Tag Archive for: U.S.

FACT SHEET: $50B+ of U.S. Private Sector Investments into APEC Economies, as well as Private Sector Contributions to Sustainability, Inclusivity, and Resilience

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Under President Biden’s leadership, the U.S. host year of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) has demonstrated that the United States is uniquely positioned to drive sustainable, inclusive, dynamic growth in one of the most vibrant and economically important regions in the world.

American businesses are the largest source of foreign direct investment in APEC economies. The United States’ strong and resilient economy remains an indispensable driver of prosperity and innovation across our partners in the Asia-Pacific. Our public and private sectors continue to deliver for APEC economies, catalyzing sustainable, high-quality investments that create good jobs within APEC member economies as well as in the United States.

Many of these investments also advance the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGI), President Biden and the G7’s flagship infrastructure initiative for leveraging the expertise and financing from the private sector to scale quality investments in low- and middle-income countries to generate economic growth.

Today, U.S. companies represented at the APEC CEO Summit highlighted and announced over $50 billion of investments into APEC economies in 2023. This slate of announcements includes:

  • Nearly $25 billion in additional investments to increase digital connectivity and resilience throughout our region, including new subsea cables—both across the Pacific and within APEC economies—that will result in more than $1 trillion in GDP over the next four years, making our economies more interconnected and secure.
  • 50+ new direct flights per week from the United States to APEC economies to support increased people-to-people & business-to-business ties and trade/shipping; this steep growth in flights marks the largest U.S. airline expansion into the South Pacific in history.
  • Significant investments in a wide range of sustainability and clean energy technologies, including carbon sequestration, grid decarbonization, and sustainable aviation fuel.
  • Trailblazing investments and financings that both drive economic growth and advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s values, including an investment in an environmental…

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Phantom Hackers Threat Spreading Across U.S.

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(TNS) — A growing nationwide scam could target your grandparents, the FBI warns.

“Phantom hacker” scams are on the rise and are disproportionately affecting older people, according to a Sept. 29 FBI public service announcement. It’s an “evolution of more general tech support scams,” federal officials say, as these “phantom hackers” claim to be technology support, bank staff and government officials in order to gain the trust of those they’re scamming.

The three-step scam can result in people losing their “entire banking, savings, retirement, or investment accounts,” officials say, all while the scammers are convincing them to “protect” their assets.


In the first half of 2023, 19,000 complaints were filed with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, according to the release. The estimated loss from the reported scams totaled over $542 million.

Around 66% of total losses were from people over 60 years old, officials say.

FBI offices in San Francisco and Cleveland also sent out specific advisories for their regions about the “phantom hacker” scam.

“These scammers are cold and calculated. They are targeting older members of our community who are particularly mindful of potential risks to their nest eggs. The criminals are using the victims’ own attentiveness against them,” FBI special agent in charge John S. Morales said in the San Francisco release.

‘Phantom hackers’ and their 3-step approach

The FBI breaks down the “phantom hacker” scam into three phases.

The first phase starts with a “tech support imposter,” officials say. The scammer typically reaches out as someone who works at a legitimate business by phone, text message or email. They tell the person that they’re looking to assist them, where they eventually get the scam victim to download software on their personal computer that gives the hacker remote access to their device.

Then, the scammer lies and tells the person they’ve detected a virus on the computer and instructs the person to open up their financial accounts to ensure no one has taken money out illegitimately, officials say.

After targeting a specific…

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Biden Worries House Tumult Could Disrupt U.S. Aid to Ukraine: Live Updates

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President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arriving at the European Political Community summit in Granada, Spain, on Thursday.Credit…Marcelo Del Pozo/Getty Images

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine arrived in Spain on Thursday to participate in a European summit aimed at strengthening cooperation across the continent amid concerns about waning support for his country as it faces another winter of Russian aggression.

The Ukrainian leader’s trip to the southern Spanish city of Granada came a day after President Biden expressed worries that the recent political turmoil in Congress could disrupt the flow of U.S. aid to Ukraine.

“I think it’s too late for us to worry. I think we have to work on it,” Mr. Zelensky told reporters at the summit when asked if he was concerned about a possible scaling back of U.S. military aid.

He said that he was confident that the United States would continue to support Ukraine’s war efforts, noting that meetings with Mr. Biden and with Congress members last month were positive.

Mr. Zelensky earlier said that the “joint goal” of those gathering in Granada was “to ensure the security and stability of our common European home.”

“We will pay special attention to the Black Sea region as well as our joint efforts to strengthen global food security and freedom of navigation,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Ukraine’s key priority, particularly as winter approaches, is to strengthen air defense.”

E.U. leaders are expected to discuss long-term financial aid for Ukraine at a summit planned later this month in Brussels. On Thursday, Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, told reporters in Granada that what Ukraine needed was “predictability and reliability” on direct budget support.

“I’m very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States,” she said. “What the United States is working on is the timing.”

Thursday’s meeting in Grenada comes amid concerns about potential cracks in Europe’s united front on Ukraine, as governments reckon with the economic and political costs of providing long-term support for Kyiv.

It is just the third meeting of the European Political Community, a…

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FBI Warns of Rising Trend of Dual Ransomware Attacks Targeting U.S. Companies

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Sep 30, 2023THNRansomware / Cyber Threat

Ransomware

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is warning of a new trend of dual ransomware attacks targeting the same victims, at least since July 2023.

“During these attacks, cyber threat actors deployed two different ransomware variants against victim companies from the following variants: AvosLocker, Diamond, Hive, Karakurt, LockBit, Quantum, and Royal,” the FBI said in an alert. “Variants were deployed in various combinations.”

Not much is known about the scale of such attacks, although it’s believed that they happen in close proximity to one another, ranging from anywhere between 48 hours to within 10 days.

Cybersecurity

Another notable change observed in ransomware attacks is the increased use of custom data theft, wiper tools, and malware to exert pressure on victims to pay up.

“This use of dual ransomware variants resulted in a combination of data encryption, exfiltration, and financial losses from ransom payments,” the agency said. “Second ransomware attacks against an already compromised system could significantly harm victim entities.”

It’s worth noting that dual ransomware attacks are not an entirely novel phenomenon, with instances observed as early as May 2021.

Last year, Sophos revealed that an unnamed automotive supplier had been hit by a triple ransomware attack comprising Lockbit, Hive, and BlackCat over a span of two weeks between April and May 2022.

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Then, earlier this month, Symantec detailed a 3AM ransomware attack targeting an unnamed victim following an unsuccessful attempt to deliver LockBit in the target network.

The shift in tactics boils down to several contributing factors, including the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities and the proliferation of initial access brokers and affiliates in the ransomware landscape, who can resell access to victim systems and deploy various strains in quick succession.

Organizations are advised to strengthen their…

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