CyberWire Daily

Audit finds no “Chinese spy chips” on Supermicro motherboards. Huawei CFO Meng’s hearing continues. Oil services firm’s servers attacked. Seedworm shows some new tricks. Secure instant messaging apps may be less secure than hoped. A new adware strain reported. Mr. Pichai goes to Washington, and Uncle Pennybags puts in an appearance. The US House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reports on the Equifax breach. Prof. Awais Rashid from Bristol University on risk management in a data-intensive world. Guest is Barry Hensley from Secureworks on supply chain risks.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_12_11.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that Huawei’s CFO awaits her immediate fate in a Vancouver detention facility, where she faces possible extradition to the US on a sanctions-violation beef. Huawei itself receives hostile scrutiny from the Five Eyes, the EU, and Japan. US indictments are expected soon in other IP theft cases involving China. Upgrade Kubernetes. Russia and Ukraine swap cyberattacks in their ongoing hybrid war. An advance fee scam promises not only money, but maybe love, too. Emily Wilson from Terbium labs, on why she feels the Lesbians Who Tech conference gets diversity right. 

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_12_10.html

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Researchers at Trend Micro uncovered a supply chain attack targeting organizations in South Korea. With the goal of information theft, attackers compromised the update server of a third party support provider, resulting in the installation of a RAT, or remote access trojan.

Rik Ferguson is Vice President of Security Research at Trend Micro, and he guides us through their discoveries.

The research can be found here:

https://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/supply-chain-attack-operation-red-signature-targets-south-korean-organizations/

In today’s podcast we hear that Huawei’s CFO remains in Canadian custody, perhaps facing extradition to the US. All Five Eyes have now expressed strong reservations about Huawei on security grounds. They’ve been joined in this by Japan and the European Union. Proofpoint sees a shift in cybercrime toward more carefully targeted and thoughtful social engineering. Kaspersky describes “DarkVishnaya,” a criminal campaign using surreptitiously planted hardware to loot Eastern European banks. Justin Harvey from Accenture discussing what should be in your incident response “go bag.” Guest is New York Times national security correspondent David E. Sanger, discussing his latest book The Perfect Weapon.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_12_07.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that Huawei’s CFO was arrested in Vancouver on a US sanctions beef. Anonymous sources tell Reuters Chinese intelligence was behind the Marriott hack. A Flash zero-day is used in an attack against a Russian hospital. SamSam warnings and new US indictments. In the UK, Parliament releases internal Facebook emails that suggest discreditable data-use practices. Facebook says the emails are being taken out of context. And DDoS downs Illinois homework. Dr. Charles Clancy from VA Tech’s Hume Center on the ban of specific 5G hardware around the world. Guest is Tom Bonner from Cylance on the SpyRATs of Ocean Lotus.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_12_06.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that CoAp-based DDoS attacks are on the rise. A Nigerian gang has done some industrial-scale work on business email compromise. Ukraine says it stopped a major Russian cyber attack. The EU looks toward its May elections and determines to do something about disinformation. The US National Republican Congressional Committee sustains an email compromise. Attribtution of a phishing expedition to Cozy Bear grows dubious. And Westminster doxes Facebook.  Joe Carrigan from JHU ISI explaining the National Centers for Academic Excellence. Carole Theriault interviews SANS’ James Lyne explains the Cyber Discovery program which aims bolster the security workforce.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_12_05.html

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In today’s podcast we hear how Fancy Bears and free-range catphish have been disporting themselves in the Czech Republic. China reported to have used watering hole attacks to gain entry into Australian institutions. Quora suffers a data breach. Marriott’s breach response earns mediocre marks. A Kubernetes privilege escalation flaw is found and patched. Two scammy apps are ejected from Apple’s App Store. An object lesson in the difficulty of controlling fake news—or at least fake op-eds.  Jonathan Katz from UMD on SSD drive encryption security woes. Guest is Brian Egenrieder from SyncDog on the challenges of commingling work and personal mobile devices.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_12_04.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that senior US and UK officials have harsh words for Russian actions in cyberspace even as President Putin undertakes a charm offensive at the G20 meetings. (In fairness to the US and UK officials, it’s a pretty dour charm offensive.) Iran ups its influence operations game. Legal investigations and legislative responses to the Marriott breach begin. A US Court upholds the Government’s ban on Kaspersky products. And paying ransom to cyber extortionists could violate US sanctions. Daniel Prince from Lancaster University discussing growth, innovation and productivity within cyber security.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_13_03.html

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In the second episode of our new, four-part series, called “Ground Truth or Consequences: the challenges and opportunities of regulation in cyberspace,” we take a look at the impact GDPR has had since it's implementation in May 2018.

