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July 19, 2024 - Services Affected Worldwide Traced To Microsoft And A CrowdStrike Update. An update is reported to have affected Windows operating systems globally, with many systems showing a "Blue Screen of Death" or BSOD on systems worldwide. Read more
July 3, 2024 - China, Russia Bolster Influence In Latin America. New satellite photo shows additions to space-monitoring sites in Bejcual and Calabazar, which a report said is "notable" since Cuba does not currently possess its own satellite or space program. Read more
June 10, 2024 - US Military Leader Now Says China Likely Wants To Overwhelm Taiwan Quickly With Massive Attack, Calls For Plan To Flood Region With Drones. In 2022 the Pentagon said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had set 2027 as the timeline for an invasion of the island of Taiwan. Read more
June 3, 2024 - NCSC: Russia Continuing To Employ "Array Of Tools" To Advance Its Own Interests And Undermine US, Allies. Office of the Director of National Intelligence: "Moscow continues to employ an array of tools to advance what it sees as its own interests and undermine those of the United States and its allies". Read more
May 27, 2024 - Internet Archive Hit With DDoS Cyberattack. The Internet Archive has come under a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, according to the archive, which reported services are back online. Read more
May 20, 2024 - Increase Of Cyberattacks On Critical US Water Infrastructure. Every Critical Infrastructure Sector Targeted. Cyberattacks against critical water infrastructure have become not only more frequent but have also increased in severity. Read more
May 8, 2024 - After a report surfaced China had hacked the British Ministry of Defense, the UK government released a statement saying that a "Malign Actor" gained access to the British Armed Forces payment network. Read more
May 8, 2024 - UK Border Force Experiencing Nationwide Issue Affecting Its E-Gates. The British Border Force is currently down and has caused long queues at the airports. Read more
May 2, 2024 - DARPA Announces Successful In-Water Testing Of Manta Ray UUV. A second Manta Ray performer, PacMar Technologies, is continuing testing of its full-scale energy harvesting system this year. Read more
Services Affected Worldwide Traced To Microsoft And A CrowdStrike Update - An update is reported to have affected Windows operating systems globally, with many systems showing a "Blue Screen of Death" or BSOD on systems worldwide.
WORLDWIDE - The Microsoft service status page says all services are up and running after CrowdStrike issued an update reported to have affected Windows operating systems globally, with many systems showing a "Blue Screen of Death" or BSOD on systems worldwide.
Microsoft says that the systems have been restored and CrowdStrike says they are rolling their update back globally.
Microsoft also said it is "investigating an issue" after companies worldwide began reporting issues with its services.
Thus far, the attack does not look to be the result of a cyberattack, but rather a consequence of an update that had been rolled out on systems worldwide. What Is CrowdStrike? Effects Of The Outage Worldwide, More Information: Read more.
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China, Russia Bolster Influence In Latin America - New satellite photo shows additions to space-monitoring sites in Bejcual and Calabazar, which the report said is "notable" since Cuba does not currently possess its own satellite or space program.
LATAM - New satellite imagery posted by Maxar Technologies indicates that China has been bolstering its "space monitoring" and intelligence-gathering capabilities at multiple bases in Latin America as Moscow and Beijing continue to gain military and economic influence in South America.
As China bolsters its ability to gather intelligence in Latin America, two Russian navy vessels docked in Venezuela on Tuesday to maintain its naval presence in the region after three Russian ships and a nuclear submarine visited Cuba earlier in early June.
China Bolstering Cuban Bases, Russian Navy Docks In Venezuela
Satellite images captured in March and April of this year were released in a report on Tuesday by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) that indicated that China has undergone new construction at three sites located near the American naval base at Guantanamo Bay.
Sites that show additions or new construction include: Bejcual, Calabazar, Wajay, and El Salao.
The new construction shows additions to its space-monitoring sites in Bejcual and Calabazar, which the report said is "notable" since Cuba does not currently possess its own satellite or space program.
“Without access to classified materials, pinpointing the specific targets of these assets is nearly impossible,” the report said, adding, "Nonetheless, the growth of space-monitoring equipment at sites like Bejucal and Calabazar is notable given that Cuba lacks its own satellites or space program".
The largest of the four sites where new activity was discovered was Bejucal, the same base used by the Soviet Union to store nuclear weapons during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.
Where it was once a base used to store nuclear weapons, it is now being used as an intelligence monitoring station, which is suspected of being used to monitor electronic communications for the Chinese government.
The Bejucal site has undergone a large amount of recent construction, including a new enclosure for its electronic antenna. The new construction at the Wajay and Calabazar sites also indicates the installation of a new antenna, radar dishes, and other satellite monitoring equipment.
