Computer Security

Ukrainian IT Army blocks over 750 Russian online platforms in past two weeks

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https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3536309-ukrainian-it-army-blocks-over-750-russian-online-platforms-in-past-two-weeks.html

Ukrainian IT Army blocks over 750 Russian online platforms in past two weeks
July 11 through July 24, the Ukrainian IT
Army disabled more than 750 Russian online resources, including those of
the Russian Foreign Ministry, various military agencies, and others.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Digital Transformation on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

It is noted that critical
online resources of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian
Federation were subjected to cyber attacks. “In order to protect the
sites, the head of the ministry, Sergei Lavrov, was forced to distract
himself from yet another lie he spread and temporarily hide the sites of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” the Ministry of Statistics notes.

Read also: Russia steps up cyberattacks on EU, world since invading Ukraine

In addition, the operations of more than a hundred online stores
selling drones, as well as military depot shops were paralyzed across
Russia. Because of this, the Russians had issues with ordering equipment
and gear for their soldiers fighting against Ukraine.

It is also noted that due to cyberattacks targeting Russia, telecom
services provided by Beeline and the operator’s online platforms failed
so its customers had no access to the Internet.

“The IT Army continues to curb propaganda in the Russian Federation
and does not stop its ‘preventive’ work with the Russian mass media. For
every Russian missile fired at Ukrainian cities and every Russian shot
fired at Ukrainians, the IT Army continues to block the ‘great empire’
with massive cyber strikes, every day. Evil will be punished on physical
and digital fields,” the Ministry of Digital Affairs emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, from June 27 to July 10, the IT Army attacked more than 800 Russian online resources.

Poll: Even Zoomers Want TikTok Banned

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https://www.nationandstate.com/2022/07/21/poll-even-zoomers-want-tiktok-banned/?amp
Following a report that TikTok employees have been accessing their user data, most Americans, including a majority of young people, want TikTok to be banned, a national poll found. Nearly 60 percent of U.S. users—and 51 percent of the company’s core demographic of 18 to 24 year olds—want TikTok removed from app stores. Young adults comprise…

Chinese State-Backed Hackers Targeting Major Telecom Companies: US Security Agencies

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https://www.nationandstate.com/2022/06/20/chinese-state-backed-hackers-targeting-major-telecom-companies-us-security-agencies/?amp
Chinese State-Backed Hackers Targeting Major Telecom Companies: US Security Agencies Authored by Sophia Lam via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), U.S. security agencies have warned that hackers backed by the Chinese regime have been targeting “major telecommunications companies and network service providers” since 2020. The seals of the U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency, […]

The Russia-NATO Cyber War Is Escalating Fast

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https://www.nationandstate.com/2022/04/23/the-russia-nato-cyber-war-is-escalating-fast/?amp
The Russia-NATO Cyber War Is Escalating Fast Authored by Nick Corbishley via NakedCapitalism.com, Fears are rising that the boundaries of the cyber war between Russia and NATO could soon spread beyond Europe. Eight cybersecurity authorities from the so-called “Five Eye” nations (United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand) released a joint statement on Thursday warning […]

FBI hijacks Russian hackers’ computer infrastructure

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https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-society/3453574-fbi-hijacks-russian-hackers-computer-infrastructure.html

FBI hijacks Russian hackers’ computer infrastructure

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has made a pre-emptive move to hinder a Russian operation for creating another botnet.
That’s according to the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has wrested control of thousands of routers and firewall appliances from Russian military hackers by hijacking the same infrastructure Moscow’s spies were using
to communicate with the devices, according to Reuters.

Read also: Another cyberattack ongoing on Ukraine government networks

The unusual operation was a pre-emptive move to stop Russian hackers from mobilizing the compromised devices into a “botnet” – a network of hacked computers that can bombard other servers with rogue traffic.

Meanwhile, the BanderaHackers group attacked five state-owned
Belarusian procurement and export platforms, gaining access to confidential information and defacing their websites with anti-war
appeals.

Anonymous earlier hacked the all-Russian state television and radio
broadcaster, which operates Rossiya 1 TV, and attacked the server of a
Lipetsk-based producer of components for anti-aircraft missile systems.

