually go even further and prohibit these payments altogether. Yet that’s a lot for legislators in Washington to demand of a small town, college or clinic without providing ample support for protection and resilience. These places need help, and lawmakers must ensure they get it.

The federal government already disrupts operations and disables networks of bad actors when it can. It can also assist public-sector facilities around the country in hardening their infrastructure to deprive opportunists of any opening, as well as in recovering when infiltrators take advantage of whatever vulnerabilities remain. Acting Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency director Brandon Wales said last week that blocking such extortion has become a top priority for his division in the Department of Homeland Security. Already, CISA offers resources to state, local and tribal governments. But many of those governments don’t even know that, others don’t know how best to harness the aid they’re given, and for even more these tips just aren’t enough.

Out of 11 bills mentioning ransomware last year, one lonely piece of legislation passed as a provision in the larger National Defense Authorization Act, tasking CISA with establishing state cybersecurity coordinators. That’s good, but state and local governments also need to be able to afford best practices. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas recently announced an increase in the amount of money dedicated to cybersecurity in existing FEMA grants; a bill pending in the House of Representatives would create additional grants for implementing robust cybersecurity plans. Some senators, led by Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio), seek to expand…

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