The El Salao site, which is located near the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay close to the city of Santiago de Cuba looks to be currently under construction and poses a particular concern for the United States.
The CSIS report revealed that China appears to be building a 425 to 655-foot diameter antenna array, and added that other arrays with a similar diameter have been capable of tracking electronic signals up to 9,300 miles away. Antenna Array Of This Diameter Could Cover Entire North American Continent: Read Full Report.
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US Military Leader Says China Likely Wants To Overwhelm Taiwan Quickly With Massive Attack, Calls For Plan To Flood Region With Drones - In 2022 the Pentagon said that Chinese President Xi Jinping had set 2027 as the timeline for an invasion of the island of Taiwan.
INDO-PACIFIC - During an interview with The Washington Post, the new head of Indo-Pacific Command (Asia region) said that he believes China intends to overwhelm Taiwan with a quick, massive attack, overwhelming the island before the world can "get their act together" and is calling for the United States to carry out a strategy that he called "Hellscape" where the U.S. would immediately flood the region with thousands of over and under-the-water drones.
“They want to offer the world a short, sharp war so that it is a fait accompli before the world can get their act together,” the paper cited Admiral Samuel Paparo as saying. He added, “My job is to ensure that between now and 2027 and beyond, the U.S. military and the allies are capable of prevailing.”
The key to countering an attack by China with little warning, he told the news agency, is the U.S. Strategy called "Hellscape" which would involve deploying thousands of unmanned drones, including unmanned surface vessels, aerial drones, and submarines to the Taiwan Strait as soon as Chinese "invasion" forces are detecting moving toward the island of Taiwan.
This, he said, would give U.S. forces, and "partner forces" the time needed to put together a proper response to the invasion.
"I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities,” he told the paper.
Although he told the paper he isn't able to divulge the details of the strategy, he said that it's "real and it's deliverable". The Defense Department's "Replicator Initiative", China Has Embedded Itself Into US Networks, PRC Hackers Outnumber FBI Cyber Personnel At Least 50 To 1: Read Initial Alert | Read Full Report.
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We separate alerts from news as breaking or developing alerts are dynamic and tend to initially change very quickly as events unfold. Paid content includes intel, information, images, videos, transcripts and data not included for free on this website. "Defcon Level gives straight and accurate professional-grade threat alerts, world news, and intelligence updates without the agendas, fluff, or exaggeration".
NCSC: Russia Continuing To Employ "Array Of Tools" To Advance Its Own Interests And Undermine US, Allies - Office of the Director of National Intelligence: "Moscow continues to employ an array of tools to advance what it sees as its own interests and undermine those of the United States and its allies.
Office of the Director of National Intelligence: "Moscow continues to employ an array of tools to advance what it sees as its own interests and undermine those of the United States and its allies.
For U.S. companies in the crosshairs, see the joint bulletin from FBI & NCSC for mitigation".
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence’s 2023 Annual Threat Assessment states that “…Russia will remain a top cyber threat as it refines and employs its espionage, influence, and attack capabilities” and that, “…Russia is particularly focused on improving its ability to target critical infrastructure, including underwater cables and industrial control systems, in the United States as well as in allied and partner countries, because compromising such infrastructure improves and demonstrates its ability to damage infrastructure during a crisis.”
Recent Russian state-sponsored activity has included destructive malware and ransomware operations. Prioritizing patching of known exploited vulnerabilities is key to strengthening operational resilience against this threat.
Organizations should also take the following three steps to strengthen operational resilience against Russian state-sponsored cyber activity: Implement and enforce the use of multifactor authentication (MFA), Secure and monitor instances of remote desktop protocol (RDP) and other potentially risky services, and Provide end-user cybersecurity awareness and training. Russian Cyber Threat Overview: Read More.
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We separate alerts from news as breaking or developing alerts are dynamic and tend to initially change very quickly as events unfold. Paid content includes intel, information, images, videos, transcripts and data not included for free on this website. "Defcon Level gives straight and accurate professional-grade threat alerts, world news, and intelligence updates without the agendas, fluff, or exaggeration".
Internet Archive Hit With DDoS Cyberattack - The Internet Archive has come under a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, according to the archive, which reported services are back online.
WEB - The Internet Archive has come under a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, according to the archive, which says the data has not been affected, but reported that most services were unavailable as of May 27th (Memorial Day in the United States), then later reported that its services were back up and running.
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Increase Of Cyberattacks On Critical US Water Infrastructure. Every Critical Infrastructure Sector Targeted - EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe reported cyberattacks against critical water infrastructure have become not only more frequent but have also increased in severity.
