Tag Archive for: line

Governor Otu Cries Over Hacking Of Mobile Line

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Cross River State Governor Bassey Edet Otu has raised the alarm over the hacking of his telephone line by internet fraudsters.

Otu said the scammers were using his phone line to send text messages to unsuspecting members of the public to solicit for financial assistance.

Otu’s chief press secretary Mr Emmanuel Ogbeche raised the alarm in a statement he made available to LEADERSHIP in Calabar yesterday.

Ogbeche said, “The public is advised to disregard any such messages purportedly from the governor. One of the governor’s mobile numbers was breached by hi-tech criminals in the early hours of Sunday, February 11, 2024.

“The hackers have gone on to utilise the breached number to advance their nefarious activities to try to scam unsuspecting individuals. Please, do not fall for such devious attempts.

“The hacked number has been secured while relevant security agencies are working to apprehend those behind this obnoxious act,” he said.

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Flying the flag for defence stocks: All systems go for sector often in firing line

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The launch this week of a Future of Defence fund that will put money into the armaments and cybersecurity industries comes amid confusing signals from the sector.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, investing in defence stocks – until recently regarded by many as anathema – is increasingly seen as providing support to democracy.

Yet in the past few weeks the direction of share prices has not necessarily reflected the global boom in spending, sparked by the war in Ukraine, and alarm over China’s intentions towards Taiwan, its neighbour in the South China Sea.

After a long-ish era of decline, expenditure reached $2.24trillion (£1.74trillion) last year, with British businesses such as Chemring, which supplies materials and components for missile systems, reporting a surge in orders.

Nato members that have not dedicated 2 per cent of GDP to defence are promising to meet this target. The HANetf Future of Defence fund, which will have the stock market ticker ‘Nato’, will back only companies based in the countries that are members of the alliance or part of the Nato Plus group – Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel and South Korea.

Despite the rush to re-equip and form multi-year partnerships, shares in some major UK and US defence names fell following last month’s failed insurrection led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group. BAE slipped as did Qinetiq, which is behind the Banshee drone.

It seems traders viewed the brief coup as evidence of instability in Russia that could shorten hostilities in Ukraine. A cessation would reduce outlay on tanks, troops and the rest, with other consequences for defence contractors.

Ukraine has been a hugely important testing ground for these groups’ technologies, revealing where innovation and upgrades are needed.

Some investors, devoted to the cause of ESG (environment, social and governance) will be unperturbed by the post-coup share price falls.

They will continue to shun BAE, Qinetiq and other cyber-security or weaponry companies in the EQM Future of Defence index. Its constituents include Cisco, Northrop Grumman, Palo Alto and Raytheon, maker of the Patriot missile.

But Russian aggression has shifted…

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Meet the hacker armies on Ukraine’s cyber front line

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  • By Joe Tidy
  • Cyber correspondent

When Russia initiated its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a second, less visible battle in cyberspace got under way. The BBC’s cyber correspondent Joe Tidy travelled to Ukraine to speak to those fighting the cyber war, and found the conflict has blurred the lines between those working for the military and the unofficial activist hackers.

When I went to visit Oleksandr in his one-bedroom flat in central Ukraine, I found a typically spartan set-up common to many hackers.

No furniture or home comforts – not even a TV – just a powerful computer in one corner of his bedroom and a powerful music system in the other.

From here, Oleksandr has helped temporarily disable hundreds of Russian websites, disrupted services at dozens of banks and defaced websites with pro-Ukraine messages.

He is one of the most prominent hackers in the vigilante group, the IT Army of Ukraine – a volunteer hacking network with a Telegram group nearly 200,000-strong.

For more than a year, he has devoted himself to causing as much chaos in Russia as possible.

Even during our visit he was running complex software attempting to take his latest target – a Russian banking website – offline.

Ironically though, he admits the idea for his favourite hack actually began with a tip from an anonymous Russian, who told them about an organisation called Chestny Znak – Russia’s only product authentication system.

He was told all goods produced in Russia – including fresh food – have to be scanned for a unique number and a barcode supplied by the company from the moment of their creation at a factory, up till the moment of being sold.

Oleksandr smiles as he describes how he and his team found a way to take the service offline, using a hacking tool that floods a computer system with internet traffic – known as a targeted DDoS (Distributed Denial-of-Service) attack.

“The economic losses were pretty high, I think. It was mind-blowing,” says Oleksandr.

Image caption,

Oleksandr says he is not scared of Russian reprisals and refuses to hide his identity

In reality, it’s hard to gauge the disruption prompted by the hack, but for four days last April Chestny Znak posted regular updates about the DDoS…

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Here’s how to reserve your spot in the airport security line with Clear

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Ah, the dreaded airport security line — a place where dreams of early gate arrival are crushed and flights are missed. Even though you may have packed your bag like a pro, checked in early, and downloaded your boarding pass, the security line can still trash your savvy travel prep like that bottle of water you accidentally left in your bag. But there’s a way to avoid the hurt, hack the system, and breeze through like a VIP.

Yes, there are apps for checking wait times so you can budget your time appropriately, including an official one from the Transportation Security Administration. But true travel pros know that the best way to expedite the airport security process is to reserve your spot in line.

SEE ALSO:

The best carry-on luggage for every traveler

And it’s free. Here’s how it works.

How to reserve your spot in the security line

Clear, a travel tech company that uses biometric ID verification to expedite the security process, has a tool called Reserve. Get started by going to https://www.clearme.com/reserve on your computer or mobile and select the airport you’re flying from. How far in advance you can reserve a spot depends on the airport, which can be found on the airport’s website.

Reserve powered by Clear is available in 15 airports in North America and Europe: Calgary, Charleston, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Munich. These cover many of the major travel hubs, but Reserve is planning to roll out in more cities, so don’t worry if none of these are close to you. That will eventually change.

Fill out your flight info

Click on the airport you’re departing from, and you’ll then be directed to a new page where you’ll need to fill out your flight info, including the date of departure, destination, airline, and flight number.

Screen showing form to find your flight info through the Reserve tool


Credit: Clear

Next, select the number of people you’ll be traveling with — up to 10 people.

Then, choose from a list of 15-minute time slots for your reservation. Note: Reserve will hold your spot for 15 minutes before or after your reservation time, so you have some wiggle room if you show up early or you’re running late.

Screen showing travel info through the Reserve tool


Credit: Clear

Fill out your…

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