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Category: Global Security News

TikTok says it will go dark Sunday unless Biden offers ‘definitive statement’

It remains unclear whether TikTok will still be available in US app stores Sunday, with the company claiming that President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration needs to offer “definitive” assurances that it won’t enforce the ban. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld a law that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States if the app’s…

Trump’s Digital Footprint: Unveiling Malicious Campaigns Amid Political Milestones

As the political landscape heats up, so does the activity in the cyber threat domain. High-profile events such as inaugurations often become a prime opportunity for cybercriminals to launch malicious campaigns. With Trump’s upcoming inauguration on January 20th, our research sheds light on the digital threats tied to such politically charged events, focusing on previous…

U.S. Sanctions Chinese Cybersecurity Firm Over Treasury Hack Tied to Silk Typhoon

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions against a Chinese cybersecurity company and a Shanghai-based cyber actor for their alleged links to the Salt Typhoon group and the recent compromise of the federal agency. “People’s Republic of China-linked (PRC) malicious cyber actors continue to target U.S. government systems, including…

EV startup Canoo files for bankruptcy and ceases operations

Seven-year-old electric vehicle startup Canoo has filed for bankruptcy and will “cease operations immediately.” The company is liquidating its assets in a Chapter 7 proceeding in the Delaware Bankruptcy Court. The company said in a press release published late Friday that it was “in discussions with foreign sources of capital” that proved unsuccessful, and also…

How Imperva Protects the Arts Industry from Ticketing Abuse by Carding Bots

The ticketing industry is under constant threat from malicious bots, with bad actors targeting these platforms for financial gain. Bots accounted for 31.1% of all traffic to entertainment platforms in 2024, with attacks ranging from scalping and credential stuffing to carding operations. When one public museum experienced a surge in fraudulent transactions, they turned to…

US hits back against China’s Salt Typhoon group

The US is hitting back against the threat group, dubbed Salt Typhoon by Microsoft, which is allegedly behind recent cyber attacks against American telecommunications providers, as part of a wider campaign against Chinese-based hacking. On Friday the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said it is sanctioning Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology,…

Amazon suspends US drone deliveries following crash at testing facility

Amazon has paused testing of its delivery drones following a crash involving two of its models, according to Bloomberg. It’s the latest setback for Amazon’s beleaguered Prime Air program, which aims to deliver around 500 million packages a year to customers by the end of the decade. Bloomberg reports two Amazon drones crashed in rainy…

A Brief Guide for Dealing with ‘Humanless SOC’ Idiots

image by Meta.AI lampooning humanless SOC My former “colleagues” have written several serious pieces of research about why a SOC without humans will never happen (“Predict 2025: There Will Never Be an Autonomous SOC”, “The “Autonomous SOC” Is A Pipe Dream”, “Stop Trying To Take Humans Out Of Security Operations”). But I wanted to write…

TSA extends cyber requirements for pipeline owners

The Transportation Security Administration is locking in a pair of pipeline directives for additional years ahead of the looming White House transition. In a posting to the Federal Register on Friday, the Department of Homeland Security component said it ratified the Security Directive Pipeline-2021-01 series and the Security Directive Pipeline-2021-02 series and would extend the…

Netradyne snags $90M at $1.35B valuation to expand smart dashcams for commercial fleets

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents and a major reason why auto insurance premiums are expected to increase in 2025. For commercial fleets, that’s a nightmare. But for California-based startup Netradyne, it’s a tailwind.  Netradyne provides fleet owners, including big names like Amazon, with AI-enabled dashcams that collect vehicle data…

GUEST ESSAY: President Biden’s cybersecurity executive order is an issue of national security

President Biden’s detailed executive order relating to cybersecurity is great to see. Biden’s order reflects the importance of cybersecurity at the highest levels – it is an issue of national security and should be treated as such. One of the … (more…) The post GUEST ESSAY: President Biden’s cybersecurity executive order is an issue of…

Perplexity acquires Read.cv, a social media platform for professionals

Read.cv, a social media platform for professionals that competed with LinkedIn, has been acquired by AI-powered search engine Perplexity. As part of the deal, Read.cv will begin to wind down operations Friday. Users will be able to export their data, including their profiles, posts, and messages, until May 16. “We’ve long admired Perplexity and believe…

DEF CON 32 – Bypass 101

Author/Presenter: Bill Graydon Our sincere appreciation to DEF CON, and the Authors/Presenters for publishing their erudite DEF CON 32 content. Originating from the conference’s events located at the Las Vegas Convention Center; and via the organizations YouTube channel. Permalink The post DEF CON 32 – Bypass 101 appeared first on Security Boulevard.

The Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Grok AI: Architecture, Applications, and Implications

Explore the revolutionary Grok AI system in this comprehensive guide. From its sophisticated architecture to real-world applications, discover how this advanced AI assistant integrates with the X platform while maintaining robust privacy and security measures. The post The Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Grok AI: Architecture, Applications, and Implications appeared first on Security Boulevard.

Bluesky saw 17x increase in moderation reports in 2024 after rapid growth

Bluesky on Friday published its moderation report for the past year, noting the sizable growth the social network experienced in 2024 and how that affected its Trust & Safety team’s workload. It also noted that the largest number of reports came from users reporting accounts or posts for harassment, trolling, or intolerance — an issue…

ChatGPT’s newest feature lets users assign it traits like ‘chatty’ and ‘Gen Z’

Update: OpenAI officially announced this feature one week after some users reported the arrival, and then disappearance, of the new options. It’s possible they went live prematurely. OpenAI is introducing a new way for users to customize their interactions with ChatGPT, the company’s AI-powered chatbot. On Friday, OpenAI announced it is rolling out a new…

TikTok CEO responds to Trump, thanks him for trying to solve US ban 

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew responded to comments made by Donald Trump regarding Friday’s Supreme Court ruling to ban the app in the U.S.  In a video posted on TikTok, Chew said, “On behalf of everyone at TikTok and all our users across the country, I want to thank President Trump for his commitment to…

SpaceX and Blue Origin must investigate this week’s big rocket tests, FAA says

The Federal Aviation Administration is requiring Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin to investigate what went wrong on their respective mega-rocket test flights this week. The regulator said both companies must perform what’s known as a “mishap investigation.” These probes involve the companies and the FAA working together to understand what went wrong,…

Noem: No anti-disinformation, misinformation action under her as DHS secretary

Department of Homeland Security secretary nominee Kristi Noem committed to senators Friday that if confirmed she would keep the department out of efforts to combat disinformation and misinformation, and pledged to make the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency “smaller, more nimble.” The South Dakota governor’s remarks signal that the incoming Trump administration will act on…

OpenAI is trying to extend human life, with help from a longevity startup

OpenAI says it trained a new AI model called GPT-4b micro with Retro Biosciences, a longevity science startup trying to extend the human lifespan by 10 years, according to the MIT Technology Review. Retro, which is backed by Sam Altman, has been working with OpenAI for roughly a year on this research, according to the…

Treasury sanctions Chinese cybersecurity company, affiliate for Salt Typhoon hacks 

The Department of the Treasury has sanctioned a Chinese national and a cybersecurity company based in Sichuan, China, for taking part in the Salt Typhoon hacking campaign that has swept up data from at least nine U.S. telecommunications companies. The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) named Yin Kecheng of Shanghai and the Sichuan…

As TikTok faces a US shutdown, here are some alternative apps to check out

TikTok has warned of a looming shutdown in just six days, as the Supreme Court is currently weighing the law that would ban the app. So we thought it’s time to take a look at other platforms that may be able to fill the TikTok-shaped hole in our lives.  The law gives TikTok parent company…

Big Tech expands its reach with new startup acquisitions and investments

Welcome to Startups Weekly — your weekly recap of everything you can’t miss from the world of startups. Want it in your inbox every Friday? Sign up here. This week’s newsletter is about startups, but it is also about Big Tech companies expanding their reach, both through acquisitions and through investments. Most interesting startup stories…

Google begins requiring JavaScript for Google Search

Google says it has begun requiring users to turn on JavaScript, the widely-used programming language to make web pages interactive, in order to use Google Search. In an email to TechCrunch, a company spokesperson claimed that the change is intended to “better protect” Google Search against malicious activity, such as bots and spam, and to…

