Hackers have compromised dozens of popular open source packages in an ongoing supply-chain attack

This is very nasty!

My impression is that law enforcement is doing to little about hackers given all the bad news of all kinds of hacking incidents/crimes (stealing software, deleting data, extortion etc. etc.) in recent times!

"... On Tuesday, cybersecurity firms StepSecurity and SafeDep warned of the latest wave of supply-chain attacks, which aim to compromise developers of popular open source projects and use that access to plant malicious updates that are pushed to users downstream. 

According to SafeDep, hackers took over the account of one developer and released over 630 malicious versions across 317 packages in about 20 minutes. The goal of the attack is to steal credentials for various services, including password managers, as a way to steal data and continue spreading the malware. 

Among the packages that the hackers compromised is Antv, a library made by Alibaba. In some cases, the hackers published malicious updates on GitHub, according to JFrog Security. ..."

Hackers have compromised dozens of popular open source packages in an ongoing supply-chain attack | TechCrunch "Hackers have compromised dozens of popular open source packages in an ongoing supply-chain attack"

Iranian hackers backed by the Iranian government claim breach of FBI director Kash Patel's personal email account

Desperate measures by desperate people? In how bad a shape is the theocratic dictatorship in Iran now?

"A hacking group backed by the Iranian government dubbed “Handala” said on Friday that it has breached the personal email account of FBI director Kash Patel. 

In a post on its website, Handala included several pictures of a visibly younger Patel, as well as a link to a cache of files that appear to come from Patel’s personal Gmail account.  ..."

Iranian hackers claim breach of FBI director Kash Patel's personal email account | TechCrunch

Supreme Court hacker posted stolen government data on Instagram under @ihackthegovernment

Some criminals want to make damn sure they get caught!

Or was he just trying to demonstrate how easy it was to hack into the US Supreme Court?

How was he able to steal the credentials of legitimate users?

The hacker faces only a maximum sentence of one year in prison??? This is almost like taking a vacation!

"... Last week, Nicholas Moore, 24, a resident of Springfield, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to repeatedly hacking into the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic document filing system. At the time, there were no details about the specifics of the hacking crimes Moore was admitting to. ...

Moore hacked not only into the Supreme Court systems, but also the network of AmeriCorps, a government agency that runs stipend volunteer programs, and the systems of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which provides healthcare and welfare to military veterans. 

Moore accessed those systems using stolen credentials of users who were authorized to access them. Once he gained access to those victims’ accounts, Moore accessed and stole their personal data and posted some online to his Instagram account: @ihackthegovernment. ...

According to the court document, Moore faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000. ..."

Supreme Court hacker posted stolen government data on Instagram | TechCrunch

Norway spy chief blames Russian hackers for hijacking dam and releasing millions of gallons of water

What is next? Such hackers be damned!

How save is the infrastructure in Western countries?

"Russian hackers briefly hijacked a dam in Norway in early April and spilled millions of gallons of water before the attack was stopped, Norway’s spy chief revealed Thursday.

The hackers opened a floodgate at the Bremanger dam in western Norway to release the equivalent of about three Olympic-sized swimming pools of water during the four hours they had control of the dam’s computer systems. ..."

Norway spy chief blames Russian hackers for hijacking dam | TechCrunch

More attempts to smear Elon Musk!

A citizen pays a high price for going into politics! Few citizens dare to do this like Elon Musk did! Why go through this trouble? Is it worth it? He is putting his business at risk.

Politics is a high intensity contact sport with few rules and no nearby referees!

Elon Musk (suffering from Asperger's syndrome) made a bold decision!

"How to be rich: A breach of Berkshire Hathaway-owned private jet company NetJets has revealed some information about how flight attendants should serve Elon Musk on planes. According to the guide, Musk apparently isn’t “interested in conserving fuel” because he “wants to fly as quickly and as direct” as possible. He also likes to keep the cabin at a frigid 65 degrees."

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North Korea launches new unit with a focus on AI hacking, per report

Typical news from this remnant of the Cold War!

When will the Korean peninsula finally be reunited like Germany in 1990.

"The North Korean government is reportedly establishing a new hacking group within the intelligence agency Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB).  ...

the new hacking unit, called Research Center 227, will focus on research to develop “offensive hacking technologies and programs,” citing a source inside the regime. ..."

North Korea launches new unit with a focus on AI hacking, per report | TechCrunch

How North Korean hackers stole $1.5 billion in crypto

Wow! Apparently, cryptocurrency users still do not know how to effectively protect the digital currency from thieves despite a long history of such North Korean heists. This is concerning! Any why is it possible to steal such huge amounts?

EV Hacking: This Is How Easy It Is to Sabotage the Power Grid and obtain confidential personal information

Very recommendable! Truly shocking! 

Anyone of these chargers could be a target!

