Tag Archive for: partners

US, partners target North Korea with sanctions following satellite launch


WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) -The United States on Thursday targeted North Korea with fresh sanctions after its launch of a spy satellite last week, designating foreign-based agents it accused of facilitating sanctions evasion to gather revenue and technology for its weapons of mass destruction program.

The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it also applied sanctions to cyber espionage group Kimsuky, accusing it of gathering intelligence to support North Korea’s strategic and nuclear ambitions.

Thursday’s action, taken in coordination with Australia, Japan and Korea, comes after North Korea last week successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, which it has said was designed to monitor U.S. and South Korean military movements.

“Today’s actions by the United States, Australia, Japan, and the Republic of Korea reflect our collective commitment to contesting Pyongyang’s illicit and destabilizing activities,” Treasury’s Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement.

“We will remain focused on targeting these key nodes in the DPRK’s illicit revenue generation and weapons proliferation,” Nelson added, calling North Korea by the initials of its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Friday that it had blacklisted 11 North Koreans for involvement in the country’s satellite and ballistic missile development, banning them from any financial transactions.

The list includes senior officials from the National Aerospace Technology Administration, which oversaw the satellite launch, and the munitions industry department.

North Korea’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s sanctions.

Since the launch of the satellite, North Korea said that its leader, Kim Jong Un, has reviewed spy satellite photos of the White House, Pentagon and U.S. aircraft carriers at the naval base of Norfolk. Its state media has also reported that the satellite photographed cities and military bases in South Korea, Guam, and Italy, in addition to Washington.

On Monday, the United Nations ambassadors of the United States and North Korea…

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Softcell partners with Salt Security, the leader in API security solutions


Softcell Technologies Global Private Limited, a leading System Integrator in India, has established a strategic partnership with Salt Security to offer API security solutions to its enterprise customers.

As the digital landscape continues to expand, the importance of safeguarding Application Programmable Interfaces (APIs) has become paramount. According to a recent white paper published by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) along with Mastercard and Computer Security Incident Response Team – Financial Sector (CSIRT-Fin), there has been a 62% increase in the number of API attacks on the Indian financial sector as on June 2023, compared to June 2022. The report ‘API Security: Threats, Best Practices, Challenges, and Way forward using AI’ states that ”with this rise of digitization and API usage in the financial sector along with the availability of sensitive customer information, the financial sector is also becoming a preferred target for API attacks.” Recognizing this need to protect against API attacks, Softcell has joined forces with Salt Security, winner of the 2023 CISO Choice Awards, in the API Security category. The awards are judged by a panel of distinguished CISOs across the world.

”Softcell is proud to partner with Salt Security in delivering robust API security solutions to our clients in India,” stated Sunil Dalal, Managing Director at Softcell. ”This recognition further solidifies our joint efforts in addressing the critical need for advanced security measures within the API sphere.” ”Modern applications run on APIs. However, as they are highly complex and still relatively new, many companies do not have robust mechanisms in place to secure them,” said Nico Wagemans, VP EMEA, Salt Security. ”As they often boast access to an organization’s most sacred assets and data, attackers are increasing their exploits against APIs at an exponential rate. As the first entrant into the API security market, we have developed a solution enriched with mature algorithms and AI to provide organizations with unmatched visibility into their API ecosystem. We are honoured to receive this prestigious recognition by industry CISOs who acknowledge the breadth…

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Nuclear Security Education: IAEA Partners with Universities and Research Institutions


Aligning the available teaching materials on nuclear security with the latest IAEA guidance is an important stepping stone in the path to excellence in nuclear security education. This objective is among the key areas of work of the International Nuclear Security Education Network (INSEN), a partnership mechanism that facilitates the collaboration of the IAEA with educational and research institutions.

“Education and training in the area of nuclear security is an essential component of the IAEA’s nuclear security programme,” said Elena Buglova, Director of the IAEA Division of Nuclear Security, during the INSEN Annual meeting convened in Vienna in July. “By sharing experiences and good practices, INSEN members can further enhance their capacities in order to effectively contribute to strengthening nuclear security regimes through a sustainable nuclear security education.” 

Established in 2010, INSEN has 204 members and 13 observers from 72 countries. Their work includes the development of peer-reviewed teaching materials; faculty development in different areas of nuclear security; joint research activities; student exchange programmes; academic theses supervision and evaluation; knowledge management; promotion of nuclear security education; and other related activities.

During their recent annual meeting, 94 participants representing 45 INSEN member countries came together to review the implementation progress of the Network’s Action Plan to identify and evaluate the activities for the coming year.

The exchanges also covered topics such as the role of research in enhancing nuclear security, international collaboration, capacity building as well as gender equality.

“INSEN utilizes feedback received from its members and other international experts through meetings, personal communication, and surveys to understand the evolving nature of nuclear security, and assess the effectiveness of nuclear security education,” said Alpana Goel, Director of Amity Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology from India and Chair of INSEN.

The revision of existing nuclear security teaching materials according to the IAEA publication “Model Academic Curriculum in Nuclear…

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Samsung Partners with the White House to Launch a Cybersecurity Labeling Program to Protect American Consumers


On July 18, 2023, the White House auditorium served as the backdrop for a significant milestone in the convergence of the tech sector and government. Located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, steps away from the West Wing, it hosted the U.S. government’s announcement of the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark program, an initiative aiming to guide consumers toward cybersecurity-conscious purchasing decisions.

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The U.S. Cyber Trust Mark is an initiative propelled into reality by Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel of the Federal Communications Commission, with robust support from both the White House and the National Security Council. Its aim is to introduce a labeling system for consumer electronics and appliances, providing a valuable key to understanding the cybersecurity strengths and weaknesses of products people bring into their homes. This move will empower consumers, enabling them to make well-informed decisions about the technological devices they choose to incorporate into their daily lives.

As a global tech giant, and a longtime proponent of cybersecurity, has been a longstanding supporter of such measures. Ever since the company launched its security guidelines as part of the “Works with SmartThings” program in 2018 – a precursor to existing global Internet of Things (IoT) standards – it has championed voluntary cyber-labeling programs.


SmartThings

At a roundtable discussion held as part of the event, Samsung was represented by Jaeyeon Jung, Executive Vice President and Head of SmartThings. She relayed the company’s commitment to the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark initiative, underscoring it as a high-priority undertaking for Samsung. This commitment extends to Samsung’s own range of connected products as well as to the open multi-brand IoT ecosystem facilitated by the SmartThings platform.

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Jung emphasized that SmartThings is not only a secure platform but also one that is open and interoperable. She noted that all devices integrated into this platform must pass rigorous functional testing to ensure seamless interoperability. In addition, they must undergo extensive security testing to guarantee

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