A Hermit

Digital News Digest

"An aggressor nation or extremist group could use these kinds of cyber tools to gain control of critical switches. They could derail passenger trains, or even more dangerous, derail passenger trains loaded with lethal chemicals. They could contaminate the water supply in major cities, or shut down the power grid across large parts of the country."

US Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta
October 11, 2012

Cyberwarfare

Articles
China
Flame
News stories
Opinion
Orgs/info
Russia
Stuxnet

Articles

Cyberattack that disrupted access to major websites is under investigation Oct 22 2016. New York Times. Andrea Peterson.

Killing the Computer to Save It Profiles in Science Peter G. Neumann. Oct 29 2012. New York Times. John Markoff.

China

US hacking: Military and intelligence data 'accessed' Jun 13 2015. British Broadcasting Corp.

4 new twists that push the hacker attack on millions of US govt workers Jun 12 2015. The Register. Shaun Nichols.

House Of Commons Employees Targeted By Hackers Jun 12 2015. Huffington Post. Canadian Press.

US Government Suffers Massive Hacking Attack Jun 4 2015. Huffington Post. Ken Dilanian, Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar.

Canadian atomic clock service targeted in cyberattacks Apr 15 2015. Toronto Star. Jim Bronskill.

North Korea Internet Hack: Key Sites Back Online After Shutdown Dec 23 2014. Huffington Post. Foster Klug And Hyung-Jin Kim, AP.

Chinese Hackers Pursue Key Data on U.S. Workers Jul 9 2014. New York Times. Michel S. Schmidt, et al..

2nd China Army Unit Implicated in Online Spying Jun 9 2014. New York Times Bits. Nicole Perlroth.

NSA infiltrates servers of China telecom giant Huawei: report Mar 22 2014. Reuters.

Chinese hackers reportedly stole Obama and McCain documents Jun 6 2013. C/Net. Dara Kerr.

China Claims "Mountains of Data" Pointing to U.S. Hacking Jun 6 2013. Security Week. Fahmida Y. Rashid.

America Admits China Took It All Jun 5 2013. Strategy Page dot com. Strategy Page.

US report says major weapons designs compromised by Chinese May 28 2013. Reuters, UK. Reuters.

Chinese Hackers Resume Attacks on U.S. Targets May 19 2013. New York Times. David E. Sanger.

China Says Army Is Not Behind Attacks in Report Feb 20 2013. New York Times. David Barboza.

New federal communications hub won't be Made In China Government wrestles with how to keep planned network hacker-free. Jun 22 2012. Ottawa Citizen. Ian Macleod.

Hacktivist 'Hardcore Charlie' claims China military hack Anonymous-affiliated hacker exposes alleged US army docs. Apr 6 2012. The Register. Phil Muncaster.

Chinese army: We really need to get into cyber warfare Jun 3 2011. The Register. Lewis Page.

Google Says Hackers in China Stole Gmail Passwords Jun 1 2011. New York Times. John Markoff.

Chinese hackers targeted House of Commons Feb 18 2011. CTV News. CTV.

Hackers after weapon information: expert Feb 18 2011. CBC. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. CBC News.

Canada Hit by Cyberattack From China Feb 17 2011. New York Times. Ian Austin.

Federal computers remain wide-open to more cyber attacks Feb 17 2011. Ottawa Citizen. Vito Pilieci.

Chinese ISP hijacked US military, gov web traffic BGP wakeup call still not sounded. Nov 17 2010. The Register. Dan Goodin.

A Chinese ISP Momentarily Hijacks the Internet Apr 8 2010. PC-World. Robert McMillan, IDG News Service.

Canadian researchers reveal online spy ring based in China Espionage network is breaching servers of dozens of countries and groups. Apr 6 2010. Globe and Mail. Grant Robertson.

US pinpoints author of Google attack code, says report China had 'special access' to work. Feb 22 2010. The Register. Cade Metz.

Hacking Inquiry Puts China's Elite in New Light Feb 21 2010. New York Times. David Barboza.

Two Chinese Schools Said to Be Tied to Online Attacks Feb 18 2010. New York Times. John Markoff and David Barboza.

China denies role in cyber attacks on Google Claims 'groundless'. Jan 25 2010. The Register. Cade Metz.

China Rebukes U.S. Calls to Investigate Hacking Jan 25 2010. New York Times. Michael Wines.

After Google's Stand on China, U.S. Treads Lightly Jan 14 2010. New York Times. David E. Sanger and John Markoff.

