Hackers, Journalists, Cyberattacks

Watch out, journalists: Hackers are after you - CNET: ".... Speaking on Friday at the Black Hat hackers conference in Singapore, Google security engineers Shane Huntley and Morgan Marquis-Boire reported that 21 of the top-25 news organizations in the world have been targeted by hackers. Those hackers, the researchers told Reuters, are likely sponsored by foreign governments seeking information. State-sponsored hacking has taken on a life of its own over the last several years. Several countries around the world, including the US, China, and Russia, are believed to be engaging in hacking to gain information. It's no surprise that some state-sponsored hackers have broadened their scope to journalists, especially given the information many top journalists have on companies and government officials. Huntley and Marquis-Boire warned that, while the tech industry is coming to grips with online security requirements, many journalists and news organizations are just now becoming aware of the threats...."

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Glenn Greenwald’s Encryption Guru

Glenn Greenwald’s Encryption Guru - Alex Carp - POLITICO Magazine: ".... Schneier is a legendary encryption specialist who has written or edited 13 books on the subject, and worked for the Department of Defense, telecommunications companies, banks and governments. Most recently, he’s been a vocal advocate of the idea that the best security systems accept a reasonable amount of risk; a blind focus on protecting against every threat, he says, usually comes with unexpected costs....."

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Huawei, NSA, China, cyberattacks

Huawei on NSA: If foreign spies attacked a US firm, there’d be “outrage” | Ars Technica: "Chinese tech company still trying to track down NSA infiltration."

Of course, foreign countries have attacked US companies, including China's "Operation Aurora" waged against Google and other US firms in 2009, and such attacks continue today.

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Apps Covertly Mining Cryptocurrency

Caveat Emptor --

Apps with millions of Google Play downloads covertly mine cryptocurrency | Ars Technica:  ...According to a blog post published Tuesday by a researcher from antivirus provider Trend Micro, the apps are Songs, installed from one million to five million times, and Prized, which was installed from 10,000 to 50,000 times. Neither the app descriptions nor their terms of service make clear that the apps subject Android devices to the compute-intensive process of mining, Trend Micro Mobile Threats Analyst Veo Zhang wrote. As of Wednesday afternoon, the apps were still available....

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