Closing software-understanding gap is critical to national security, CISA says

With Chinese-sponsored hackers lingering in the IT systems of various U.S. critical infrastructure networks, potentially imminent threats to the country’s national security abound. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and federal partners hope to lessen that threat by closing a so-called “software understanding gap.” In a document released Thursday with the Defense Advanced Research Projects…

Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd to reclaim CEO position in March

Bumble announced today that founder Whitney Wolfe Herd is returning as CEO after stepping down from the position in 2023.  Wolfe Herd will succeed Lidiane Jones, the company’s current CEO who has left for “personal reasons,” Bumble explained. Jones, the former CEO of Slack, will continue her role at Bumble until the transition takes effect…

Instagram Reels rolls out new features for U.S. users as TikTok is banned

Instagram announced a timely update to its video feature Reels this morning, alongside the news that the Supreme Court upheld the law that will ban TikTok in the U.S. on January 19. The update, says Meta, will make it easier for users to discover the content that friends and followers are liking on the platform…

Trump spoke to China’s President Xi about TikTok just ahead of Supreme Court ruling

Just ahead of today’s Supreme Court ruling — which saw the nation’s highest court uphold the law banning TikTok in the U.S. as of January 19 — Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that he had a “very good” phone call with China’s President Xi Jinping, which included discussion of TikTok. Though the U.S. president-elect…

Instabase raises $100M to help companies process unstructured document data

Instabase, a company that creates software for extracting processing unstructured data from myriad document types, has raised $100 million in a Series D round of funding. The announcement comes as companies struggle under a deluge of data — data that can unlock key business insights. Indeed, most of the data that companies generate is “unstructured,”…

Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban

The Supreme Court has upheld the law that will effectively ban TikTok on Sunday, January 19. The decision marks the end of TikTok’s months-long legal fight against a law that essentially forces the ByteDance-owned app to shut down unless it divests its U.S. operations.  As of Sunday, it will be illegal for app stores and…

Restoring U.S. cyber resilience: A blueprint for the new administration

As the incoming Trump administration prepares to take office, it confronts a critical juncture for cybersecurity. The escalating digital threats from state-sponsored adversaries like China, Iran, North Korea and Russia coincide with fractured global governance and a shifting domestic policy landscape. This moment presents a unique opportunity for the administration to establish itself as a…

Tarbomb Denial of Service via Path Traversal

As software applications are built and developed over the years, engineering teams continuously shift perspective on what features to prioritize or de-prioritize. A feature developed five years ago may have no significance today. However, features deemed low priority may still be kept operational for legacy, compatibility, or business requirement reasons. Praetorian discovered such a legacy…

Ken Howery: the tech mogul at the center of Trump’s Greenland ambition

Surprise! Donald Trump’s big, audacious ambition to buy Greenland from Denmark has a tech angle. Ken Howery, named by U.S. President-elect Trump’s pick to be the next ambassador to the country (and thus chief broker of any deal), is one more part of the rich seam of tech people running through Trump’s upcoming administration.  Part…

Europe orders Elon Musk’s X to submit documents on its recommendation algorithms

The European Commission (EC) says it has requested information from Elon Musk’s X related to the algorithms that determine the content it recommends to users. The EC wants to determine how those algorithms may or may not be compliant with the Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes key obligations on online platforms operating across the…

DORA-Umsetzung hält Banken-CISOs auf Trab

Finanzunternehmen müssen seit heute die neuen Regeln der EU-Verordnung DORA anwenden. Doch viele kämpfen noch immer mit der Umsetzung. SkazovD – Shutterstock.com Ab heute am 17. Januar 2025 sind alle EU-Finanzinstitute verpflichtet, den Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) umzusetzen. Die EU-Richtlinie soll dazu beitragen, die Cybersicherheit in der Finanzbranche zu erhöhen. Studien zeigen jedoch, dass…

Critical Flaws in WGS-804HPT Switches Enable RCE and Network Exploitation

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed three security flaws in Planet Technology’s WGS-804HPT industrial switches that could be chained to achieve pre-authentication remote code execution on susceptible devices. “These switches are widely used in building and home automation systems for a variety of networking applications,” Claroty’s Tomer Goldschmidt said in a Thursday report. “An attacker

What is a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?

