Tag Archive for: intelligence

Russian GRU unit Solntsepek responsible for Kyivstar hack, says Ukrainian intelligence

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Kyivstar, SBU cyber experts, government agencies and IT companies continue to restore network

Kyivstar, SBU cyber experts, government agencies and IT companies continue to restore network

The Solntsepek hacking group, which has claimed responsibility for hacking Kyivstar’s mobile network, is part of the Russian military intelligence agency the GRU, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) reported on Telegram on Dec. 13.

“We attacked Kyivstar because the company provides communications for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as the government and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine,” Solntsepek claimed on one of its social media channels.

In its message, the group claimed it had destroyed 10,000 computers, more than 4 thousand servers, and all cloud storage and backup systems belonging to Ukraine’s largest mobile operator.

Kyivstar, SBU cyber experts, other government agencies, and IT companies are continuing to restore the network after the attack which left 24 million subscribers without mobile connection.

Read also: Overwhelming cyber-attack took out Ukraine’s largest mobile operator – Kyivstar Pres. explains how

Preliminary estimates suggest that landline internet may be restored today, the SBU said.

The SBU has opened a criminal investigation into the cyber-attack on Kyivstar.

Ukraine’s largest mobile operator Kyivstar experienced a major outage on the morning of Dec. 12, bringing the network down across the entire country. More than 12 hours later, company engineers are still unable to bring it back online.

Initially attributing the disruption to a technical glitch, Kyivstar later confirmed the outage was the result of a hacker attack.

Read also: Major banking platform Monobank experiences massive DDoS attacks following Kyivstar network outage

The Ministry of Digital Transformation subsequently stated that the malfunction had disrupted national roaming services but had not affected the national air raid alert system or the Kyiv metro.

“Kyivstar will definitely provide compensation to subscribers who were unable to use the operator’s services or had no connection,” the company stated. Kyivstar also apologized to subscribers for the temporary inconvenience and thanked them for their understanding.

Restoration efforts for Kyivstar subscribers are underway…

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UK and allies expose Russian intelligence services for cyber campaign of attempted political interference – National Cyber Security Centre

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UK and allies expose Russian intelligence services for cyber campaign of attempted political interference  National Cyber Security Centre

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China Accused of Massive IP Theft, AI Hacking by Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance

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China stands accused of stealing intellectual property and using artificial intelligence to hack and spy on other nations at an unprecedented scale.

As Reuters reports, the accusations come from the Five Eyes intelligence alliance—which comprises the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—following meetings with private US companies in Silicon Valley. The theft is occurring across a wide range of sectors, covering everything from quantum technology and robotics to biotechnology and AI.

FBI Director Christopher Wray referred to China as an “unprecedented threat,” and said, “China has long targeted businesses with a web of techniques all at once: cyber intrusions, human intelligence operations, seemingly innocuous corporate investments and transactions … Every strand of that web had become more brazen, and more dangerous.”

Mike Burgess, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director-general, added: “The Chinese government is engaged in the most sustained scaled and sophisticated theft of intellectual property and expertise in human history.”

Chinese government spokesman Liu Pengyu responded to the accusations, stating, “We firmly oppose to the groundless allegations and smears towards China and hope the relevant parties can view China’s development objectively and fairly.”

Earlier this year, when Microsoft caught China spying on critical western infrastructure, the Chinese government responded by claiming it was just a “collective disinformation campaign” by the US and its allies.

This is the first time all members of Five Eyes have publicly called out China’s actions collectively. In response, the alliance is hoping both private industry and academia will help to counter the threats, which Wray describes as “a bigger hacking program than that of every other major nation combined.”

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Artificial Intelligence bolsters growth of cyber-attacks, audacity of cybercriminals

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A year out from generative AI’s widespread release to the public, cybercriminals continue to finesse AI tools to bolster the scale, speed, scope, and stealth of their activities.

Horton

“AI-driven cybersecurity threats are developing at a place that we have not seen before due to advancements in machine learning and the ability to amplify existing attack methodologies,” said Brendan Horton, a security analyst in the FoxPointe Solutions Information Risk Management Division of The Bonadio Group

From January to February 2023, researchers from Darktrace – a global leader in cybersecurity AI – saw a 135% increase in novel social engineering attacks, corresponding with the widespread adoption of ChatGPT, which was released to the public in October 2022.

“AI isn’t really a new technology, but it has gained a new attraction in recent years,” Horton said. “Now with generative AI tools you don’t really have to be a sophisticated cybercriminal to launch a cyberattack.”

These cyberattacks include AI-powered botnets (a network of hijacked computers) and enhanced social engineering and phishing campaigns which are increasingly easier for employees to fall for.

Miller

“From a business standpoint, phishing emails that can lead to either ransomware or other threats are becoming more adaptive and they’re becoming more authentic because of AI,” said Tim Miller, chief information officer at Community Bank, N.A.

For example, in pre-generative AI, a phishing email sent to an employee in Rochester by an overseas bad actor pretending to be a vendor in Buffalo could have linguistic red flags that would alert the employee not to respond.

“AI doesn’t make mistakes like misspellings,” said Horton. “Now with generative AI, we are seeing highly personalized messages that seem a lot more credible and are difficult to distinguish as threats. We’re also seeing more deep fake technology emerging with deep fake photos and audio.”

Overall, it’s vitally important for organizations to continue to conduct solid cyber-hygiene, educate their employees regularly on continuously evolving cyber threats, and not be afraid to use AI to their advantage.

“This…

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