Tag: cyber

China unveils new cyber force to ‘fight and win’ wars

BEIJING, April 19, 2024 (AFP) – China announced the creation of a new military cyber corps on Friday, saying it would bolster Beijing’s capacity to “fight and win” wars. The Information Support Force will act as a “key support for coordinated development and application of network information systems”, defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian said. China has ploughed billions of dollars into modernising its armed forces in recent years as tensions with the United States and […]

Philippines thwarts cyber attacks on Marcos, government agencies

MANILA, Feb 6, 2024 (AFP) – The Philippines has thwarted thousands of “sophisticated” cyberattacks targeting the websites of President Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippine Coast Guard and other government agencies, an official said Tuesday. Hackers began the attacks last year and an investigation was underway to determine if the perpetrators were based in China, undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) told a congressional hearing. Dy said the attackers used […]

Nissan hit by ‘cyber incident’ in Australia, New Zealand

WELLINGTON, Dec 7, 2023 (AFP) – Japanese car giant Nissan warned customers Thursday that its operations in Australia and New Zealand had been hit by a “cyber incident”. Nissan said it had notified the national cyber security centres in both countries, while the company’s global response team assessed the scale of the attack. It was unclear whether any personal information had been accessed, the company said in a statement. “While the extent of the incident […]

Russian Trickbot malware developer pleads guilty in US court

WASHINGTON, Dec 1, 2023 (AFP)  – A Russian man pleaded guilty on Thursday to involvement in developing the Trickbot malware used to extort businesses, including hospitals during the Covid pandemic, the US Justice Department said. Vladimir Dunaev, 40, was extradited from South Korea to the United States in 2021 to face charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. Dunaev pleaded guilty to both […]

Australian ports reopen after cyberattack

SYDNEY, Nov 13, 2023 (AFP) – Major ports handling 40 percent of Australia’s freight trade have reopened, operator DP World said Monday, three days after they were crippled by a cyberattack. DP World cut its systems from the internet when the attack was detected Friday, preventing trucks from unloading or picking up cargo at ports in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle. “DP World Australia is pleased to announce that operations resumed at the company’s ports […]

Possible Chinese malware in US systems a ‘ticking time bomb’: report

WASHINGTON, July 29, 2023 (AFP) – The Biden administration believes China has implanted malware in key US power and communications networks in a “ticking time bomb” that could disrupt the military in event of a conflict, The New York Times reported Saturday. The Times, quoting US military, intelligence and security officials, said the malware potentially gave China’s People’s Liberation Army the ability to disrupt US military operations if Beijing were to move against Taiwan at […]

US airport websites hit by suspected pro-Russian cyberattacks

Washington, United States | AFP | The websites for a number of major US airports were briefly knocked offline Monday after a cyberattack promoted by a pro-Russian hacking group. The disruptions affected airport websites in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and St Louis, and were carried out via distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which involve taking a website offline by flooding it with traffic. The airport websites were targeted […]

Four Russians indicted in US for energy sector hacks

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States (AFP) – Four Russian agents have been indicted in the United States for hacking attacks targeting the energy sector around the world, including a US nuclear power operator, the Justice Department said Thursday. The Russian hackers targeted thousands of computers at hundreds of companies in 135 countries between 2012 and 2018, the department said. The Justice Department said the targets included a nuclear power facility in the US state of Kansas. […]

Iran denies being hit by US cyber attack

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Iran said Monday that no cyber attack against the Islamic republic has ever succeeded, after American media reported the US launched one last week amid a standoff between the two countries. “The media are asking about the veracity of the alleged cyber attack against Iran. No successful attack has been carried out by them, although they are making a lot of effort,” telecommunications minister Mohammad Javad Azarari Jahromi said on Twitter […]

Kremlin: Putin and Trump made no promises on cyber group

MOSCOW, Russia (Reuters) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump made no promises to each other to form a joint group on cyber security, but they stated their readiness to work in this direction, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday (July 10). The Kremlin also does not know the Russian lawyer who allegedly met Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, last […]

England’s emergency units open ‘as normal’ again after cyber attack

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Accident and emergency units in England were nearly back to normal on Tuesday, the National Health Service (NHS) said, after the last restrictions put in place following the global cyber attack were lifted. “Patients are no longer being diverted away from hospital accident and emergency units,” Anne Rainsberry, NHS England’s national incident director, said in a statement. “While there is still some disruption in a small number of areas, most […]

Disney blackmailed over apparent movie hack

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) – Disney chief Bob Iger said Monday hackers claiming to have access to one of the company’s unreleased movies were demanding a “huge” ransom, according to United States media reports. He did not reveal which film had been stolen but said the company would not be giving in to the blackmail attempt, according to The Hollywood Reporter, quoting Iger from a meeting in New York with employees of the Disney-owned […]