Cyber Bites

The majority of C-Suite executives and policy makers in the United States believe investing in security software, infrastructure and emerging technologies is critical to protecting U.S. data from growing cybersecurity risks, according to a new survey. Source: Helpnetsecurity

Design flaws in smart home Internet of Things (IoT) devices that allow third parties to prevent devices from sharing information have been identified by researchers at North Carolina State University. The flaws can be used to prevent security systems from signaling that there has been a break-in or uploading video of intruders. Source: Helpnetsecurity

A Ukranian man has been extradited to the U.S. after being arrested last year in The Netherlands in relation to a massive online malvertising scheme. Oleksii Petrovich Ivanov, 31 was charged in December, but details of his arrest and the allegations against him have only been revealed following his extradition last week. Source: Silicon Angle

The second largest illicit market on the Dark Web, Wall Street Market (WSM) has been seized by law enforcement, and three of its alleged operators have been arrested in Germany.The arrests are the latest in a series of chaotic events surrounding the now-defunct WSM in which unknown individuals who ran the site performed an "exit scam" that found them making off with over $12.4 million USD in Bitcoins from WSM merchants. Source: Tech Republic

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has launched a physical attack on Hamas in immediate response to an alleged cyber-assault. The IDF hit a building in the Gaza Strip with an airstrike after claiming the site had been used by Hamas cyber operatives to attack Israel’s cyber space. The IDF claimed it stopped the attack online before launching its airstrike on Hamas. It claims it has now wiped out Hamas’ cyber operational capabilities. Source: Forbes

A recent cyber disruption to the U.S. grid involved a "denial of service condition" at a Western utility, according to a Department of Energy official. On March 5, an unidentified power company fell victim to a "cyber event" that interfered with operations but stopped short of causing blackouts, according to a DOE filing this week. A DOE official confirmed yesterday that the event "did not impact generation, the reliability of the grid or cause any...

German police, together with Europol and law enforcement agencies from the US, the Netherlands, and Romania, have seized the servers of a dark web marketplace known as the Wall Street Market, on which users sold illegal products such as drugs, weapons, user credentials, and hacking tools, ZDNet has learned. The site's seizure comes after a tumultuous two weeks for the Wall Street Market (WSM) and its users, during which the site's administrators have exit-scammed --ran away...

US President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order to "grow" and "strengthen" the nation's cyber security capabilities. The US Government says it will set up a range of new schemes to support "a strong cyber security workforce" and "defend our country and promote quality job opportunities" in the face of 21st-century threats. One of the initiatives is a rotational programme through which federal employees can boost their cyber security expertise using temporary reassignments to...

Facebook is banning several prominent figures it regards as "dangerous individuals". The social network accused Alex Jones, host of right-wing conspiracy website InfoWars, its UK editor Paul Joseph Watson and ex-Breitbart News editor Milo Yiannopoulos of hate speech. Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader who has expressed anti-Semitic views, will also be excluded. Facebook has already banned anti-Islamic UK groups such Britain First. Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-48142098  

The Chinese government is using gate-like scanning systems to record biometric three-dimensional images, as well as smartphone fingerprints, of Muslims living in the country's Xinjiang province. These devices are installed as security checkpoints at entries in government buildings and various public spaces, manned by police officers, and are part of the Chinese's government's ever-increasing mass surveillance apparatus deployed in the Xinjiang province. Source: https://www.zdnet.com/article/china-uses-biometrics-and-digital-scanning-data-doors-to-track-muslim-minority/