Tag Archive for: request

Russia takes down REvil hacking group at U.S. request – FSB

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MOSCOW, Jan 14 (Reuters) – Russia has dismantled ransomware crime group REvil at the request of the United States in an operation in which it detained and charged the group’s members, the FSB domestic intelligence service said on Friday.

The arrests were a rare apparent demonstration of U.S.-Russian collaboration at a time of high tensions between the two over Ukraine. The announcement came as Ukraine was responding to a massive cyber attack that shut down government websites, though there was no indication the incidents were related. read more

The United States welcomed the arrests, according to a senior admininstration official, adding “we understand that one of the individuals who was arrested today was responsible for attack against Colonial Pipeline last spring.”

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A May cyberattack on the Colonial Pipeline that led to widespread gas shortages on the U.S. East Coast used encryption software called DarkSide, which was developed by REvil associates.

A police and FSB operation searched 25 addresses, detaining 14 people, the FSB said, listing assets it had seized including 426 million roubles, $600,000, 500,000 euros, computer equipment and 20 luxury cars.

A Moscow court identified two of the men as Roman Muromsky and Andrei Bessonov and remanded them in custody for two months. Muromsky could not be reached for comment and his phone was off. Reuters could not immediately reach Bessonov.

Two Muscovites told Reuters Muromsky was a web developer who had helped them with websites for their businesses.

Russia told Washington directly of the moves it had taken against the group, the FSB said. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it could not immediately comment.

“The investigative measures were based on a request from the … United States,” the FSB said. “… The organised criminal association has ceased to exist and the information infrastructure used for criminal purposes was neutralised.”

The REN TV channel aired footage of agents raiding homes and arresting people, pinning them to the floor, and seizing large piles of dollars and Russian roubles.

The group members have been charged and could face up to seven years in prison, the FSB…

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GitHub case: Twitter rejects urgent request for accounts details, says it’s not national security matter

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Twitter is said to have denied details of two handles thought to be connected to the case where a female journalist’s photo was uploaded on a website alongside disparaging comments, saying this was not a “national security threat matter” and that the Delhi Police should approach it through the proper channel instead.

Days after lodging an FIR against unknown persons, the police had written to the software development platform GitHub for details of the website developer, and from Twitter, they sought information about two accounts they believe had tweeted about the app first. The accounts were deactivated when the victims started sharing their ordeal online. “Sensing the gravity of the case, we asked Twitter to provide details of their IP addresses on an urgent basis, but they responded on Tuesday, asking us to come through proper channels since it’s not a national security threat matter,” a senior police officer privy to the investigation said.

The website was made using GitHub on December 31 and doctored photos of at least 100 Muslim women, along with lewd remarks, were posted there. GitHub subsequently removed the content, but many Twitter users tagged the women and posted screenshots.

On January 2, the south-east district police lodged an FIR against unknown persons and subsequently transferred the case to its Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit on January 4. The police are planning to get the go-ahead for a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty to seek information about the app from its foreign-based hosting platform.

The Indian Computer Emergency Response System (Cert-In), the nodal agency for monitoring cyber security incidents and related threats, has been asked to form “a high-level committee” to probe the incident and coordinate with the cyber cells of state police forces, senior government officials said.

In her complaint to police on Saturday, the Delhi-based journalist had accused unknown persons of promoting enmity, sexual harassment, and insulting women. “I was shocked to find…that a website/portal…had a doctored picture of me in an improper, unacceptable and clearly lewd context… The…content…is clearly aimed at insulting…

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Canada judge rejects new request in Huawei extradition case, Telecom News, ET Telecom

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Vancouver: A Canadian judge has rejected a request from Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who wanted testimony from employees of the Chinese telecom giant to be admitted as evidence in her fight against extradition to the United States.

Meng — whose father is Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei — has been in a two-year battle against extradition over charges the firm violated US sanctions on Iran.

She is accused of defrauding HSBC by falsely misrepresenting links between Huawei and its Skycom subsidiary, putting the bank at risk of violating sanctions against Tehran as it continued to clear US dollar transactions for Huawei.

Lawyers for Meng, 49, believe the affidavits could show the banking giant was aware of the links between Huawei and Skycom, which sold telecom equipment to Iran.

The evidence would help demonstrate the prosecution case was “manifestly unreliable,” according to the lawyers.

In a decision released late Friday, Associate Chief Justice Heather Holmes of the Supreme Court of British Columbia ruled that the testimony requested by Meng’s defense “relates to issues properly within the domain of a trial, not the extradition hearing.”

Holmes said it was not for her to rule on issues of credibility in an extradition hearing.

“The proposed evidence could do no more than offer an alternative narrative from that set out” by the United States in its case against Meng, Holmes wrote.

“These would take the extradition hearing beyond its proper scope.”

Last week, Huawei confirmed that Meng was taking HSBC to court in Hong Kong to access banking records she says will help her battle extradition.

In February, she lost a similar legal bid in London.

Meng’s extradition battle in Vancouver has entered its final phase. Hearings resume on Monday and are expected to end in mid-May, barring appeals.

Washington has accused Huawei of stealing American trade secrets and banned US semiconductor chip makers from selling to it.

The case has caused a major diplomatic rift between Canada and China.

Meng was arrested on a US warrant during a Vancouver stopover in December 2018 and is being held under house arrest at her Vancouver mansion.

Two Canadians — former diplomat Michael Kovrig and…

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Potential data breach exposed in state’s travel exemption request system – Hawaii News Now

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Potential data breach exposed in state’s travel exemption request system  Hawaii News Now
“data breach” – read more