News of the Cyber World

[kyonides]

MS on Iranian Hackers

Microsoft Warns of Iranian Hackers Targeting U.S. Officials During Presidential Campaign

Microsoft cybersecurity researchers published a report on Friday that said hackers tied to the Iranian government are attacking U.S. officials during the American presidential campaign.

The Microsoft report comes after U.S. intelligence officials said Iran is increasing its use of social media to exacerbate political discord as the election approaches.

Microsoft’s report said Russia is still a major player in “foreign malign influence concerning the 2024 U.S. election,” but Iranian mischief has surged over the past few months. Iran also caused trouble during the past three presidential elections.

“Iran’s operations have been notable and distinguishable from Russian campaigns for appearing later in the election season and employing cyberattacks more geared toward election conduct than swaying voters,” the report observed.

The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) said Russia, Iran, and the other top mischief-maker China have experimented with using generative artificial intelligence (AI) in their influence campaigns, but those cutting-edge techniques seemed to have “little effect,” so they pivoted back to tried-and-true old-school tactics like “simple digital manipulations, mischaracterization of content, and use of trusted labels or logos atop false information.”

One of the AI-driven capers described in Microsoft’s report was Iran creating four phony “news” websites – some leaning left, the others leaning right – and using AI to harvest legitimate news content to stock them with.

It was not clear what Iran’s hackers hoped to accomplish with this setup, since actual news sites in the United States tend to be rather polarized these days. The examples of Iranian propaganda included in the Microsoft report did not look all that much different from the fare on mainstream-media websites. Presumably Iran thought it could use its phony sites to sow even more discord, but that would be a tall order in 2024.

Massive USPS Scam

Researcher Uncovers Massive USPS Scam, Hacks Fraudsters’ Systems

A security researcher’s mission to investigate a wave of fraudulent text messages impersonating the United States Postal Service (USPS) has uncovered a massive “smishing” operation, hacking into fraudsters’ systems after they tried to trick him with a bogus package delivery message.

Wired reports that Grant Smith, a red team engineer and founder of offensive cybersecurity firm Phantom Security, began his investigation after receiving a suspicious USPS package delivery text message earlier this year. The message, similar to those received by thousands of others, directed recipients to a website where they were prompted to enter their credit card information and other personal details. This scam is often referred to as “Smishing.”

Recognizing the scam, Smith set out to track down the group responsible for the mass-smishing campaign. Within a few weeks, he had hacked into the scammers’ systems, collected evidence of their activities, and began the process of gathering victim data to provide to USPS investigators and a US bank.

Smith’s findings revealed the staggering scale of the scam. Across 1,133 fraudulent domains used by the scammers, 438,669 unique credit cards were entered, with many victims entering multiple cards. Over 50,000 email addresses were logged, including hundreds from universities and 20 from military or government domains. In total, more than 1.2 million pieces of information were collected, with California being the state with the most victims at 141,000 entries.

The group behind the smishing campaign, identified as the “Smishing Triad” by cybersecurity company Resecurity, operates by selling a customizable smishing kit on Telegram for a monthly subscription of $200. The kit allows scammers to easily create fake websites impersonating various organizations, with USPS being just one of many targets. Resecurity estimates that the Smishing Triad sends between 50,000 and 100,000 scam messages daily, targeting online banking, ecommerce, and payment systems in multiple countries.

Smith’s investigation revealed vulnerabilities in the scammers’ websites, allowing him to access files and databases containing victim information. By reverse-engineering the smishing kit and automating the process of pulling data from the network of fraudulent websites, Smith was able to gather a significant amount of evidence to provide to authorities.

The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) confirmed that the information provided by Smith is being used as part of an ongoing investigation, with the agency actively working to protect the public, identify victims, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Former YouTube CEO Passed Away

Former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Dead at 56

The former CEO of Google-owned YouTube, Susan Wojcicki, died on Friday at the age of 56, following a two-year battle with lung cancer.

“It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to our five children left us today after 2 years of living with non small cell lung cancer,” Dennis Troper wrote in a Friday Facebook post.

It is with profound sadness that I share the news of Susan Wojcicki passing. My beloved wife of 26 years and mother to…

Posted by Dennis Troper on Friday, August 9, 2024

“Susan was not just my best friend and partner in life, but a brilliant mind, a loving mother, and a dear friend to many,” Troper continued. “Her impact on our family and the world was immeasurable.”

“We are heartbroken, but grateful for the time we had with her. Please keep our family in your thoughts as we navigate this difficult time,” Troper concluded in his post.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai also announced “Susan Wojcicki has passed away after two years of living with lung cancer” in a Friday blog post.

