In the News 2016 - Issue 8

	In the News

This section features topical, current news items of interest to the international cybersecurity community. These articles and highlights were selected from various popular science and security magazines, newspapers, and online sources.

US News     

“Experts Say Cybercriminals Are Trying to Manipulate the US Election,” CNBC, 11 August 2016. [Online]
A study conducted by Tripwire found that most cybersecurity professionals agree that criminals are attempting to influence the election. The most evident of their efforts so far has been the breach of the Democratic National Committee's computer network, and the subsequent release of sensitive and controversial information that the criminals recovered. An overwhelming 82% of those surveyed “believed that state-sponsored attacks around elections should be considered acts of cyberwar.”
See: http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/11/most-cybersecurity-experts-say-criminals-are-trying-to-manipulate-the-election.html

“Ransomware Spam Campaign Targets US Government and Educational Institutions,” International Business Times, 10 August 2016. [Online]
CryptFile2 ransomware has recently begun targeting state and local government agencies and educational institutions. A large surge of emails sent out by the ransomware was disguised as a convincing message from American Airlines advertising free flights and discounts. According to a Softpedia report, CryptFile2 belongs to the CrypBoss family of ransomware. Unlike other versions of CrypBoss, a decryption code has not yet been found. See: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ransomware-spam-campaign-targets-us-government-educational-institutions-1575332

“Apple Offers Big Cash Rewards for Help Finding Security Bugs,” Reuters, 5 August 2016. [Online]
Apple is the latest player to toss its hat into the bug bounty ring. The tech giant said that it will be awarding up to $200,000 for finding critical security bugs. The program will not initially be open to the public, with invitations going out to only two dozen researchers. The researchers will search for flaws in five specific categories, including Apple's “secure boot” which carries the largest reward. See: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyber-blackhat-apple-idUSKCN10F2TX

International News 

“Video Game Cybersecurity Startup Wins Spot at TechCrunch Disrupt Expo,” Bizjournals, 11 August 2016. [Online]
Panopticon, a startup company specializing in stopping credit card fraud and identity theft in online video games, beat out seven other companies for a spot at the upcoming TechCrunch Disrupt Expo. One of Panopticon’s clients reported losing nearly 40% of its revenue to in-game theft.
See: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/08/11/video-game-cybersecurity-startup-wins-spot-at.html

“Microsoft Accidentally Leaks Golden Keys that Unlock Every Windows Device,” International Business Times, 11 August 2016. [Online]
Microsoft accidentally released several keys that have the capacity to unlock any device running Windows. The keys allow a user to bypass Secure Boot and run other operating systems or install rootkits and bootkits. Microsoft has released several patches to deal with the issue, however, it is unknown if they will be able to fully correct it.
See: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/microsoft-accidentally-leaks-golden-keys-that-unlock-every-windows-device-1575542

“Hacker Steals Nearly Two Million Accounts from Dota 2 Developer Forum,” International Business Times, 10 August 2016. [Online]
A hacker successfully breached the official developer forum for the popular online game Dota 2 and stole information including usernames, passwords, emails, and IP addresses. The security flaw that allowed the breach to occur has since been patched but not before nearly two million accounts were compromised. The breach is reported to have taken place on 10 July. A forum administrator said that all passwords have been reset and assured users that no Steam credentials or payment information was stored or taken.
See: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/hacker-steals-nearly-two-million-accounts-dota-2-developer-forum-1575346

“Turnbull Warns ‘Heads will Roll’ After DDoS Attacks Cause Chaos in Australian Digital Census,” International Business Times, 11 August 2016. [Online] 
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said that “heads will roll” following a DDoS attack on the country’s census system. Turnbull said that fault lies with the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Many are anticipating fallout to impact IBM who was awarded the contract to manage the census website.
See: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/turnbull-warns-heads-will-roll-after-ddos-attacks-causes-chaos-australian-digital-census-1575582

“Keyless Systems of Many VW Group Cars Can Be Hacked: Researchers,” Reuters, 11 August 2016. [Online]
According to a group of researchers, tens of millions of vehicles sold over the last 20 years are vulnerable to a bug in the keyless entry system. Computer experts at the University of Birmingham published a paper detailing the hack. The list of vulnerable vehicles includes almost every model from Volkswagen, Audi, Seat, and Skoda produced since 1995.
See: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-autos-cyber-volkswagen-idUSKCN10M1JN

(ID#: 16-11370)

Note:

Articles listed on these pages have been found on publicly available internet pages and are cited with links to those pages. Some of the information included herein has been reprinted with permission from the authors or data repositories. Direct any requests via Email to news@scienceofsecurity.net for removal of the links or modifications to specific citations. Please include the ID# of the specific citation in your correspondence.