As Ukrinform reported, in early April, the Anonymous said it had published personal data of 120,000 Russian military servicemen deployed in Ukraine.

…

Telecom watchdog refutes fake reports claiming Russian forces intercept Ukrainian phone calls

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https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3448925-telecom-watchdog-refutes-fake-reports-claiming-russian-forces-intercept-ukrainian-phone-calls.html

Telecom watchdog refutes fake reports claiming Russian forces intercept Ukrainian phone calls

The head of the State Special
Communications Service, Yuriy Shchyhol, said that at the onset of
Russian invasion, the issue was considered of restricting calls from
Ukrainian SIM cards to subscribers of Russian operators.
He addressed the issue in an interview with Segodnia, Ukrinform reports.

“At the beginning of the Russian full-scale military invasion, the
decision to restrict calls from Ukrainian SIM cards to subscribers of
Russian operators was considered. In fact, it was almost approved, but
it was decided to abandon it. This allowed intercepting communications
of enemy forces, whose comms systems proved incapable, to receive plenty
of intelligence that is extremely important for our fight against the
aggressor,” the official said.

Read also: In chilling call to wife, Russian soldier boasts of “children safari” in Mariupol – intercept

Answering questions about the possible Russian interceptions of
Ukrainian calls, Shchyhol noted that so far there is no evidence that
the Russian forces are able to eavesdrop on Ukrainian communications.
“All such statements turned out to be fake and part of information and
psychological warfare. Their goal is to intimidate Ukrainians, as well
as to force our citizens to stop reporting location of enemy equipment,”
said the official.

He added that this is not the only case where disinformation is being
spread among citizens, mentioned the example of a fake report claiming
Ukrainians could receive calls late at night from unidentified numbers,
which would help enemy forces spot bombing targets. In that message,
people were advised to keep their phones switched off overnight. “Of
course, that claim turned out to be false.

Post office social media surveillance program found to be illegal | Aletho News

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https://alethonews.com/2022/04/01/post-office-social-media-surveillance-program-found-to-be-illegal/

By Christina Maas | Reclaim The Net | April 1, 2022

A review conducted by the Postal Service Office of Inspector General found that the Postal Service surveillance program iCOP exceeded its legal authority by surveilling Americans during protests between 2018 and 2021.

In 2021, Yahoo News reported the existence of the secret program, prompting outrage from lawmakers and constitutional experts who noted the program operated without oversight from Congress. Soon after the Yahoo News’ report, Congress requested the Inspector General’s office to launch an investigation into iCOP (Internet Covert Operations Program).

“We determined that certain proactive searches iCOP conducted using an open-source intelligence tool from February to April 2021 exceeded the Postal Inspection Service’s law enforcement authority,” the March 25, 2022, Inspector General report stated.

“Furthermore, we could not corroborate whether other work analysts completed from October 2018 through June 2021 was legally authorized.”

According to Yahoo News, iCOP used sophisticated technology, including facial recognition, to compile reports on protesters. It ran keywords searches for terms such as “protest” on online platforms to collect speech about protests that had nothing to do with the Postal Service’s work.

The House Oversight Committee chair, Rep. Carolyn Maloney said the Inspector General report proves there was cause for concern over iCOP’s activities.

“The Oversight Committee requested this report because of our significant concerns about intelligence activities conducted by the Postal Service Inspection Service’s analytics team related to First Amendment activity,” Maloney said in a statement to Yahoo News. “The Inspector General’s audit makes clear that the committee’s concerns were justified, and that the use of open-source intelligence by the analytics team ‘exceeded the Postal Inspection Service’s law enforcement authority.’”

The report concluded that the Postal Service exceeded its legal authority in monitoring protesters, and stressed iCOP’s activities should have a “postal nexus.”

“However, the keywords used for iCOP in the proactive searches did not include any terms with a postal nexus. Further, the postal nexus was not documented in 122 requests and 18 reports due to a lack of requirements in the program’s procedures. These issues occurred because management did not involve the Postal Inspection Service’s Office of Counsel in developing iCOP or its procedures.”