Hackers on the website BreachForums stole user data from genealogy testing company 23andMe, targeting two particular groups: people of Jewish descent and people of Chinese descent.
The resulting hacker database centered on one subset of the Jewish diaspora, Ashkenazi Jews, who came to the Western Hemisphere from Central and Eastern Europe.
23andMe confirmed Friday that data had been compromised, but told technology magazine Wired that its systems had not been breached.
“While we are continuing to investigate this matter, we believe threat actors were able to access certain accounts in instances where users recycled login credentials – that is, usernames and passwords that were used on 23andMe.com were the same as those used on other websites that have been previously hacked,” 23andMe said in a statement on its website.
https://spinsafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/US_China_Hacking_28154_c0-208-5000-3124_s1200x700.jpg7001200SecureTechhttps://spinsafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SS-Logo.svgSecureTech2023-10-08 02:00:082023-10-08 02:00:08Hackers compile database of people of Jewish descent using stolen 23andMe user data
Hackers who stole patient information from the servers at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak have made good on their threat to publish the data.
The “Ragnar Locker” group demanded a ransom totaling tens of millions of shekels for the information after the break-in, which took place about a month ago, according to Israel Hayom.
Not having received the money, the ransomware hackers announced on their Telegram account that they had released 402 gigabytes of data in the first tranche.
The group threatened to publish the rest of the information it claimed it was holding if the ransom is not paid, including the personal, medical and psychiatric records of patients who include government and Knesset members, rabbonim, Torah sages and other prominent haredi religious patients.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu underwent treatment for a prostate issue at the hospital in 2015, according to the report.
There is fear in the haredi public that the hackers will create a “Medical WikiLeaks” that could cause serious damage to many members of the Orthodox population, according to the haredi B’Chadarei Haredim news outlet.
Health and Interior Minister MK Moshe Arbel said in response to the initial threat that the government has not previously succumbed to extortion attacks on government data and will not succumb to such attacks on the health system either.
“Along with my instructions to budget tens of millions of shekels for a multi-year cyber preparedness plan in the health system, I also believe it appropriate to publish, on my own initiative, the results of a CT scan I performed at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center after a partial resection of my right kidney for a cancerous tumor that was found during tests to determine my eligibility to donate the kidney.
“There is no room for surrendering to blackmail and threats from cyber attackers,” he said. “We must stand as a wall to protect the right to privacy of every patient in the Israeli health system.”
Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center also responded to the threat, saying in a statement, “The hospital, in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the…
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The head of security for Pittsburgh’s Jewish community says there has been an “uptick in hate speech” on the internet, but no specific threats, in the early stages of the trial of the man accused of killing 11 worshippers at a synagogue here in 2018.
And Jewish leaders say that while the trial is bringing out the worst of extremists in some dark corners of the web, it’s also brought an outpouring of support from the community — ranging from law enforcement agencies helping with security to local food vendors collaborating to bring meals to victims’ families during the trial.
Shawn Brokos, director of community security for the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, said officials have monitored “general chatter in support of the defendant … and his hateful vitriol” on the internet. The materials “would turn anyone’s stomach,” she said.
Brokos and others spoke Friday at a news conference at the federation’s offices to talk about how the Jewish community has been preparing for the federal trial in the worst antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Jury selection began April 24 and is slated to continue at least into next week, followed by further weeks in which jurors will weigh the defendant’s guilt and potentially a death sentence.
Pittsburgh synagogues and other institutions have received physical improvements in security and have conducted recent training to prepare for security incidents, Brokos said. No threats have been received, but officials are bracing for the possibility that some white-supremacist groups may show up in support of the defendant.
“We’d much rather be in a proactive stance and out in front of any potential threats,” she added.
As the trial moves forward, “we will lean on one another for strength and support, we’ll empower one another to live full Jewish lives, but reinforce to one another that we need to remain continually…
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A hacker group from the Technion in Haifa has successfully broken into Siemens’ Simatic S7 series open controller. Siemens is believed to have the highest security standards in the industry.
Researchers in the Henry and Marilyn Taub Faculty of Computer Science at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology were set to present their decryption of Siemen’s programmable logic controller (PLC) firmware on Wednesday at the prestigious Black Hat Hacker Convention in Las Vegas.
The findings of the study were forwarded to the company.
The group succeeded in hacking the ET200 SP Open Controller, CPU 1515sp, of Siemens’ Simatic S7 series, which represents a new concept in controller planning among numerous vendors.
The concept is based on the integration of a standard operating system. In this case specifically, the Windows 10 operating system was integrated into the CPU 1515sp.
These controllers are used in a variety of civil and military applications, including transportation system, factories, power stations, smart buildings, traffic lights, and others. Their purpose is to provide an automated process control that delivers an optimal, fast response to changing environmental conditions.
Attacks against PLCs have posed a challenge for Siemens, which is considered a vendor that meets the highest of security standards in the industry.
The S7 PLC series is perceived as innovative and highly secure, largely thanks to the integration of built-in cryptographic mechanisms, and consequently, attacks against it pose a great challenge.
The Technion researchers attacked the CPU 1515sp and, for the first time, decrypted the firmware which is common to all PLCs in the series.
The successful attack enabled the researchers to study the software characteristics. They say the attack exposed possible vulnerabilities in this PLC, as well as in other controllers in the series, and intensifies the need for improved security of these devices. The researchers warned that because the PLC and other controllers in the series are deployed in critical systems such as power plants, water facilities, transportation system, etc.,…
https://spinsafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Technion-Hackers-Expose-Dangerous-Vulnerabilities-in-Siemens-PLC-Firmware.jpg426640SecureTechhttps://spinsafe.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/SS-Logo.svgSecureTech2022-08-11 05:30:162022-08-11 05:30:16Technion Hackers Expose Dangerous Vulnerabilities in Siemens PLC Firmware | The Jewish Press – JewishPress.com | Hana Levi Julian | 14 Av 5782 – August 10, 2022