UNITED STATES - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released an "Enforcement Alert" to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities of the country's drinking water after EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe reported cyberattacks against critical water infrastructure have become not only more frequent but have also increased in severity.
In light of both the increase in reported attacks on the water supply and an increase in vulnerabilities found in the country's water systems, the EPA urged water systems to act immediately to take steps to protect the nation's drinking water.
Not only have cyberattacks become more frequent and severe against critical infrastructure, but the EPA says that around 70% of the water utilities inspected by the federal government over the last year were in violation of cybersecurity standards put into place to prevent attacks on the systems.
McCabe said in many cases systems are not doing what they should be doing and have no available plans for vulnerability prevention. As the water systems often rely on computers with operating systems, some of the ways the utilities failed the standards: Failing to change default passwords for equipment, Failing to lock out system access to ex-employees.
Cyberattacks on water systems can lead to numerous problems with either the water supply or the alteration of the chemical composition of the water to hazardous levels: Interruption in the water treatment process; Interruption in the water storage process; Damage to valves that control the water flow; Damage to the water pumps; Altering of the water's chemical composition; Change of chemical levels to dangerous amounts.
“In many cases, systems are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, which is to have completed a risk assessment of their vulnerabilities that includes cybersecurity and to make sure that plan is available and informing the way they do business,” McCabe stated.
McCabe: Cyberattacks On Water Infrastructure Are Not Just Private Individuals, Many Government-Backed Entities. FDA: Every US Critical Infrastructure Sector Has Been Targets Of Cyberattacks: McCabe said that cyberattacks on the nation's water infrastructure are not just private individuals, but many are government-backed entities trying to knock out the water supply for both residential homes, as well as businesses.
Some of the governments she named as attempting to disable the U.S. water supply are: Russia, China, Iran. These countries are “actively seeking the capability to disable U.S. critical infrastructure, including water and wastewater," she stated.
“We want to make sure that we get the word out to people that ‘Hey, we are finding a lot of problems here,’ ” she said.
In April McCabe said that Cybersecurity threats "pose serious risks to the drinking water and wastewater services that people in this country rely on every day, and recent cyber attacks on water systems underscore the urgency of increased and coordinated action". Read Full Report On Defcon Alerts | Read On The Standeford Journal
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We separate alerts from news as breaking or developing alerts are dynamic and tend to initially change very quickly as events unfold. Paid content includes intel, information, images, videos, transcripts and data not included for free on this website. "Defcon Level gives straight and accurate professional-grade threat alerts, world news, and intelligence updates without the agendas, fluff, or exaggeration".
Reports: China Hacked British Ministry Of Defense Systems. British Government: Malign Actor Hacked Armed Forces Payment Network - After a report surfaced China had hacked the British Ministry of Defense, the UK government released a statement saying that a "Malign Actor" gained access to the British Armed Forces payment network.
UK - Sky News reported that China has hacked the British Ministry of Defense, targeting service personnel belonging to the Ministry. The British government later released a statement saying that a "Malign Actor" gained access to the British Armed Forces payment network.
The news agency reported that the attack occurred on a payroll system which targeted service personnel, officials, and some veterans.
The attack is said by the news agency to have exposed the names of the personnel, and their bank details. It should be noted that the system reported to have been attacked is not connected to the main computer systems for the British Ministry of Defense. Statement Transcript Released By British Government: Read Report | Read All Reports
UK Border Force Experiencing Nationwide Issue Affecting Its E-Gates - The British Border Force is currently down and has caused long queues at the airports.
BRITAIN - The UK Border Force is currently experiencing a "nationwide issue" affecting its gates at British airports. The British Border Force is currently down and has caused long queues at the airports. Airport Announcements Regarding The Nationwide Issue: Read Report | Read All Reports
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We separate alerts from news as breaking or developing alerts are dynamic and tend to initially change very quickly as events unfold. Paid content includes intel, information, images, videos, transcripts and data not included for free on this website. "Defcon Level gives straight and accurate professional-grade threat alerts, world news, and intelligence updates without the agendas, fluff, or exaggeration".
DARPA Announces Successful In-Water Testing Of Manta Ray UUV -A second Manta Ray performer, PacMar Technologies, is continuing testing of its full-scale energy harvesting system this year.
CALIFORNIA - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced that it carried out successful in-water testing of the Manta Ray Unmanned (Uncrewed) Underwater Vehicle (UUV) during February and March 2024.
The testing of the Manta Ray was carried out in California after the prototype's subsections were transported to the test location from its original build location in Maryland. Read Full Report | Cyber/Tech Reports.
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