Chinese hackers target media in anniversary run-up News organisations, NGOs hit by trojan attacks. Sep 22 2009. The Register. John Leyden.

Flame

Flame was scout ahead of Stuxnet attack on Iran nukes - US spooks Israel blamed for cyberweapons' escape into the wild. Jun 20 2012. The Register. John Leyden.

Flame gets suicide command Symantec honeypot spots `flame-out'. Jun 7 2012. The Register. Richard Chirgwin.

Microsoft 'hardens' Windows Update from Flame penetration How the hot malware burned a new hole in Redmond's backside. Jun 7 2012. The Register. Team Register.

'Super-powerful' Flame worm actually boring BLOATWARE More Jabba the Hutt than lean Windows killing machine. May 31 2012. The Register. John Leyden.

News stories

A Cyberattack in Saudi Arabia Had a Deadly Goal. Experts Fear Another Try Mar 15 2018. New York Times. Nicole Perlroth, Clifford Kraus.

NATO Set to Ratify Pledge on Joint Defense in Case of Major Cyberattack Aug 31 2014. New York Times. David E. Sanger.

Inside Canadian cyber-security agency's 'target the world' strategy Aug 25 2014. Globe and Mail. Colin Freeze.

Al Qaeda Targeting U.S. Infrastructure for Digital 9/11 Jul 24 2014. Washington Free Beacon. Bill Gertz.

Government-built malware running out of control, F-Secure claims What if antivirus companies are whitelisting state malware.... Feb 28 2014. The Register. Iain Thomson.

Rogue US-Israeli cyberwar weapon 'infected Russian nuclear plant' Even the space station has been infected by malware, claims Kaspersky. Nov 11 2013. The Register. John Leyden.

Western spooks banned Lenovo PCs after finding back doors Report suggests 'Five Eyes' alliance won't work with Chinese PCs. Jul 29 2013. The Register. Phil Muncaster.

Leaked Obama brief reveals US cyber defense, offense policy 'Severely damaging' attacks with 'little or no warning' approved. Jun 8 2013. The Register. Neil McAllister.

U.S. Helps Allies Trying to Battle Iranian Hackers Jun 8 2013. New York Times. Thom Shanker and David E. Sanger.

U.S. cyber plan calls for private-sector scans of Net Mar 21 2013. Reuters. Joseph Menn and Deborah Charles.

Killing hackers is justified in cyber warfare, says NATO-commissioned repot Mar 21 2013. The Verge. Aaron Souppouris.

North Korea says US 'behind hack attack' Mar 15 2013. BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation.

As Hacking Against U.S. Rises, Experts Try to Pin Down Motive Mar 3 2013. New York Times. Nicole Perlroth, David Sanger, Michael S. Schmidt.

Prepare for 'post-crypto world', warns godfather of encryption Shamir: US quadrupling size of cyber-combat unit for a reason. Mar 1 2013. The Register. John Leyden.

Chinese Army: US hacks us so much, I'm amazed you can read this PLA, USA finger each other harshly in cyber mud-slinging. Feb 28 2013. The Register. John Leyden.

Overseas hackers nab more than 1TB of data daily Feb 27 2013. CNet. Dara Kerr.

How China's Top Digital Spies Got Outed by Facebook and Twitter Feb 19 2013. Atlantic Wire. Rebecca Greenfield.

Rachel Marsden: Pentagon keyboard jockeys can now out-decorate combat heros Feb 19 2013. Chicago Tribune. Rachel Marsden.

Watch a Chinese military hacker launch a successful attack Feb 19 2013. NetworkWorld. Colin Neagle.

Chinese Army Hackers Trying to Bring Down U.S. Infrastructure, After All Feb 18 2013. Atlantic Wire. Adam Clark Estes.

Expert: US in cyberwar arms race with China, Russia Feb 18 2013. NBC News. Robert Windrem.

The Global Cyber-Espionage Ring That Spent 5 Years in the shadows Meet Red October. Jan 14 2013. Gizmodo. Eric Lime.

US accused of hypocrisy over cyber warfare A state that sins more than its sinned against. Oct 20 2012. The Register. Iain Thomson.

U.S. Suspects Iran Was Behind a Wave of Cyberattacks Oct 13 2012. New York Times. Thom Shanker.

Canada should heed warnings of 'cyber Pearl Harbor,' security experts say Oct 12 2012. Canada.com. Jordan Press.

