Tag Archive for: ministry

UK defence ministry fined for Afghan data breach

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UK defence ministry fined for Afghan data breach

by AFP Staff Writers

London (AFP) Dec 13, 2023






The UK defence ministry has been fined �350,000 ($440,000) for disclosing personal information of 265 Afghans seeking to flee the Taliban, a data watchdog announced on Wednesday.

“This deeply regrettable data breach let down those to whom our country owes so much,” said UK data commissioner John Edwards.

The error saw the email addresses of hundreds of people, including Afghan interpreters potentially eligible for relocation to Britain, openly included in the “to” field, rather than blind copied.

It first came to light in September 2021, soon after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, and the chaotic efforts to evacuate vulnerable people from the country.

Ben Wallace, who was defence minister at the time, apologised and disclosed that one official had been suspended.

Britain’s Afghanistan evacuation plan has been widely criticised, with the government accused by MPs of “systemic failures of leadership, planning and preparation”.

Hundreds of Afghans eligible for relocation were left behind, many with their lives potentially at risk after details of staff and job applicants were left at the abandoned British embassy in Kabul.

In his ruling, Edwards said “very challenging” conditions on the ground and fast-paced decision-making were no excuse for not protecting personal information.

Those affected “were vulnerable to reprisal and at risk of serious harm,” he added. “When the level of risk and harm to people heightens, so must the response.”

A total of 245 people had their details inadvertently disclosed, 55 of whom had thumbnail pictures on their email profiles.

Two people “replied all” to all recipients and one included their location, Edwards’ office said.

“The data disclosed, should it have fallen into the hands of the Taliban, could have resulted in a threat to life,” it added in a statement.

Recipients were told to delete the email, change their email address and tell the team in charge of relocations of their new details via a secure form.

Two other data breaches were discovered during the investigation. A total of 265 people were affected in all three…

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Chinese Ministry of Public Security releases 10 typical cases of cracking down on cyberspace violence, illegal crimes

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Police officers raise cybersecurity awareness by disseminating education pamphlets among citizens in Yangzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, on September 14, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

Police officers raise cybersecurity awareness by disseminating education pamphlets among citizens in Yangzhou, East China’s Jiangsu Province, on September 14, 2023. Photo: Xinhua

On Tuesday, China’s Ministry of Public Security released 10 typical cases of cracking down on cases of cyberspace violence and illegal crimes. Those cases included illegally hiring a group of online users to attack others, using hacking methods to obtain large volumes of personal information, and using PS and other technologies to maliciously defame others’ image.

In recent years, cyberspace violence and illegal crimes have becoming increasingly frequent, leading to some individuals experiencing “social death,” mental illness, and even suicide. This has severely disrupted the order of the internet and damaged the online ecosystem, causing a negative social impact. The Chinese public security authorities continue to maintain a “zero tolerance” attitude toward cyberspace violence and illegal crimes and have dealt with a large number of such cases, including insulting and defaming others, spreading rumors, and violating privacy.

In the first typical case, East China’s Jiangsu public security organs targeted a case of a person surnamed Zhang who hired “internet troll army” — a group of users who are paid to post online comments with vested interest on Chinese language websites — to cyberbully others.

The internet security department of Jiangsu public security organs found that during his probation period, Zhang illegally obtained a victim’s private information by installing tracking and eavesdropping devices in order to achieve long-term control over the victim. He spread and promoted indecent videos, images, and insulting articles about the victim through purchasing internet accounts and hiring an online “army.” He also sent reports with false accusation to the victim’s workplace in someone else’s name, causing the victim to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. In January 2023, Zhang was taken into custody by the public security organs in accordance with the law. Currently, Zhang has been sentenced to six years in prison and fined 10,000 yuan ($1,397.96) for the crimes of infringing on…

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Ministry of Defence hit by Russia-linked hackers as security secrets are leaked in data posted online

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THE Ministry of Defence has been hit by hackers with links to Russia, as security secrets have been leaked and the data posted online.

Hackers have released thousands of pages of information with could be used by criminals to access the HMNB Clyde nuclear submarine base, the Porton Down chemical weapons lab and a GCHQ listening post.

The Royal Navy’s Trident-class nuclear submarine Vanguard

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The Royal Navy’s Trident-class nuclear submarine VanguardCredit: s

Information concerning high-security prisons and a military site key to our cyber defences was also stolen in the raid by group LockBit.

Hackers are said to have targeted the databases of Zaun, a firm which makes the fences for maximum security sites.

The information was published on the internet’s dark web, which can be accessed with specialist software.

It’s thought the information was stolen last month during an attack on the firm based in the West Midlands, according to a report by the Mirror.

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LockBit is regarded as the world’s most dangerous hacking gang with its keys suspects listed on the FBI’s Most Wanted list.

It’s thought they are responsible for 1,400 attacks on global targets.

The group is also allegedly behind a £66million blackmail attempt on the Royal Mail – with the postal service refusing to cave in to their demands.

A number of Russian nationals have been accused of cyber attacks and held in both the United States and Canada.

LockBit is said to have financial connections to Russian gangsters.

One document which was leaked relates to specific equipment bought to protect Porton Down in Wiltshire.

Zaun describes its work there as “very secretive”.

Another leaked document posted on the dark web is a sales order detailing goods purchased for HMNB Clyde – also known as Faslane – which is home to Trident nuclear subs.

Other documents include a sales order report for equipment at GCHQ’s communications complex in Bude, Cornwall, as well as security equipment at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, where the Reaper attack drones squadron is based, and Cawdor Barracks, the base of the 14th Signal Regiment, which deals in electronic warfare.

Detailed drawings for perimeter fencing at Cawdor, in Pembrokeshire, were attached to company emails.

Paperwork…

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Home ministry to host 2-day G20 meet on crime, security in age of NFTs, AI, Metaverse, ET Telecom

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<p>The conference will bring together G20 countries, guests from the invitee nations and international bodies.</p>
The conference will bring together G20 countries, guests from the invitee nations and international bodies.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs will organise the “G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Metaverse” on July 13-14 in Gurugram.The two-day event is being organised in partnership with the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of External Affairs, National Security Council Secretariat and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The Rashtriya Raksha University, National Forensic Science University, National Law School of India University, Interpol and UNODC are the event’s organising partners.

“The MHA will host the ‘G20 Conference on Crime and Security in the Age of NFTs, AI and Metaverse’ on July 13-14. It will bring together G20 countries, nine special invitee countries and domain experts (from) around the world to delve into the challenges of advancing technologies,” a Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) spokesperson said.

The conference will bring together G20 countries, guests from the invitee nations and international bodies.

NFTs are assets that have been tokenised via a blockchain. These are assigned unique identification codes and metadata to distinguish these from other tokens. NFTs can be traded and exchanged for money or cryptocurrency.

AI is a rapidly growing field of technology that has already made significant contributions to industries such as health care, finance and transportation. AI has recently emerged as a critical component in the development of the Metaverse — a virtual world where people can interact with each other and digital entities in a fully immersive environment.

According to the officials, the conference will see the participation of ministries and central government organisations, chief secretaries and administrators of states and Union Territories, directors general of police of states and Union Territories and cyber experts.

Guest speakers from the legal fraternity, academia, training institutions, financial intermediaries, fintech, social media intermediaries, information and…

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