• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Jobs
  • Career
    • Cyber Security Training
    • Work from Home
    • Cyber Security Analyst
    • Remote Work – Six Ways to Keep Your Data Safe When Working Remotely
  • Field Guide
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Deals
  • News
AskCyberSecurity.com

AskCyberSecurity.com

Cyber Security News & Information

  • Home
  • Data Privacy
    • Gamers
    • Government Cyber Security
      • Legislation
      • Standards
        • What are the risks of computer security?
        • Medical Cyber Security
    • Social Media
  • Security
    • Data Breaches
    • Scams
    • Malware
  • Software
    • Apps
    • Web Browsers
  • Glossary
    • Cyber Security Acronyms
  • About Ask Cyber Security
    • Authors
    • Contact Us
  • VPN
    • How Do I Know If My VPN is Working?
    • Best Free VPN iPhone
    • Why Use a VPN?
    • NordVPN vs IPVanish
    • Private Internet Access Download
    • Best VPN for Streaming
      • TikTok VPN
    • VPN Porn
    • Computer Security Software – What You Really Need
  • Tutorials
  • ChatGPT
    • Does ChatGPT Save Data?
AskCyber Home » News » News » Cybersecurity News Update 6/15/2017

Cybersecurity News Update 6/15/2017

2017-06-16 by Max

Cybersecurity News Update 6/15/2017

A lot has happened in the past week, so here’s a quick rundown of the highlights.

Should Kaspersky Testify?

Representative Clay Higgins suggested to two separate Senate subcommittees that the controversial malware specialist Kaspersky should be called to testify. The Department of Homeland Security has issued guidance that vendors and the federal government should avoid contacting Kaspersky or using Kaspersky products and services. This is due to their alleged ties to Russia, founder Eugene Kaspersky was trained in a KGB-sponsored university and served with Russian military intelligence. Higgins stated that “The CIA, FBI, and NSA advise this body not to trust this person. I suggest we take him up on his offer.” Kaspersky’s offer is to testify before the Senate to clear his name, and to dispute what federal agencies have said about him.
Source: GOP Rep: Let’s call controversial antivirus expert Kaspersky to testify

Bitcoin Exchanges Hit by Cyberattacks

A myriad of cyberattacks hit several Bitcoin exchanges, the majority of which were DDoS attacks. This followed up on a resurgence in interest in the cryptocurrency after it rallied last week. The risks of running a Bitcoin exchange is that a successful hack, rather than a denial of service, could lead to people losing their money. With the value of Bitcoin being what it is, that could be a very large liability for the exchanges. Several other digital currencies saw their values surge as investors flooded the market with money. Etherium saw it’s price increase several thousand percent, as well as Bancor and IOTA. Exchanges are now facing the issue of increased traffic overrunning their capacity to serve their customers, which makes them more vulnerable to DDoS attacks or hacking attempts.
Source: Major bitcoin exchanges hit by cyberattacks as record rally makes them a target

North Korea Believed to be Responsible for WannaCry Attacks

North Korea has a long history of criminal activity as a source of income. Their diplomats have been known to smuggle drugs into countries they’re visiting, with orders to sell it. North Korea’s kidnapping and ransoming of people near their border is also well known, especially in the cases of the Western tourists they have taken. North Korea is also active in cyberspace though, using hacks and schemes to raise tens of millions of dollars, safe within the borders of their country. The FBI released an alert earlier this week about the threat of “Hidden Cobra” a North Korean unit of hackers and extortionists who were targeting US infrastructure and manufacturing. Cyberwarfare makes sense for North Korea, as it allows the small country to hit above its weight. An effective cyberattack could cripple swathes of the United States, or any other country, just like the WannaCry virus. If North Korea could hold the manufacturing of a major country hostage, they could go from making millions to billions of dollars. Hidden Cobra, potentially believed to be “Lazarus” (another NK cyber group) has used its prowess to steal money straight from the bank accounts of vulnerable countries.

Source: NORTH KOREA’S SLOPPY, CHAOTIC CYBERATTACKS ALSO MAKE PERFECT SENSEy

The CIA Can Hack Your Router, According to New WikiLeaks Documents

Routers are a vulnerability in any secure system. They get updated infrequently by the vendor, and if one gets infected it spreads to the rest of your network. They make inciting targets for hackers and government agencies alike, 24/7 access to all the traffic running through them is attractive to an intelligence agency. In another release from their Vault 7 archives, WikiLeaks released the toolkit the CIA uses to break into vulnerable routers. These routers include those produce by Linksys and D-Link, using a wide variety of exploits, hacks, remote monitoring and overrides. The CIA program Claymore gives looks for vulnerabilities that are then exploited by Tomato and Surfside, both which exploit known weaknesses to gain access to your router. From there FlyTrap is installed, a program that sends your traffic to the CIA while removing all encryption and secure connections. This also allows the CIA access to any connected devices, including mobile devices like tablets and phones. CherryTree is implanted as well, allowing your router to be controlled remotely, and potentially be used to infect other routers on your network.

Source: WIKILEAKS REVEALS HOW THE CIA COULD HACK YOUR ROUTER

Filed Under: News

About Max

Max is a Data Privacy Coordinator at a major global law firm and a science fiction author residing in the Philadelphia area. He has been writing for https://www.askcybersecurity.com since early 2017.


LinkedInTwitterFacebook

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to Our Free Newsletter

We Don't Share or Sell Your Info

Web Browsers

Where Are My Saved Passwords in Chrome?

Google Removes 70 Malicious Browser Add-ons from Chrome Web Store

Firefox 75 Reports Your Browser Settings to Mozilla

Categories

Cyber Security Field Guide

Computer Security While TravelingGet Our Cyber Security Field Guide - Available on Amazon!

Recent Posts

Security Marketing Manager – Remote

Sr. Associate, Cybersecurity Architect – Pfizer

Strategic Customer Success Manager – Cybersecurity – Opportunity for Working Remotely

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

ISU Cybersecurity Leader Job Opening

Cyber Security News

Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

… [Read More...] about Top 20 Passwords Leaked on Dark Web

Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

… [Read More...] about Apple Warns of Actively Exploited Zero-Day Flaw

IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

… [Read More...] about IRS Stops Facial Recognition System for Online Access

National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

… [Read More...] about National Cybersecurity Alliance Announces Data Privacy Week

More Cyber Security News

Tags

amazon Android Apple bitcoin China chrome CISA credit card DarkSide DHS DOJ Equifax Europe Facebook facial recognition FBI Firefox FTC games GDPR Google Government hacker identity theft India iPhone Iran IRS LinkedIn Microsoft North Korea PayPal phishing phishing email ransomware REvil Russia smartphone T-Mobile TikTok tutorial VPN WhatsApp WiFi Windows

Government

CBP Looks to Access Airline Passenger Data

FTC Releases Cyber Threat Video Playlist

Malware Found on US Government Funded Phones

UK NCA Reaches Out to Youth to Deter Cybercrimes

More Posts from this Category

Footer

Menu

  • Home
  • About
  • Authors
  • Newsletter Signup
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Search

Why Use a VPN?

NordVPN vs IPVanish VPN Review

NAVIGATION

  • Data Breaches
  • Data Privacy
  • Gamers
  • Scams
  • Malware

MEMBER NJCCIC

New Jersey Cybersecurity & Communications Integration Cell

STAY CONNECTED

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube
  • Twitter
  • RSS

Copyright © 2023 · AskCyberSecurity.com · METRONY, LLC

Go to mobile version