FBI aware of at least 60 state-sponsored cyberthreat groups

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 24, 2015 5:13 PM CST

The FBI is aware of at least 60 cybercriminal groups with state-sponsored support, according to Joseph Demarest, senior bureau chief and head of the FBI cybercrime division.

Demarest also said the FBI was able to trace the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack was tied to North Korea within one month - showing that the unstable country has increasingly sophisticated cyberattack capabilities. State-sponsored cyberespionage is a booming business, with the FBI and other departments suspecting China, Russia, Iran, and other countries of relying on hackers.

In addition, the FBI announced a $3 million reward for the arrest or conviction of Evgeniy Bogachev, operator of GameOver Zeus. The bounty is the largest offered for a cybercriminal, and the Russian has been charged with computer hacking, conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering - and faces a federal charge of bank fraud conspiracy.

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LinkedIn offering $1 to previously compromised users

Chris Smith | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 24, 2015 3:36 PM CST

Do you remember when 6.5 million LinkedIn user's passwords were leaked in 2012 by Russian hackers? We leaned that apparently some people log-in to their professional social media with passwords like 'swampass' and 'squirter'.

A class action lawsuit has seen this company brought to their knees, offering a massive $1 each to the 800,000 Premium Users who joined up the fight. Just in case you were wondering if this might have been a typing error or mistake, it's not - they're giving $1 of cold-hard US dollar to each of the 800,000 Premium Users in which joined this lawsuit.

A LinkedIn spokesperson said to the New York Times that the purpose of this move is "to avoid the distraction and expense of ongoing litigation," even though they deny that they are at fault for the breach.

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Yahoo clashes with NSA regarding encryption backdoor demands

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 24, 2015 2:30 PM CST

The National Security Agency (NSA) still has a fragile relationship with Silicon Valley companies, and both sides are trading shots at one another. In the most recent incident, a Yahoo executive challenged the NSA regarding its demand for encryption backdoors.

"If we're going to build defects, backdoors or golden master keys for the US government, do you believe we should do so for the Chinese government, the Russian government, the Saudi Arabian government, the Israeli government, the French government?" said Alex Stamos, CISO of Yahoo.

NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers initially tried to deflect the question, and then offered the following answer: "I think that we're lying that this isn't technically feasible - now, it needs to be done within a framework. I'm the first to acknowledge that," Adm. Rogers said.

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Canadian intelligence accurately identified French Babar malware

The Communication Security Establishment Canada (CSEC) documented a French language cyberespionage piece of malware. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden leaked the CSEC documents, which were published by the Le Monde French publication and German Der Spiegel newspaper.

The sophisticated Babar malware could record and transfer keystrokes and monitor data and audio conversations - it was a well-made, complex piece of software, according to cybersecurity experts. The Remote Access Tool (RAT) was the second piece of software tied to the Snowglobe spyware campaign.

"Babar is a highly developed spyware program that could only have been manufactured by very well-trained developers," said Eddy Willems, security evangelist at G DATA Software AG. "Babar is designed to work specifically in networks belonging to companies, authorities, organizations and research institutes and to steal sensitive data from them. As a result, audio conversations such as Skype chats, for example, can be recorded. Even a targeted attack on individual seems conceivable. A mass distribution of such malware, however, is very unlikely."

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NVIDIA rumored to be working on its own VR headset

NVIDIA has teased its 'Made to Game' special event on March 3 during the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2015, but according to some fresh rumors, the company could be unveiling its own VR headset. Chris Burns from Slashgear thinks that NVIDIA could unveil its own VR headset, and so do I.

The conclusion can be drawn from various technologies NVIDIA has been releasing over the last year, and still have close to their chest. With NVIDIA's Shield and Shield Tablet devices, its range of Tegra processors, G-SYNC, VR Direct, GRID, and so much more. Then we've heard from game developers like Tim Sweeney teasing that VR will look as good as real life within 10 years.

But where the pieces fit into the puzzle more is that G-SYNC and VR Direct technologies would go hand in hand with each other, which is something I asked the company back when they revealed their Maxwell architecture. At the time, my question was answered to the large number of other various press members, but wasn't elaborated on. I did ask if we would see VR Direct, VR SLI and G-SYNC work with the Oculus Rift, but maybe I should've asked if NVIDIA were working on its own VR headset, instead? With NVIDIA's CEO and founder Jen-Hsun Huang saying things like "More than five years in the making, what I want to share with you will redefine the future of gaming" when referring to the March 3 event, we can't help but get excited.