Panetta Warns of Dire Threat of Cyberattack on U.S. Oct 11 2012. New York Times. Elisabeth Bumiller and Thom Shanker.

Hackers break onto White House military network Spear phish hits 'unclassified' presidential system. Oct 1 2012. The Register. John Leyden.

Virus Seeking Bank Data Is Tied to Attack on Iran Aug 9 2012. New York Times Bits. New York Times. Nicole Perlroth.

Senators Force Weaker Safeguards Against Cyberattacks Jul 27 2012. New York Times. Michael S. Schmidt.

Source code smoking gun links Stuxnet AND Flame Kaspersky: Devious cyber-weapons share software DNA. Jun 12 2012. The Register. Team Register.

Data on Canadian Officials Stolen in Attack on Stratfor Jun 11 2012. Bloomberg. Andrew Mayeda.

Computer equipment firms potential cyber threat to Canadian fedl government Jun 11 2012. The Star. Allan Woods.

Former Pentagon Analyst: China Can Shut Down All Telecom Gear Sold to US Jun 8 2012. Business Insider. F. Michael Maloof.

Google to offer cyberwar defence advice to Gmail users 'State-sponsored attackers are targeting your account'. Jun 6 2012. The Register. Richard Chirgwin.

Expert Issues a Cyberwar Warning Jun 3 2012. New York Times. Andrew E. Kramer.

Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran Jun 1 2012. New York Times. David E. Sanger.

Researchers Find Clues in Malware May 30 2012. New York Times. Nicole Perlroth.

Iran Confirms Attack by New Data Virus May 29 2012. New York Times. Thomas Erdbrink.

Super-powerful Flame worm could take YEARS to dissect But it shares same scripting tech as Angry Birds. May 29 2012. The Register. John Leyden.

New computer virus hits Iran, West Bank in unprecedented cyberattack May 28 2012. Haaretz. Oded Yaron.

Flame: Massive cyber-attack discovered, researchers say May 28 2012. BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation. Dave Lee.

How telecom systems can be compromised May 17 2012. CBC. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Mark Gollum.

Chinese firm's Canadian contracts raise security fears Barred by the U.S. and Australia, tech giant Huawei makes inroads in Canada. May 15 2012. CBC. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Greg Weston.

NATO Faced with Rising Flood of Cyberattacks Warfare with Malware. Apr 26 2012. Spiegel Online International. Der Spiegel. Matthias Gebauer.

Iran cuts off oil plants hit by mystery data-destroying virus Lockdown as officials drill into malware riddle. Apr 25 2012. The Register. John Leyden.

Cyberwar report: Israel, Finland best prepared for conflict Do GCHQ and the NSA have some catching up to do?. Jan 31 2012. The Register. John Leyden.

US spy drone hijacked with GPS spoof hack, report says Electronic warfare comes of age - in Iran. Dec 15 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Cyber-war law would expose customer privates to spies Big biz and US govt propose info sharing. Dec 2 2011. The Register. Brid-Aine Parnell.

Duqu targeted each victim with unique files and servers Well-financed developers had sense of humor. Nov 11 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

US military debated hacking Libyan air defenses Obama urged to keep Ferrari in garage for time being. Oct 17 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Drone nerve centre malware was Mafia Wars' infostealer Don't panic - it was only the weapons and spy systems infected. Oct 14 2011. The Register. John Leyden.

Cyberspy attacks targeting Russians traced back to UK and US Re-writing the script. Sep 22 2011. The Register. John Leyden.

Q: Why do defenders keep losing to smaller cyberwarriors? A: 'Ant smarts' not 'asymmetry'. Aug 11 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Cyber attack hits Ottawa; probe focuses on IP addresses from China Jul 16 2011. Globe and Mail (Toronto, CA). Bill Curry and Colin Freeze.

Germany opens cyberdefence centre to protect water, electricity Infrastructure the most important target for cybercriminals. Jun 16 2011. The Register. Jan Libbenga.

Google China e-mail hack: FBI to investigate Jun 3 2011. BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC.

US Pentagon to treat cyber-attacks as 'acts of war' Jun 1 2011. BBC. British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC.

>Hackers Hit Lockheed-Martin, Supplier of F-35 for Israel Pentagon says security was not breached, but data was stolen.... May 29 2011. Arutz Sheva. Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu.

