An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: The Department of Homeland Security is reportedly issuing alerts to wireless telecom providers and law enforcement agencies about potential attacks on cell towers and telecommunications workers by 5G/coronavirus conspiracy theorists. The DHS warned that there have already been “arson and physical attacks against cell towers in several U.S. states.” The preposterous claim…
Tag: DHS
DHS CISA: Companies Are Getting Hacked Even After Patching Pulse Secure VPNs
According to the DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), companies that run Pulse Secure VPN servers are still at risk of getting hacked, despite patching vulnerable systems. ZDNet reports: Pulse Secure VPN servers are enterprise-grade VPN gateways that companies use to let workers connect to internal company networks from across the internet. Last year, a major vulnerability was disclosed in…
Motherboard Built a Database of Over 500 iPhones Cops Have Tried To Unlock
“Motherboard built and analyzed a database of over 500 iPhones seized by law enforcement,” writes Slashdot reader em1ly. “It’s a deep dive into the ongoing “Going Dark” conversation.” Here’s an excerpt from the report: Most of all, the records compiled by Motherboard show that the capability to unlock iPhones is a fluid issue, with an ebb and flow of law enforcement…
US Homeland Security Official Charged with Stealing Confidential Government Software, Databases
An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: In a press release Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice charged a former Acting Inspector General for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the theft of proprietary software and confidential government databases. The indictment named Charles K. Edwards, a former DHS Acting Inspector General between 2011 to 2013, but also his former aid, 54-year-old…
A Ransomware Attack Shut a US Natural Gas Plant and Its Pipelines
Long-time Slashdot reader Garabito writes: The Department of Homeland Security has revealed that an unnamed U.S. natural gas compression facility was forced to shut down operations for two days after becoming infected with ransomware. The plant was targeted with a phishing e-mail, that allowed the attacker to access its IT network and then pivot to its Operational Technology (OT) control network,…
Breach of MGM Hotels’ Cloud Server Exposed Data on 10.6 Million People
Personal information from more than 10.6 million people was published online this week, reports ZDNet — all from people who’d stayed at MGM Resorts hotels (which include the Bellagio, Mandalay Bay, and ARIA):
Besides details for regular tourists and travelers, included in the leaked files are also personal and contact details for celebrities, tech CEOs, reporters, government officials, and employees at some…
Proof-of-Concept Exploits Published for the Microsoft-NSA Crypto Bug
Security researchers have published proof-of-concept (PoC) code for exploiting a recently-patched vulnerability in the Windows operating system, a vulnerability that has been reported to Microsoft by the US National Security Agency (NSA). From a report: The bug, which some have started calling CurveBall, impacts CryptoAPI (Crypt32.dll), the component that handles cryptographic operations in the Windows OS. According to a high-level technical…
Trump Administration Drops Plans For Mandatory Face Scans of Citizens
schwit1 shares a report from U.S. News & World Report: The Department of Homeland Security is dropping plans to propose a regulation requiring all travelers — including U.S. citizens — to have their photos taken and faces scanned by facial recognition technology when entering and exiting the country, according to multiple reports. The proposed rule was slated to be issued in…
DHS Wants Airport Face Recognition Scans To Include US Citizens
The Department of Homeland Security wants to expand facial recognition scans in the airport to also include citizens, which had previously been exempt from the mandatory checks. TechCrunch reports: In a filing, the department has proposed that all travelers, and not just foreign nationals or visitors, will have to complete a facial recognition check before they are allowed to enter the…
DHS Will Soon Have Biometric Data On Nearly 260 Million People
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) expects to have face, fingerprint, and iris scans of at least 259 million people in its biometrics database by 2022, according to a recent presentation from the agency’s Office of Procurement Operations reviewed by Quartz. From the report: That’s about 40 million more than the agency’s 2017 projections, which estimated 220 million unique identities…