A managed service provider (MSP) is a third-party company that remotely manages a customer’s IT infrastructure and end-user systems. They deliver services like network, application, infrastructure, and security services through ongoing and regular support with active administration on customers’ premises. Small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), nonprofits, and government agencies that lack in-house resources hire MSPs…

NBN Upgrade An Early 2025 Boost For Australian MSPs

The Australian government’s latest $3.8 billion investment in NBN infrastructure presents significant opportunities for managed service providers and IT channel organizations as the network transitions away from copper-based connections by 2030. FTTP connectivity expands to more premises The upgrade, announced this week, will bring fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) connectivity to an additional 622,000 premises currently served by…

Python-Based Bots Exploiting PHP Servers Fuel Gambling Platform Proliferation

Cybersecurity researchers have exposed a new campaign that targets web servers running PHP-based applications to promote gambling platforms in Indonesia. “Over the past two months, a significant volume of attacks from Python-based bots has been observed, suggesting a coordinated effort to exploit thousands of web apps,” Imperva researcher Daniel Johnston said in an analysis. “These…

Poor patching regime is opening businesses to serious problems

Vulnerability remediation is taking a severe hit as security teams are faced with fatigue from a growing number of publicly disclosed vulnerabilities. According to an analysis by S&P Global Ratings, a joint division of S&P Global and the cyber risk analytics company Guidewire, almost three-quarters of organizations are either occasionally or infrequently remediating the vulnerabilities…

How HHS has strengthened cybersecurity of hospitals and health care systems

Hospitals and health systems across the country are experiencing a significant rise in cyberattacks. These cyber incidents have caused extended disruptions, patient diversion to other facilities, and the cancellation of medical appointments and procedures — all of which undermine patient care and safety. These attacks also expose vulnerabilities in our health care system and degrade…

How to Bring Zero Trust to Wi-Fi Security with a Cloud-based Captive Portal?

Recent data breaches have highlighted the critical need to improve guest Wi-Fi infrastructure security in modern business environments. Organizations face increasing pressure to protect their networks while providing convenient access to visitors, contractors, temporary staff, and employees with BYOD. Implementing secure guest Wi-Fi infrastructure has become essential for authenticating access,

New ‘Sneaky 2FA’ Phishing Kit Targets Microsoft 365 Accounts with 2FA Code Bypass

Cybersecurity researchers have detailed a new adversary-in-the-middle (AitM) phishing kit that’s capable of Microsoft 365 accounts with an aim to steal credentials and two-factor authentication (2FA) codes since at least October 2024. The nascent phishing kit has been dubbed Sneaky 2FA by French cybersecurity company Sekoia, which detected it in the wild in December. Nearly…

Nord Security founders launch Nexos.ai to help enterprises take AI projects from pilot to production

A new AI orchestration startup from the founders of Lithuanian unicorn Nord Security is setting out to help enterprises put their AI projects into production, with an initial focus on bringing greater visibility, security and adaptability to large language models (LLMs). Nexos.ai, as the startup is called, is the handiwork of Tomas Okmanas (pictured above)…

EU’s DORA could further strain cybersecurity skills gap

Efforts spent in achieving compliance with the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) are likely to pile further pressure on the already strained cybersecurity skills market. DORA, which comes into full effect today, aims to improve the cybersecurity and operational resilience of financial institutions in the EU, including banks, insurance companies, and investment firms. The…

European Privacy Group Sues TikTok and AliExpress for Illicit Data Transfers to China

Austrian privacy non-profit None of Your Business (noyb) has filed complaints accusing companies like TikTok, AliExpress, SHEIN, Temu, WeChat, and Xiaomi of violating data protection regulations in the European Union by unlawfully transferring users’ data to China. The advocacy group is seeking an immediate suspension of such transfers, stating the companies in question cannot shield…

Was ist ein Payload?

Ähnlich wie damals die griechischen Soldaten, die im Inneren des trojanischen Pferdes auf den passenden Zeitpunkt lauerten, werden Payloads zum Beispiel in vermeintlich harmlosen Dateianhängen versteckt und starten ihren Angriff oftmals durch einen Trigger zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt. Foto: wk1003mike – shutterstock.com Der Begriff „Payload“ hat seinen Ursprung im Transportwesen. Dort beschreibt „Nutzlast“ die Menge…

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