Tag Archive for: Focus

Russian Hackers’ Focus is Civilian Infrastructure

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Business Continuity Management / Disaster Recovery
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Critical Infrastructure Security
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Cybercrime

Cybersecurity Officials See Prioritization on Infrastructure Over Military Targets

Mihir Bagwe (MihirBagwe) •
December 30, 2022    

Ukraine: Russian Hackers' Focus is Civilian Infrastructure
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: Government of Ukraine)

State-backed Russian hacking groups are continuing to focus less on Ukrainian military targets and much more on civilian infrastructure, Ukrainian cybersecurity officials report.

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Ukraine’s lead cybersecurity defense agency, the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection, or SSSCIP, reports that the intensity of cyberattacks aimed at Ukrainian critical infrastructure has more or less remained constant since Russia launched its full-blown invasion on Feb. 24.


Cyber incidents and cyberattacks counted so far this year by the Ukrainian Computer Emergency Response Team – CERT-UA – totaled more than 2,100, it reports.


However, “it is not military but civil infrastructure that has been the primary target for Russian hackers throughout the year,” SSSCIP says.



Cyberattacks tracked this year by CERT-UA (Source: SSSCIP)

Top Targets: Public and Energy Sectors


The Ukrainian public sector was most targeted, accounting for nearly one quarter of all cases investigated by CERT-UA, followed by the energy sector….

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Biden’s National Security Strategy Reinforces Tech Decoupling and Increased Regulatory Focus

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November 18, 2022

Originally published in The Hill

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The recently released National Security Strategy sets forth the Biden administration’s approach to a changing world at an inflection point providing a roadmap for the administration and for Congress. The administration’s national security priorities largely echo those of past administrations, but they diverge with their focus on a “modern industrial and innovation strategy” that promises deep use of industrial and economic tools to create a bulwark against autocracies like Russia and China. The resulting message is clear: The administration’s national security goals are inherently tied to, and will necessarily impact, a broad swath of American companies.

Five areas of the strategy stand-out for their potential impact on companies.

First, increased investment scrutiny will ensure the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), with its expansive authority to review foreign investments, continues to be a prominent national security tool. The strategy also contemplates new outbound investment restrictions, which have been gaining congressional momentum as well. Should “reverse-CFIUS” come into effect, companies will need to transform their outbound investment strategies, planning for increased investment timelines, heightened scrutiny for investments in certain sectors and in certain countries, and potentially restrictions on certain outbound investments deemed to pose national security risk. Further, increased export controls will require companies to reinforce compliance programs and reevaluate offshoring operations. As the Commerce Department’s recent semiconductor restrictions demonstrate, new regulations can quickly reverberate across an industry, in some cases having a material impact.

Second, foreign policy and domestic policy lines blur with the focus on making strategic public investments in strategic sectors and supply chains, especially critical and emerging technologies. New laws, including the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, illustrate the administration’s commitment — and congressional support —…

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TikTok’s Security Threat Comes Into Focus

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As Russia’s war in Ukraine drags on, Ukrainian forces have proved resilient and mounted increasingly intense counterattacks on Kremlin forces. But as the conflict evolves, it is entering an ominous phase of drone warfare. Russia has begun launching a series of recent attacks using Iranian “suicide drones” to inflict damage that is difficult to defend against. With Russian president Vladimir Putin escalating his rhetoric about the potential for a nuclear strike, and NATO officials watching closely for any signs of movement, we examine what indicators are available to the global community in assessing whether Russia is actually preparing to use nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, an unrelenting string of deeply problematic vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Exchange Server on-premises email hosting service has left researchers to raise the alarm that the platform isn’t getting the development resources it needs anymore, and customers should seriously consider migrating to cloud email hosting. And new research examines how Wikipedia’s custodians ferret out state-sponsored disinformation campaigns in the crowdsourced encyclopedia’s entries.

If you’re worried about the ongoing threat of ransomware attacks around the world, researchers pointed out this week that middle-of-the-pack groups like the notorious gang Vice Society are maximizing profits and minimizing their exposure by investing very little in technical innovation. Instead, they simply run the most sparse and unremarkable operations they can to target under-funded sectors like health care and education. If you’re looking to do something for your personal security, we’ve got a guide to ditching passwords and setting up “passkeys” on Android and Google Chrome.

But wait, there’s more! Each week, we highlight the news we didn’t cover in-depth ourselves. Click on the headlines below to read the full stories. And stay safe out there.

Officials in the United States have long warned of a potential national security threat because the wildly popular social video platform TikTok is owned by a Chinese company, ByteDance. But TikTok has always maintained that it is firewalled between ByteDance and its US userbase. But materials seen by…

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Mitre expands R&D in Hawaii as US focus on Indo-Pacific intensifies

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WASHINGTON — Mitre, which operates federally funded centers that assist the U.S. government with science research, development and systems engineering, said it will open a facility in in Hawaii to bolster security and national defense operations in the Indo-Pacific.

This site in Honolulu will support Hawaii and Indo-Pacific priorities of the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, the intelligence community and international allies, while fostering “whole-of-nation” technology collaborations in cybersecurity, transportation, healthcare, veterans services and law enforcement, the not-for-profit said.

The U.S. sees the Pacific as a key strategic region, as Washington works to counter China’s growing influence. The White House Indo-Pacific Strategy, published in February, pledges an extended role in the area, including establishing more resilient command and control and increasing the scope of joint exercises and operations.

“We’re immersed in nearly every aspect of global strategic competition—from countering aggressive military actions by adversary nations, to safeguarding supply chains, accelerating maritime research and innovation, and preparing for the next global health crisis,” said Keoki Jackson, senior vice president, general manager, Mitre National Security, in a statement.

Mitre, which works across six federal R&D centers and more than 200 individual labs, also said it entered into a partnership with UH to identify opportunities for collaborative analysis, engineering and research. The partnership will focus on advancing marine technology, enhancing cyber defense, strengthening climate resilience, addressing natural resource management and testing energy technologies.

The organization has been operating at Ford Island and Camp Smith in Hawaii for almost 50 years. Developing the site at the Kaka’ako Innovation District will double its local workforce, advance STEM education and bolster security in the region, it said.

Last month, Mitre named Cedric Sims to the new role of senior vice president, enterprise innovation and integration, and Austin Y. Wang as vice president, intelligence center, Mitre National Security.

Sims will develop strategies to…

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