Norway's military computers targeted in serious attack Hack followed Libya bombing. May 20 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Hack attacks on US could spark military action White House draws line in the silicon. May 17 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

DARPA wants weapons-grade military cloud computing The clouds of war gather over the Pentagon. May 17 2011. The Register. Lewis Page.

North Korea blamed for bank hack Hackers not so lonely. May 3 2011. The Register. John Oates.

Internet-based attacks on critical systems rise Apr 18 2011. BBC Online. British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC.

World leaders meet to discuss cyberwar rules of engagement Hague convention for state-backed hacking?. Feb 4 2011. The Register. John Leyden.

Foreign cyber spies target British defence official Spear phishing foiled. Nov 22 2010. The Register. Chris Williams.

DDoS attacks take out Asian nation Myanmar fades to black. Nov 3 2010. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Who controls the internet? Oct 8 2010. Financial Times. Misha Glenny.

Cyberwar Chief Calls for Secure Computer Network Sep 23 2010. New York Times. Thom Shanker.

Smart meters pose hacker kill-switch risk, warn boffins Who turned off the lights?. Jul 28 2010. The Register. John Leyden.

Russian spy ring needed some serious IT help Technology and a slow help desk undo Russian spies. Jun 30 2010. Network World. Tim Greene.

Military Taps Social Networking Skills Jun 7 2010. New York Times. Christopher Drew.

At Internet Conference, Signs of Agreement Appear Between U.S. and Russia Apr 15 2010. New York Times. John Markoff.

Cyber attacks will 'catastrophically' spook public, warns GCHQ Cheltenham spies 'cyber arms race'. Feb 22 2010. The Register. Chris Williams.

Google to enlist NSA to help it ward off cyberattacks Feb 4 2010. Washington Post. Ellen Nakashima.

Google Asks Spy Agency for Help With Inquiry Into Cyberattacks Feb 4 2010. New York Times. John Markoff.

CIA, PayPal under bizarre SSL assault Plus hundreds of others. Jan 29 2010. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Clinton Urges Global Response to Internet Attacks Jan 21 2010. New York Times. Mark Landler.

UK already 'major world power' in cyberwar But ultra-nerds required. Oct 1 2009. The Register. Chris Williams.

Contractors Vie for Plum Work, Hacking for the United States Cyberwarriors. May 30 2009. New York Times. Christopher Drew and John Markoff.

Obama fights cyber threats with new White House post Barack's brush with cyber espionage. May 29 2009. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Turkish hackers breach US Army servers, says report SQL injection strikes again. May 29 2009. The Register. Dan Goodin.

US military shows off hack-by-numbers battlefield gadget Cyber warfare made easier. May 22 2009. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Vast Spy System Loots Computers in 103 Countries Spooky!. Mar 28 2009. New York Times. John Markoff.

Indian court urged to 'ban Google Earth' Aided Mumbai attacks. Dec 10 2008. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Panel Offers Ways to Strengthen Cyberspace Security Government computers vulnerable. Dec 8 2008. New York Times. John Markoff.

Obama urged to create White House cybersecurity chief Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency. Dec 8 2008. The Register. Dan Goodin.

USAF Colonel goes on the offensive with botnet destroyer plan Fight bots with bots?. May 12 2008. The Register. Dan Gondin.

CIA claims crackers took out power grids SCADA systems, crackers, and blackmail.... Jan 21 2008. The Register. John Leyden.

Bit Wars, When Computers Attack Cyberwar battlegrounds explored. Jun 23 2007. New York Times. John Schwartz.

NATO, US gear up for cyberpunk warfare Operation Screaming Fist is go. Jun 15 2007. The Register. Lewis Page.

9/11 report light on ID theft issues Experts say - "Terrorism and identity theft go hand in hand.". Mar 27 2006. MSNBC. NBC news. Bob Sullivan.

The Risk to Homeland Security from Identity Fraud and Identity Theft Terrorists like phish too. Mar 27 2006. Identity Theft Resource Center. Linda Foley.

Waging War through the Internet Cyberspace-based terrorism. Jan 15 2006. San Francisco Chronicle. John Arquilla.

UK and EU allies plan moves against terror websites Policing the Internet. Mar 18 2005. The Registry. John Lettice.

Japan defence firm Mitsubishi Heavy in cyber attack China implicated?.

Opinion

Is Canada sleepwalking into a cyberwar? Feb 25 2013. iPolitics. Fen Olser Hampson.

China's Cybergames Feb 19 2013. New York Times. NYT.

