The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has disclosed that threat actors are abusing the legacy Cisco Smart Install (SMI) feature to access sensitive data. The agency said it has seen adversaries "acquire system configuration files by leveraging available protocols or software on devices, such as abusing the legacy Cisco Smart Install feature." It also said it continues to observe weak passwords used on Cisco network devices, thereby exposing them to password-cracking at
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The National Security Agency (NSA) recently launched its Cybersecurity Collaboration Center (CCC) to proactively help private companies and federal partners fight off advanced cyber adversaries at no cost. Judging by the enthusiastic response so far, CCC’s services are poised to be in high demand.
Through the CCC, the NSA shares its extensive knowledge, threat intelligence, and advanced cybersecurity capabilities directly with organizations across technology, energy, finance, and more sectors.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) assess that People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-sponsored cyber actors are seeking to pre-position themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against US critical infrastructure in the event of a significant crisis or conflict with the United States.[1]
CISA, NSA, FBI and the following partners are releasing this advisory to warn criti
The US FBI and US Department of Justice (DOJ) have used a court order to address vulnerabilities in thousands of internet-connected devices that are at the center of a Chinese hacking campaign. The campaign is targeting sensitive US critical infrastructure, two US officials and a third source familiar with the matter reported to media.
The move is part of a broader, government-wide effort to blunt the impact of a persistent Chinese hacking effort that US officials fear could hinder any US milit
Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are helping the National Security Agency (NSA) and other US government agencies detect malicious Chinese cyber activity; a top US intelligence official stated recently that indicates how US security agencies are using AI to improve computer defenses.
Speaking on 09 January 2024 at the International Conference on Cyber Security at Fordham University, Rob Joyce, the director of the NSA Cybersecurity Directorate, said that AI is helping his
Google’s malware scanning platform VirusTotal published an recent apology after hundreds of individuals working for defense and intelligence agencies globally had their names and email addresses accidentally exposed by an employee.
In a public statement, VirusTotal said it apologized “for any concern or confusion” the exposure may have caused and said it took place on 29 June, when the employee accidentally uploaded a CSV file to the platform.[1] “This CSV file contained limited information of
The Five Eyes agencies recently issued cybersecurity guidance and best practices for smart cities. The document describes potential risks and provides recommendations for addressing them. Those readers who do not follow the novels Tom Clancy and John le Carre may not be familiar with The Five Eyes. The Five Eyes are the intelligence agencies of the US, Canada, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand that share intelligence.[1]
Smart cities integrate Information and Communication Technologies (IC
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance will continue to safeguard US user data from China, Erich Andersen, general counsel for TikTok, has confirmed. ByteDance is developing technologies “to make it physically impossible for any government, including the Chinese government, to access US user data,” Andersen made the claims in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) on 31 March 2023.
As part of the Enduring Security Framework (ESF), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the National Security Agency (NSA) have released Identity and Access Management Recommended Best Practices Guide for Administrators. These best practices provide system administrators with actionable recommendations to better secure their systems from Identity and Access Management (IAM) threats.
IAM, a framework of business processes, policies, and technologies that facilitate the
Remote working brings benefits for employees, but by working from outside the company's internal network, there's also the added threat that employees are left more vulnerable to cyberattacks. And if hackers can compromise a remote employee by stealing their corporate username and password, or infecting their computer with malware, it could become a costly network security risk for the entire organization.[1]
Data breaches, phishing campaigns, ransomware attacks, and business email compromise
A top US intelligence official on 12 January 2023 urged Congress to renew sweeping powers granted to American spy agencies to surveil and examine communications, saying they were critical to stopping terrorism, cyberattacks and other threats. The remarks by an Army General - director of the National Security Agency, opened what’s expected to be a contentious debate over provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that expire at year’s end. The bipartisan consensus in favor of expan
The US National Security Agency’s No. 2 official said on 7 September that the US still outpaces foreign adversaries when it comes to cybersecurity and technology thanks to the country’s “open society.” The US and its democratic allies “enjoy things that cannot be replicated easily in autocratic societies,” the NSA’s deputy director, said during the Billington Cybersecurity Summit in Washington, DC.[1]
“The grist of that is innovation. Innovation sparks creativity and solutions. That puts us
The US government is sounding the alarm after discovering new custom tools capable of full system compromise and disruption of ICS/SCADA devices and servers. Investigators reported that a custom-made, modular ICS attack framework can be used to disrupt and/or destruct devices in industrial environments.
A joint advisory from the Department of Energy, CISA, NSA, and the FBI warned that unidentified APT actors have created specialized tools capable of causing major damage to PLCs from Schneider El
Organizations need to have better plans in place to prevent cyberattacks, but they should be more transparent about when they do fall victim to hackers in order to prevent others from meeting the same fate, according to the former head of the US National Security Agency (NSA). As director of the NSA and Commander of US Cyber Command from 2014 to 2018, Admiral Michael S. Rogers oversaw cybersecurity during a period of time when the threat of cyberattacks from criminals and foreign government-ba
The US head of the US National Security Agency (NSA), Cyber Command says the US will continue to battle ransomware for many years into the future. Some of the highest-ranking cybersecurity officials in the US government discussed the pervasive threat of ransomware on 05 October 2021, comparing it to an issue of national security with the ability to inflict measurable damage on major world powers.
Speaking at security firm Mandiant's Cyber Defense Summit, the deputy national security adviser for
The National Security Agency, the FBI and other agencies are tracking an ongoing Russian cyberespionage campaign in which attackers are using brute-force methods to access Microsoft Office 365 and other cloud-based services, according to an alert published Thursday. The campaign, which started in 2019, has targeted "hundreds" of businesses, government agencies and organizations worldwide, mainly in the U.S. and Europe, the NSA reports. The victims include several U.S. Department of Defense unit
In 1980, the British comedy group Monty Python created a video, “I Like Chinese.” We all like Chinese; except the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) – who train, encourage and promote active hacking of many, many counties. A Chinese hacking group allegedly "cloned" and deployed a zero-day exploit developed by the US National Security Agency's Equation Group (NSA) before Microsoft patched the Windows vulnerability that was being exploited in 2017. For several years, researchers have suspected the C
Russian state level hackers have been exploiting a vulnerability found in VMware products including virtual workspaces, this according to a cybersecurity advisory issued last week by the the US based, National Security Agency.
PHOTOGRAPH: YIFEI FANG, GETTY IMAGES
The VMware vulnerability, which is called in CVE-2020-4006 and rated 7.2 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), was disclosed and patched last week. According to the NSA advisory, threat actors are using the vulnerability t
In August 2020, the NSA and FBI published a joint security alert containing details about a previously undisclosed Russian malware. The entire report can be viewed here
The agencies say that the Linux strain malware has been developed and deployed in real-world attacks by Russian military hackers. The FBI says, “The Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) 85th Main Special Service Center (GTsSS) military unit 26165, whose activity is sometimes identified by the private sector
