Tag Archive for: ‘intense

French state services hit by ‘intense’ cyber attack

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PARIS – Cyber attacks of “unprecedented intensity” have targeted several French government institutions just months before the Paris Olympics but have been contained, the prime minister’s office said on March 11.

The latest cyber attack to hit France follows a warning from Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s defence adviser just last week that the Olympics games in July and European Parliament elections in June could be “significant targets”.

Mr Attal’s office said several state bodies were targeted, but did not provide details.

“Many ministerial services were targeted” from March 10 “using familiar technical means but of unprecedented intensity”, Mr Attal’s office said.

A security source told AFP that the attacks “are not currently attributable to Russia”, an obvious suspect for many given Paris’ support for Kyiv since the invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Attal’s staff added that a “crisis cell has been activated to deploy countermeasures”, meaning “the impact of these attacks has been reduced for most services and access to state websites restored”.

Specialist services including information security agency ANSSI were “implementing filtering measures until the attacks are over”.

Several hacker groups claimed responsibility for the attacks on messaging app Telegram, including one calling itself Anonymous Sudan, which said it had launched a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on French government network infrastructure.

“We have conducted a massive cyber attack… the damage will be widespread,” the group, which posts with an avatar of a hooded Guy Fawkes mask in front of a desert scene with pyramids, said in a Telegram post.

Guy Fawkes is famous for his 1605 plot to blow up Britain’s Parliament, and his image has become a widespread symbol for revolutionary protest.

“A lot of different digital government sectors have been affected, including very important websites, with their respective subdomains,” it said.

Anonymous Sudan is a known outfit that has carried out attacks in the past year against websites in countries, including Sweden, Denmark and Israel.

Purportedly based in Sudan, it says it targets what it deems to be…

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2022 brought ‘most intense cyber-attacks so far’ / Article

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SAB’s main tasks include intelligence and counter-intelligence activities as well as protection of classified information

“Russia continues its confrontational and aggressive policy towards the West. Its aim remains to divide the West’s unity against Russia,” said SAB in one of its more obvious conclusions.

“It is in Russia’s best interests to promote internal tensions and public dissatisfaction with the government or economic situation in Western countries, assuming that domestic problems could push certain European countries into reducing their political focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine,” SAB says in a summary of the report’s content, which is dominated by Russia. Nearly three-quarters of the report’s 42 pages concern Russia and Belarus.

“In addition to military operations, Russia is also actively developing informational influence operations. Having a border with Russia, Latvia is particularly affected by this – the historical memory of the Latvian society, as well as the geopolitical environment of our country and the large Russian-speaking population have a significant impact in this situation,” said director of SAB Egils Zviedris.

There is a high probability that Russia may decide to completely stop supplying energy resources to European countries in order to punish them for supporting Ukraine, states the report.

As regards domestic matters, SAB said it paid increased attention to the activities of “propaganda media, financed and supported by Russia,” during the period leading up to Saeima elections in October 2022, but that “No coordinated information influence operations were directly detected.”

“Even though no direct Russian interference in the elections was detected, we can still conclude that in the long term Russian propaganda messages have reached a significant part of Latvian society,” said SAB in its report.

According to SAB: “In 2022, Latvian cyberspace endured the most intense cyber-attacks so far. Cyber-attacks are carried out in waves and their number is increasing both because of the wider usage of Internet and cyberspace and the ongoing war in Ukraine. In 2022, the number of incidents registered and processed by the…

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War against cyber attacks demands intense response

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They are high-tech burglaries — only worse.

Cyberattacks are the electronic equivalent of war; instead of corpses scattered on the battlefield, businesses face the brunt of the burden, with commerce disrupted and psyches shaken.

A new and chilling form of terrorism, the attacks emerge from the murky world of the “dark internet” — a term which, unfamiliar to many, may become all too common.

We witnessed the damage, both real and potential, on May 7, when a criminal gang launched a ransomware hit against Colonial Pipeline Co.

The company, which says it transports about 45 percent of all gasoline consumed on the East Coast, shut down operations after the attack, causing a fuel shortage across the region.

Gasoline prices rose an average of 6 cents a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association, and motorists searched frantically for pumps that had not gone dry.

The federal government declared a regional emergency, allowing the transportation of fuel through tanker trucks instead of the 5,500-mile pipeline between New York and Texas.

How did the attack happen?

Described by the FBI as a Russia-based cybercrime group, DarkSide used malware to encrypt company files, threatening to leak the data it downloaded if its ransom demands were not met.

Colonial officials said a catastrophe was averted when the company, a day after the hit, paid a ransom of $4.4 million in bitcoin; U.S. officials later said they recovered $2.3 million.

“I know how critical our pipeline is to the country,” Colonial CEO Joseph Blount told the Senate Homeland Security Committee, defending his decision to pay the ransom. “And I put the interests of the country first.”

Both the government and the private sector must guard against the potential danger of these attacks. The enemies do not wear uniforms or brandish guns. They emerge from the dark labyrinth of the internet, and they are cold, calculating and brutal.

“The analogy would be I break into your house, and once I get access to…

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The OTT war in India becomes intense in 2021, Telecom News, ET Telecom

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The OTT war in India becomes intense in 2021Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ have competition. Even as these established players expand their presence in the Indian market through innovations in content and strategy, a slew of new OTT players are set to disrupt and diversify the market.

Last year, the world stumbled upon the reality of entertainment in the digital space mainly thanks to the Covid lockdown. What now looks to burgeoning into a multi-crore industry in the country, almost threatening the very existence of cinema halls, promises many more options for the consumers.

We list some of the new players, who are carving a place in the Indian cyber space. Lionsgate Play

Starz, a leading premium global streaming platform launched in India last December. At the moment, the subscriptions available are Rs 699 for a year and Rs 99 per month. The platform aims to get into original content creation in India soon.“India has always been a key market for us. The large and diverse population, increased data usage in urban and rural markets, and adoption of OTT across all demographics created an exciting opportunity for us to launch Lionsgate Play,” Jeffrey A Hirsch, President and CEO, Starz, said while launching the app in India.

What’s good: The app comes with a huge catalogue of the studio, which already has a set fan base in the market.

What’s not good: The app launched a campaign backed by Bollywood power with Tiger Shroff and Ananya Panday, but they don’t have any Indian content. This would mean they would miss out on regional market.

Apple TV+

The streaming platform is gradually making its place in the market. It is reported that Apple is reportedly spending $6 billion on its initial lineup of TV shows, documentary series, and other originals for its streaming service. At the moment, they are not into creation of original content in India.

What’s good: The content can be enjoyed with family.

What’s not good: They have a limited catalogue.

HBO Max

The WarnerMedia backed streaming service is expected to make its way into India this year, with its vast library. They have revivals and reunions of legacy series — “Friends”, “Sex And The City”, “True Blood” and “Gossip Girl” — planned to get the audience hooked. However, it will…

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