Juice Jacking: Why Charging Your Phone at the Airport Might Not be Safe with Palki Sharma

I am not sure how serious this issue is, but caution and avoidance as best as possible is probably not a bad idea!

UK: Julian Assange dangerously close to extradition following High Court rejection of appeal. Really!

The strange and celebrated media darling Julian Assange (born 1971) is in the news again! I meant to blog about this phony celebrity for some time, but apparently never got around it.

Looking at his biography, any person with some common sense should hesitate to praise this man as a hero of some sort:

1. "He became involved in the hacker community and was convicted for hacking in 1996.". He was already 26 years old at the time.
2. "In November 2010, Sweden issued a European arrest warrant for Assange over allegations of sexual assault ... After losing his battle against extradition to Sweden, he breached bail and took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in June 2012."
3. "On 11 April 2019, Assange's asylum was withdrawn following a series of disputes with Ecuadorian authorities. The [British] police were invited into the embassy and he was arrested. He was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison."
4. The Manning WikiLeaks in 2010: Dumping indiscriminately hundreds of thousands of partially classified U.S. military documents was a reckless and irresponsible action. Possibly countless individuals were put at risk by this action! Bradley Edward Manning a.k.a. Chelsea Elizabeth Manning (the leaker) is another topic of its own. Assange probably exercised poor judgement!
5. The massive release of unredacted U.S. cables in 2011 was another irresponsible job and very amateurish!

Side note: Assange got married again in 2022. His second wife Stella Assange "a lawyer and human rights defender." A marriage of convenience? 😊

UK: Julian Assange dangerously close to extradition following High Court rejection of appeal | RSF: Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is deeply concerned by the UK High Court’s decision rejecting WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange’s appeal against his extradition order, bringing him dangerously close to being extradited to the United States, where he could face the rest of his life in prison for publishing leaked classified documents in 2010.

White hat Hackers took Control European Space Agency Satellite During Test

Scary stuff! As if those kind of security tests have never been done before?

"Just how vulnerable are the thousands of government-operated satellites speeding along their orbits above our heads? A team of researchers proved they could hack into a European Space Agency-owned satellite, allowing them to take full control of its communication, imaging—and even its maneuverability systems. The intrusion was a controlled hack as part of ESA’s ongoing CYSAT conference. ..."

Hackers Control Government-Owned Satellite During Test Researchers said they could access an imaging satellite’s control interface, letting them manipulate its systems and introduce malicious code.

Thales Seizes Control of ESA Demonstration Satellite in First Cybersecurity Exercise of Its Kind

Eine Hackergruppe zeigt schockierende Bilder aus Irans berüchtigtster Haftanstalt

Bravo! Hacking for a good purpose! Diktaturen fürchten die Wahrheit!

Das Evin Gefängnis (erbaut 1972) is seitdem bekannt als eine Anstalt, wo unmenschliche Taten an Gefangenen verübt werden. Schon unter Schah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi haben sich linke Protester im Westen echauffiert! Seit die Theokratie im Iran herrscht, sind die Linken sehr still geworden was dieses schreckliche Gefängnis angeht.

"Gerade noch zeigten die Bildschirme in der Kontrollzentrale des Evin-Gefängnisses die gewohnten Aufnahmen der Überwachungskameras. Doch plötzlich fangen die Screens in der berüchtigten Teheraner Haftanstalt an, rot zu blinken. Während der zuständige Wachmann alarmiert aufspringt, erscheint auf den Monitoren der Schriftzug: «Cyberangriff: Das Evin-Gefängnis ist ein Schandfleck auf [Präsident Ebrahim] Raisis schwarzem Turban und weissem Bart. Landesweiter Protest bis zur Freilassung der politischen Gefangenen.» ..."

Iran: Hackergruppe veröffentlicht Videos aus Evin-Gefängnis Einer Hackergruppe ist es gelungen, die Überwachungskameras des Teheraner Evin-Gefängnisses zu kapern. Erstmals gibt es damit visuelle Beweise für die Misshandlung von Häftlingen. Doch die wahren Zustände sind wohl noch schlimmer.

Belarusian hackers are turning the country's surveillance state against it

Hacking for a good purpose? Hacking to reveal the truth! Not all hacking is nefarious or criminal! When hacking possibly brings down a long time repressive dictator!

Will Russian hackers be inspired to do the same to Putin the Terrible?

Will this be a turning point in the history of dictatorships? Will hacking or other truth revealing techniques shorten the life of dictatorships? Hope so!
Sic semper tyrannis!

"Since becoming president of Belarus in 1994, Alexander Lukashenko has built Europe’s most repressive police state and ruthlessly used his power to stay in office as a dictator. 

Now hackers are trying to turn the extensive surveillance state against Lukashenko to end his reign—and to do it, they claim to have pulled off one of the most comprehensive hacks of a country in history.