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NSA director says 'backdoors' into tech companies doesn't harm privacy

Anthony Garreffa | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 24, 2015 8:51 AM CST

It was only last week that it was revealed that the National Security Agency hacked into Gemalto, the largest SIM card maker in the world, which broke just after we wrote about the NSA reportedly having access to backdoors in Western Digital and Seagate firmware.

The NSA is back in the news once again, with its director, Mike Rogers, wanting to see calmer action in regards to the government's plans to keep its backdoors operating smoothly. Rogers said that maintaining these "backdoors" would not be harmful to citizens' privacy, would not "fatally compromise encryption and would not ruin international markets for US technology products", reports The Guardian. Rogers said: "If you look at the topology of that attack from North Korea against Sony Pictures Entertainment, it literally bounced all over the world before it got to California. Infrastructure located on multiple continents, in multiple different geographic regions".

Rogers wasn't too clear on how legal or technological protections could be installed so that the various government agencies wouldn't take advantage of having all of this data. The White House is working directly with tech giants like Apple, Yahoo and Google on their encryption for the government to access their mobile data, cloud computing and more.

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Apple, Google prepare to battle it out in connected car tech market

Michael Hatamoto | Electric Vehicles & Cars | Feb 24, 2015 8:35 AM CST

Google and Apple hope to see their respective in-car mobile operating systems have a major impact in the connected car market. Apple's CarPlay and Google's Android Auto go beyond just pairing smartphones to the infotainment system, hopefully designed to increase auto safety.

"Consumers have spoken," said John Maddox, assistant director at the University of Michigan's Mobility Transformation Center, in a statement to the New York Times. "They expect to have coordination between their phone and their vehicle."

Both companies want to improve Bluetooth connectivity and voice recognition functionality in connected cars. Automakers are creating working relationship with Google, Apple, and other Silicon Valley companies interested in developing in-car technology.

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Early reports: Galaxy S6 Edge 'better than' iPhone 6 design

According to officials from various mobile carriers, Samsung's upcoming next-gen Galaxy smartphones are better than the best from Apple. In closed-door meetings, these officials used the new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones, responding with nothing but praise.

Executives from companies like T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone and SK Telecom have said that both smartphones were reportedly "greatly satisfied" in terms of the new design, and were "wagering they could beat Apple's hot-selling iPhone 6 at least in terms of design". A source spoke with The Korea Herald, where they said: "Some executives said the new phones were the best of the best among Samsung-made phones. They said the Edge was better than Apple's iPhone 6 in terms of design".

Another source talked about the Galaxy S6 Edge model, where they said "It is doubtful whether the acclamations from the mobile carriers will directly lead to (high) sales. Samsung will need to increase the phone's functionality dramatically to appeal to customers".

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Companies hiring hackers to help test their network cybersecurity

Michael Hatamoto | Hacking, Security & Privacy | Feb 24, 2015 7:20 AM CST

Companies nervous about their cybersecurity defenses are relying on white hat hackers to test systems and help identify security flaws. Offering a bounty allows additional skilled users outside of a company's software and IT team to help track down anything that may have unknowingly fallen through the cracks.

"We're curious, we want to test our skills, we want to help these companies," said Mike Santillana, white hat hacker for Bugcrowd, in a statement published by CBS News. "I've found several bugs where you can completely compromise another user's account."

Additional companies are paying security experts and programmers as part of increasingly lucrative bug bounty programs. These hackers enjoy the monetary incentive and the challenge of identifying security flaws that could pose problems for companies and their customers.

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US military testing GuardBot robot ball for surveillance duties

American Unmanned Systems wants to see its amphibious GuardBot used for surveillance missions by the US military, with the unique robot able to travel across land and water. The GuardBot can travel up to 20 miles per hour along the beach and cross water at speeds up to 4 mph, according to American Unmanned Systems.

The unique robotic ball can vary in sizes, from 10cm up to 9 feet, controllable by one operator or programmable via GPS. The GuardBot was created for non-intrusive surveillance and is extremely quiet as built-in cameras and sensors provide feedback from inside the sealed sphere physical casing. The team is looking to develop software supporting geographic information system data to increase autonomous activity.

American Unmanned Systems has a cooperative research development agreement (CRADA) with the US Navy, so they are able to use government research labs and resources to help develop the GuardBot. It was first presented to the military at Marine Corps Base Quantico in 2012, traveling through a volleyball pit - and was shown again in 2014 at the Naval Amphibious Base, deploying and returning to a naval craft.

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