Bidenâs Pick for Acting CIA Director Has a Lot To Say About Ransomware and Cybercrime
Cohen will lead the CIA as the U.S. confronts what experts say is one of the most significant cybersecurity incidents to ever target the government. Russia was recently blamed for an attack that affects potentially thousands of companies and government agencies, and cybersecurity experts say it might have been carried out by the countryâs Foreign Intelligence Service, which has similar objectives to the CIA….
âNothing in Cybersecurity Is Satisfactory:â Former Swedish PM Carl Bildt on the Need for Norms in Cyberspace
In February 1994, Carl Bildt, who was at the time serving as Prime Minister of Sweden, typed a brief two-paragraph email addressed to then-U.S. President Bill Clinton. The note congratulated Clinton on his decision to end a trade embargo on Vietnam, but also marked a historic event for the internet: It was the first known email sent between heads of government. âSweden isâas you knowâone of the leading countries in the world in the field of telecommunications, and it is only appropriate that we should be among the first to use the Internet also for political contacts and communications around the globe,â the message read.
I talked to Bildt recently about how global leaders should think about cybersecurity, and which policies and practices can help keep people safe online. To Bildt, we are often our own worst enemy: âThe greatest threat is ignorance,” he said…
What Itâs Like to Run a Hacking Forum: A Conversation With RaidForums Owner Omnipotent
For the last five years, RaidForums has made a name for itself for being a constant source of high-profile database leaks. RaidForums was started in 2015 by a user named Omnipotent, who still operates the site. Omnipotent talked with Recorded Future expert threat intelligence analyst Dmitry Smilyanets about why he started RaidForums and what itâs like to operate it….
âI Was Running Two Parallel Livesâ: An Ex-Secret Service Agent Opens Up About Going Undercover To Catch Cybercriminals
Until recently, Richard LaTulip was one of the Secret Serviceâs special agents who went undercover to better understand cybercriminals. On occasion, he would even befriend hackers. âI opened the door and there on the other side was the target standing with a liter of vodka… a gift from their home country,â he recalled. LaTulip, who left the agency in July to join the private sector, opened up about his experiences at the Secret Service in a recent interview with Recorded Future expert threat intelligence analyst Dmitry Smilyanets. The two first met in 2012, when Smilyanets himself was interviewed by LaTulip in relation to his involvement in a major data breach investigation….
How Cybersecurity Will Change in 2021
Weâre going to be powering up machines that have been touched for a year. Organizations might want to think twice before putting out a big PR release that theyâre going back to the office on a certain date. Figuring out how to get machines patched and inoculating employees against phishing before returning to the office is going to be important…
Former Israeli CERT Chief: ‘A Cheap Incident Response Costs A Lot’
As the executive director of Israelâs National Computer Emergency Response Center, or CERT, Lavy Shtokhamer dealt with more cyberattacks in a week than many information security professionals would see in a year. The Center acted as a hub for information sharing and response in the country, with victims constantly informing Shtokhamer and his team of new incidents, which would then be anonymized and relayed to other companies and government organizations to help protect them from the similar attacks. Last week, I caught up with Shtokhamer via video conferenceâhe will be taking on a new role in the coming days, and was open to talking about his experience in the Israeli government…
Ridding Hackers From Government Networks Will Be âHighly Complex and Challenging,â CISA Warns
The Department of Homeland Securityâs Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Thursday issued its most urgent and detailed alert yet about the hacking campaign that has rocked government agencies and technology firms in recent days, saying that it âposes a grave riskâ to federal and state governments, critical infrastructure entities, and private sector organizations. Additionally, CISA said it has evidence of additional attack vectors other than the SolarWinds Orion platform. CISA said it is still investigating the additional attack vectors, and that the attacker is likely using tactics, techniques, and procedures that have not yet been discovered…
Why Biden Might Follow Trumpâs Lead on Cybersecurity Policy
On many issuesâclimate change, immigration, relations with Iranâthe incoming Biden administration is expected to reverse President Trumpâs policies. On cybersecurity, not so much. In interviews with The Record, and at a series of online events this week, commentators and potential Biden appointees said the new administration, in its efforts to protect U.S. computer networks, would seek to build on the progress made primarily by officials at the Department of Homeland Security, rather than attempt a clean policy break….
A Government Insider on Navigating the New Guidance for Ransomware Payments
When attorney David Cohen was serving in the Treasury Department under the Obama administrationâwhere he was known as the administrationâs âfinancial Batmanââransomware payments were hardly on the governmentâs radar, he said. In recent years, however, the ransomware threat has rapidly expanded, crippling countless schools, hospitals, municipalities, and businesses on a daily basis….
Ukraine’s Top Cyber Cop on Defending Against Disinformation and Russian Hackers
In recent years, Ukraine has become an involuntary testing ground for some of the most dangerous cyberweapons in the world. Serhii Demediuk has perhaps played the most prominent role in defending Ukraine against digital intrusions, investigating cyberattacks and the groups behind them, and strengthening the countryâs capabilities in cyberspace….