“I feel so fortunate to have spent so many years working with Susan closely — she was absolutely loved by her teams here. Her time on earth was far too short, but she made every minute count,” Pichai added.

Cyber-Comrade YouTube

Top Venezuelan Socialist and Alleged Drug Lord Claims to Win YouTube Award

Venezuelan socialist regime strongman and long-suspected drug lord Diosdado Cabello claimed on Wednesday evening that YouTube awarded his television show Con el Mazo Dando (“Hitting with the Mallet”) a commemorative plaque for allegedly reaching 100,000 subscribers on its YouTube channel.

“They sent me this plaque, get wrecked, escualidos! [‘scrawny ones,’ a slang term for the opposition],” Cabello said, claiming that YouTube administrators sent him a letter “congratulating [him] for the content and international reach of the channel.”

“The vermin cut [my channels] every time they can,” he continued.

Cabello “predicted” that the award would lead to the closure of his YouTube channel, claiming that long-time critics, such as Venezuelan journalist Alberto Ravell, would “exert pressure” to such an end.

“Next week, they will knock down this channel. I guarantee it,” Cabello said. “You will see because, here, the Ravells will get a hernia in because they have not even been thanked, and they were looking for me to give me the plaque.”

Cabello, a former member of the Venezuelan military, is widely known as one of the most powerful members of Venezuela’s authoritarian socialist regime, having occupied numerous high-ranking positions throughout the past 25 years. Cabello is presently the vice president of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and one of the lawmakers of the National Assembly, which the Maduro regime seized control of from the Venezuelan opposition through a sham election held in December 2020.

Cabello was a close ally of late socialist dictator Hugo Chávez and was one of the military officials who participated in Chávez’s failed February 1992 coup attempt against the government of former President Carlos Andrés Pérez.

U.S. authorities have long accused Cabello of being one of the leading figures of the Cartel of the Suns, an intercontinental cocaine trafficking operation that high-ranking members of the Venezuelan military and some PSUV leading figures run.

Maduro VS Social Media

Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro Declares War on WhatsApp to Silence Anti-Socialist Protesters

Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday that he would “break ties” with the WhatsApp messaging platform, effectively declaring it illegal to use.

Maduro accused foreign interests of using the application to threaten members and sympathizers of his authoritarian regime.

During a rally of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), Maduro asked PSUV members to carry out a “progressive, voluntary, and radical withdrawal” of the messaging application, adding that he would replace it with the Telegram messaging app and the Chinese communication platform WeChat.

“I am going to break relations with WhatsApp because WhatsApp is being used to threaten Venezuela, and then I am going to remove my WhatsApp from my phone forever,” Maduro said during a rainy event with PSUV youth members. “Little by little, I will move my contacts to Telegram, to WeChat. Do you all understand me? It is necessary to do it. Say no to WhatsApp. Get WhatsApp out of Venezuela because there the criminals threaten the youth, the popular leaders.”

Venezuela’s Maduro, Facing National Uprising, Bans Twitter for Ten Days

Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro announced on Thursday that he would ban the social media platform Twitter (or “X”) in the country, accusing its owner Elon Musk of inciting “hate, civil war, and death.”

Maduro, during a rally with his sympathizers, said that the proposal to ban Twitter came from the National Commission of Telecommunications (Conatel), the Venezuelan government entity that regulates all telecommunications in the country — and which acts as the Maduro regime’s censorship enforcement agency.

The socialist dictator claimed that the ban on X will last “ten days” and that it has given that same amount of time to the social media platform to “present” documentation that Conatel is demanding. Maduro did not specify what documents Conatel has requested.

“The social network that was called Twitter, X. Elon Musk is the owner of X and has violated all the rules, all the rules of the Twitter social network  itself, today known as X – all of them, and has violated inciting hatred, fascism, civil war, death, confrontation of Venezuelans, has violated all the laws of Venezuela,” Maduro said.

“In Venezuela there is a law, and we are going to enforce the law, that is why I have signed a letter with the proposal made by Conatel who has decided to remove the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, from circulation in Venezuela for ten days so that they can present their arguments. X out of Venezuela for ten days,” he continued.

Maduro also announced through his Twitter account that he was banning Twitter.

“Get out, Elon Musk!” Maduro said, claiming that “no one will shut me up, I will face the espionage of the technological empire.”

Netblocks, a London-based firm that monitors internet access worldwide, reported that access to Twitter began to be restricted on Venezuela’s internet service providers in the evening hours of Thursday. VE sin Filtro (“Venezuela without filters”), an initiative that monitors the Maduro regime’s censorship and assists Venezuelans in bypassing it, also confirmed the access restrictions. Venezuelan citizens have begun bypassing the ban with the use of Virtual Private Networks and other censorship-overriding methods.