Orgs/info

Frontline: Cyberwar! Cyberspace attack vulnerablities in the United States. Mar 25 2005. Public Broadcasting System.

Trump questions quest for cybersecurity: `No computer is safe' Jan 1 2017. Washington Post. Mike DeBonis.

A New Era of Internet Attacks Powered by Everyday Devices Oct 23 2016. New York Times. David E. Sanger, Nichole Perlroth.

Iranian Hackers Infiltrated a Canadian Government System Jul 9 2015. Vice. Ben Makuch and Justin Ling.

Confusion reigns as Bundestag malware clean-up staggers on Jun 12 2015. The Register. John Leyden.

U.S. Was Warned of System Open to Cyberattacks Jun 5 2015. New York Times. Sanger, Herschfeld, Perlroth.

Nearly every U.S. arms program found vulnerable to cyber attacks Jan 20 2015. Reuters. Andrea Shalal.

Chinese cyberattack forces computer shutdown at National Research Council Jul 28 2014. CTVNews.

Russia

Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid thru a utility in Vermont: Officials. Dec 30 2016. Washington Post. Juliet Eilperin and Adam Entous.

How Russia Recruited Elite Hackers for Its Cyberwar Dec 29 2016. New York Times. Andrew E. Kramer.

How Russia overtook China as our biggest cyber enemy Dec 16 2016. Washington Post. James Lewis.

The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S. Dec 13 2016. New York Times. Eric Lipton, David E.Sanger, Scott Shane.

Secret CIA assessment says Russia was trying to help Trump win White House Dec 10 2016. Washington Post. Adam Entous, Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller.

U.S. suspects Russia in hack of Pentagon computer network Aug 6 2015. Washington Post. Craig Whitlock and Missy Ryan.

Russia-based hackers prime suspects in JPMorgan mega-breach FBI working on sanctions reprisals hack theory - report. Aug 28 2014. Registry. John Leyden.

Suspected Russian spyware Turla targets Europe, United States Mar 7 2014. Reuters. Peter Apps, Jim Finkle.

Stuxnet

Iran strengthened cyber capabilities after Stuxnet: U.S. general Jan 17 2013. Reuters. Andrea Shalal-Esa.

Kaspersky claims `smoking code' linking Stuxnet and Duqu Warns of three other unknown variants. Dec 29 2011. The Register. Iain Thomson.

Stuxnet-derived malware found infecting SCADA makers Duqu trojan in the wild since December. Oct 19 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Iran says it was attacked by second computer worm 'Espionage virus' targets country's networks. Apr 25 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Stuxnet blitzed 5 Iranian factories over 10-month period 12,000 separate infections. Feb 14 2011. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Stuxnet: Cyber attack on Iran 'was carried out by Western powers and Israe' Jan 21 2011. The Telegraph. The Telegraph (UK). Christoper Williams.

Israel Tests on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay Stuxnet under the microscope.... Jan 15 2011. New York Times. William J. Broad, John Markoff and David E. Sanger.

Stuxnet expert nuke-boffin killing: Iran claims arrests Sticky-bomb assassins took out worm cleanup chief. Dec 6 2010. The Register. John Leyden.

Stuxnet Worm Could Devastate Critical Systems, Experts Say Nov 18 2010. PC-Magazine. Chloe Albanesius.

Missing piece completes Stuxnet jigsaw Malware targets frequency converter drives from two specific vendors. Nov 15 2010. The Register. John Leyden.

Stuxnet 'a game changer for malware defence' EU agency warning. Oct 9 2010. The Register. John Leyden.

Iran boasts of Stuxnet 'nuclear spies' arrests But astrologer-botanists fingered by security researchers. Oct 4 2010. The Register. John Leyden.

Stuxnet worm slithers into China, heralds alien invasion Conspiracy? Cock-up? Or Conspiracy?. Oct 1 2010. The Register. John Leyden.

Has the West declared cyber war on Iran? Sep 28 2010. The Independent. Rhodri Marsden.

Stuxnet worm can reinfect PCs even after disinfection Beware of poisoned Step7 files. Sep 28 2010. The Register. Dan Goodin.

Mystery lingers over stealthy Stuxnet infection Cloak and dagger. Sep 27 2010. The Register. John Leyden.

Iran Fights Malware Attacking Computers Sep 25 2010. New York Times. David Sanger.

Is Stuxnet the 'best' malware ever? So good it may be a state-backed effort. Sep 16 2010. Infoworld. Gregg Keizer.