The hackers, known as the Belarus Cyber Partisans, have been regularly leaking information they say has been obtained by breaching dozens of sensitive police and government databases. So far they have published what they say is evidence of crimes by police, information showing that the regime covered up the country’s true covid-19 mortality rate, and recordings of illegal orders to violently crack down on peaceful protests. The partisans also say that they have successfully hacked almost every part of the Lukashenko administration and that the information released so far is just a fraction of the data they have. ..."

"... Opponents of the Belarus government said they have pulled off an audacious hack that has compromised dozens of police and interior ministry databases as part of a broad effort to overthrow President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime.

The Belarusian Cyber Partisans, as the hackers call themselves, have in recent weeks released portions of a huge data trove they say includes some of the country’s most secret police and government databases. The information contains lists of alleged police informants, personal information about top government officials and spies, video footage gathered from police drones and detention centers and secret recordings of phone calls from a government wiretapping system ..."

Belarusian hackers are turning the country's surveillance state against it | MIT Technology Review Opposition from inside the regime of Alexander Lukashenko is helping hackers run what may be the most comprehensive cyberattack on a nation ever.

Hackers Release Data Trove From Belarus in Bid to Overthrow Lukashenko  Regime Pilfered data includes lists of alleged police informants and information on government spies.

Brute-Force-Angriffe: Was Sie über Hacker-Gewaltakte wissen müssen

Wieso sind solche brute force Angriffe von Hackern heute im Jahr 2021 immer noch möglich! Werden accounts nicht nach drei Fehlversuchen automatisch erstmal vorübergehend abgeschaltet? Werden solche Fehlversuche nicht sofort berichtet? Unglaublich!

Warum werden heute immer noch kritische Resourcen nicht durch andere, sicherere Mittel geschützt?

"13. Brute-Force: Angriffe mit „roher Gewalt“

Cyberkriminelle nutzen zunehmend Technologien für ihre Raubzüge in IT-Systemen und versuchen, über Phishing-E-Mails an Zugangsdaten von Servern und Computern zu gelangen. Noch immer wenden sie aber auch einfach "rohe Gewalt" dafür an (Englisch: "brute force"). Dabei testen die Angreifer alle denkbaren Kombinationen an Zeichen für das Passwort durch (z.B. Alphabet mit Zahlen und Sonderzeichen). Das ist zwar im Grunde genommen sehr einfach, bei komplexen Passwörtern aber auch sehr aufwändig, weil viele Millionen oder Milliarden Kombinationen ausprobiert werden müssen. Daher nutzen Cyberkriminelle für gewöhnlich Automatisierungs-Tools, Skripte oder Bots für diese Arbeit. Je komplexer und länger Passwörter sind, desto länger dauert es übrigens, sie zu knacken; am Ende oft zu lange, so dass viele Kriminelle aufgeben. Ein komplexes Passwort lohnt sich!"

(Quelle: Buerger-Cert-Newsletter SICHER • INFORMIERT vom 27.05.2021

Ausgabe: 11/2021)

Brute-Force-Angriffe: Was Sie über Hacker-Gewaltakte wissen müssen - computerwoche.de

The Darkside of Putin the Terrible

I presume the so called Darkside hacking group operates out of Russia.

Putin the Terrible is infamous for asymmetric warfare and cyber warfare! Hackers like Darkside have assumed a nice cover up by claiming they are purely after extortion money or as Wikipedia describes they are sort of a Robin Hood operation.

I bet these hackers do not attack any businesses or infrastructure facilities located in Russia! How much is Putin the Terrible supporting these hackers? 

Is Putin the Terrible even bothering to prosecute hackers like Darkside?

Has Putin the Terrible denounced that Darkside are not hackers operating out of Russia? Has Putin the Terrible offered any serious and credible cooperation to track down these hackers?

New Approach Could Protect Control Systems From Hackers

Good news! Real time transmissions in industrial control systems are not encrypted, because of time delay.

"... The approach involves the transmission of real-time data over an unencrypted channel, as conventionally done. In the experiment, a specialized algorithm in the form of a recursive watermark (RWM) signal is transmitted at the same time. The algorithm encodes a signal that is similar to “background noise,” but with a distinct pattern. On the receiving end of the data transmission, the RWM signal is monitored for any disruptions, which, if present, indicate an attack is taking place. ... Critically, a special “key” for deciphering the RWM algorithm is transmitted through an encrypted channel from the sender to the receiver before the data transmission takes place."

New Approach Could Protect Control Systems From Hackers - IEEE Spectrum

On Putin Helped To Elect Trump Nonsense

Posted: 1/6/2017

It is almost incredible to be subjected to this nonsense in the media every day now for weeks!

In his final days in office, President Obama tries to create a phony narrative why the Democratic Party again lost so terribly and so many times under Obama! Democrats have been really lousy and sore losers!

This nothing but a humongous red herring and diversion by the Democratic Party to cover up their crushing election defeats under Obama!