The “ten day” ban on Twitter is part of Maduro’s brutal repression campaign against dissents and protesters following the July 28 sham presidential election, which Venezuela’s socialist-controlled electoral authorities claim Maduro “won.” The sham election has been widely called into question by several countries and international organizations. The Venezuelan opposition has accused Maduro of attempting to steal the election, claiming that they are in possession of sufficient vote tallies that can demonstrate their candidate, Edmundo González, defeated Maduro by a landslide.

Turkey VS Roblox

Turkey Blocks Access to Children’s Game Roblox over Abuse Concerns

Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said on Thursday that access to the children’s online video game “Roblox” has been blocked because the game can allegedly lead to the abuse of children.

Critics of the game in the United States have made similar allegations.

“According to our Constitution, our State is obliged to take the necessary measures to ensure the protection of our children. It is everyone’s duty to look out for, protect, and support the best interests of our children,” Tunc said in a post on Twitter.

“Turkey is one of the countries that closely follows developments in the world and uses technology in the best way. However, using technology in a negative way is never acceptable,” he said.

“Attempts to undermine our social structure, abuse of children, encouragement of violence, and activities that will negatively affect the development of our children, each of whom is a precious gift, will never be allowed,” he declared.

Dell Will Lay Off Many But Many Workers

Kamalanomics Strikes Again: Dell Announces Layoffs of Up to 12,500 Employees

Dell Technologies is undergoing a significant restructuring, which includes layoffs and the formation of a new group dedicated to artificial intelligence services, according to sources. The company will reportedly lay off 12,500 employees representing 10 percent of the company’s headcount.

Silicon Angle reports that Dell is navigating through a period of change as it lays off a large number of employees while simultaneously reorganizing its sales and marketing teams. Sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the restructuring efforts include the establishment of a new group specifically focused on artificial intelligence services.

Although the exact number of layoffs remains unconfirmed, one source close to the situation initially suggested that approximately 12,500 employees, or roughly 10 percent of Dell’s global workforce, were set to be let go starting Tuesday. In February 2023, Dell filed a 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission, indicating a reduction of about 6,000 employees.

The company has declined to provide specific details regarding the layoffs. In an email to SiliconANGLE, Dell stated, “Through a reorganization of our go-to-market teams and an ongoing series of actions, we are becoming a leaner company. We are combining teams and prioritizing where we invest across the company. We continually evolve our business so we’re set up to deliver the best innovation, value and service to our customers and partners.”

An internal memo from Bill Scannell, president of global sales and operations, and John Byrne, president of sales for Global Theaters and Dell Technologies Direct, reportedly informed employees, “We are getting leaner. We’re streamlining layers of management and reprioritizing where we invest.”

Rumors of the layoffs have been circulating on TheLayoff.com website, with one person claiming, “Despite whatever person from corporate put in here earlier about this being a one percent layoff, it is in fact larger than that and is hitting services, sales, marketing & engineers. Half of my team is gone in marketing and still no coms.”

Fatal Tesla EV Crash

Fatal Tesla Cybertruck Crash in Texas Raises Concerns over EV Safety

In a tragic incident near Houston, Texas, a Tesla Cybertruck owner was incinerated alive after the electric vehicle crashed and burst into flames.

KHOU reports that the fatal crash, believed to be the first for the new Tesla Cybertruck, occurred at 1:45 a.m. on Monday, just off the east Texas coast. According to police reports, the trendy but troubled EV veered off Cedar Parkway in the Baytown area for unknown reasons and crashed into a concrete drainage channel or culvert. The intense fire that followed left the owner’s body and the truck’s identifying features, such as license plates and VIN, unrecognizable among the char.

Local authorities, along with the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), are investigating the cause of the deadly incident. The Cybertruck, once touted by Tesla CEO Elon Musk as “apocalypse proof,” has faced numerous safety issues since its debut in late November 2023, requiring no less than four recalls.

While some Tesla enthusiasts have questioned the media’s focus on this particular incident, scientists and automotive safety experts have highlighted the unique challenges posed by lithium-ion battery fires in electric vehicles. Dr Apparao Rao, a physicist at Clemson University, and his colleagues have explained that a typical runaway battery fire in an EV burns at approximately 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 Celsius), which is half the temperature on the surface of the sun.

At these extreme temperatures, most metals, including the Cybertruck’s stainless steel, can melt. Additionally, extinguishing an EV battery fire requires up to 10 times more water than a standard combustion-engine automotive fire.

The severity of the fire in this incident prevented the identification of the Cybertruck driver due to the extreme temperatures. NHTSA is currently seeking further information from Tesla regarding potential flaws in the Cybertruck that may have contributed to this fatality.