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Tag Archive for: ‘spy
An Alleged Russian Spy Was Busted Trying to Intern at The Hague
Dutch intelligence agency AVID claimed this week that “Viktor Muller Ferreira” is just a cover story and false identity for Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, an alleged Russian intelligence officer belonging to the GRU military unit. AVID said it caught Cherkasov applying to be an intern at the International Criminal Court at The Hague, which is investigating potential war crimes in Russia’s wars against Ukraine and Georgia.
As well as stopping Cherkasov from obtaining the position at the ICC and sending him back to Brazil, the Dutch intelligence agency also published his long and detailed cover story. The four-page story, often known as a covert intelligence officer’s “legend,” details the background of the “Ferreira” identity. “The threat posed by this intelligence officer is deemed potentially very high,” AVID said in a statement.
Since outing “Ferreira,” more clues about his undercover life have emerged. Social media profiles belonging to “Ferreira” have been discovered by the investigative unit Bellingcat, as well as a blog and online CV. He also studied at Trinity College Dublin and Johns Hopkins University. Eugene Finkel, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins, who says he taught “Ferreira,” tweeted: “I wrote him a letter. A strong one, in fact. Yes, me. I wrote a reference letter for a GRU officer. I will never get over this fact. I hate everything about GRU, him, this story. I am so glad he was exposed.”
For years it’s been impossible to move backups of WhatsApp chats between Android and iOS, and vice versa. In August last year, WhatsApp announced it was starting to roll out the ability for people to move their data between iPhones and Android devices. Now, this week, the Meta-owned company says backups will work in the other direction too—from Android to iOS.
Processors from Intel and AMD are vulnerable to a new side-channel attack called Hertzbleed. The attack could allow the theft of cryptographic keys and data, as reported by BleepingComputer and DarkReading. Hertzbleed works by exploiting a common power-saving feature in chips—called dynamic frequency scaling (DVFS)—that could allow an attacker to steal data. Frequency changes…
Toby Walne catches Russian hackers trying to spy on his computer
The Russians are coming. They might not be knocking down our doors, but cyber hackers are already invading our computers. And I can vouch for the disruption they are causing. My personal computer has been crippled by ‘attacks from Russia,’ as they have tried to hijack my email account.
It has been a harrowing experience because my computer is like an extra limb – and essential for my work.
As a victim of the Kremlin’s red army of online fraudsters, I can no longer send or receive emails. Worse still, I am worried the Russians could be watching my every move – with KGB-style online eavesdropping.
Advice: Expert Colin Tankard helps Toby Walne tighten up the security on his computer system following the attack
Quite why I have been targeted I cannot say. Journalist I may be, but my emails are full of tips on bleeding radiators to keep heating bills down – not the codes to Britain’s nuclear arsenal.
It has left me feeling not only violated, but also paranoid. At any moment, they could plunder my computer files and demand money in a blackmail ‘ransomware’ attack – or by stealing enough data, even empty my bank account.
The trigger for the attacks on my machine remains unknown, but may have been a result of me downloading ‘Bad Rabbit’ software – malware – when I pressed a button thinking I was updating software. Such malware ransacks your computer of information and appears to originate from Russia.
Then again, perhaps the Kremlin found my details on the dark web – where it appears my personal information and passwords had been leaked, following hacks into services I have used in the past.
Or maybe I had been targeted following a warning article written in The Mail on Sunday in March about ‘Putin’s hackers’.
Frightening though the experience has been, at least I am now aware what is going on and can take action. And according to cyber experts, I am not alone. The Russians are targeting thousands – maybe millions – of people’s computers in order to disrupt Western economies following the invasion of Ukraine.
This is not just revenge for sanctions – creating disruption and panic for computer users – but to swindle us out of our money.
My encounter…