Joining us are Emily Mossburg from Deloitte, Caleb Barlow from IBM and Steve Durbin from ISF.

Later in the program we'll hear from Jason Hart, CTO for enterprise and cybersecurity at Gemalto. They're the sponsors of this show.

Researchers from Secureworks' Counter Threat Unit have been tracking a threat group spoofing login pages for universities. Evidence suggests the Iranian group Cobalt Dickens is likely responsible.

Allison Wikoff is a senior researcher at Secureworks, and she joins us to share what they've found.

The original research is here:

https://www.secureworks.com/blog/back-to-school-cobalt-dickens-targets-universities

In today’s podcast we hear about Marriott’s big breach. And Dunkin’ Donuts big breach. And, and, Urban Massage’s embarrassing exposure. Lessons are drawn about third-party risk, password reuse, and the importance of being less creepy to the people you do business with. Fancy Bear shows up to paw at the phish swimming in Germany’s government. And how much did SamSam really cost people? FBI? DoJ? Is it millions or billions? In either case you’re talking about real money. Robert M. Lee from Dragos discussing the notion of IoT hot water heaters taking down the power grid. Guest is Michelle Guel from Cisco, discussing smart cities and her perspective as a pioneering woman in the industry.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_30.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear warnings of Russian recon “degradation” of the North American power grid. Information operations in Russia’s hybrid war against Ukraine. Factions in Yemen’s civil war contest cyberspace (and fiber optic cables). Eternal Silence exploits systems not patched against EternalBlue and EternalRed. Dell tells its customers to reset their passwords. And the US indicts two Iranians for deploying the SamSam ransomware. Emily Wilson from Terbium labs with unintended consequences of GDPR. Guest is Francis Dinha, founder and CEO of OpenVPN, discussing the VPN landscape.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_29.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that DNSpionage espionage tools are hitting Middle Eastern targets. Iran’s Cobalt Dickens returns to pester universities. Lawful intercept vendors receive more scrutiny, and that scrutiny suggests iOS might not have escaped their attention as much as many had assumed. Facebook gets grilled in London. Nine Western countries issue a joint communique resolving to control “false and misleading” content on the Internet. And lessons from small towns. Ben Yelin from UMD CHHS reviewing government requests of Google’s Nest to turn over user information. UK correspondent Carole Theriault speaks with Graham Cluley about police monitoring criminals using the Ironchat secure messaging service.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_28.html

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In today’s podcast we hear that the Rotexy Trojan has evolved into phishing and ransomware. Bad apps found in Google Play. An open source library used in cryptocurrency wallets had a wide-open backdoor. Facebook goes before Parliament, which seems in a pretty feisty mood. Pegasus spyware found to have been deployed against journalists in Mexico and elsewhere. Russia escalates its hybrid war against Ukraine. Do people care if their smart speakers eavesdrop? How about their smart lightbulbs? Johannes Ullrich from SANs and the ISC Stormcast podcast on DNS over HTTPS and network visibility. Guest is Shaun Bierweiler from Hortonworks on the use of open source software in the federal space.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_27.html

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In today’s podcast we hear that Emotet ramped up for Black Friday—beware of the spam. Social engineering and the power grid. Industrial espionage resurfaces as an issue in Sino-American relations. Huawei remains unforgiven in Washington. China’s emerging social credit system. Bottom-up social control in the US: first they came for the dogwalkers. Making a Dutch book on social media. Russia tightens Internet laws. The US Army learns some lessons, in a good way, from Joint Task Force Ares. Joe Carrigan from JHU ISI, wondering if we have a cyber skills gap or a shortage of courage. 

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_26.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that Amazon has offered customers a modified, limited hangout on some kind of data exposure. The online retailer says everything’s OK, but it hasn’t said much else. Facebook is back online—yesterday’s outage attributed to a server misconfiguration. Shoppers and retailers prepare for Cyber Weekend. Tessa88, the dark web data hawker, may have been identified. Cyber espionage continues. And there’s been another breach in what we’ve curiously agreed to call an “adult” site. David Dufour from Webroot on the pros and cons of open source code. Guest is Andrew Kling from Schneider Electric with an update on Triton malware.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_21.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear about nations behaving badly (but from the point-of-view of cyberespionage they’re doing, unfortunately, well). The Lazarus Group is back robbing banks in Asia and Latin America. Russia’s Hades Group, known for Olympic Destroyer, is back, too. Gamaredon and Cozy Bear have returned, respectively pestering Ukraine and the US. Iran’s OilRig is upping its game with just-in-time malicious phishbait. And it’s not you: Facebook has been down. Malek Ben Salem from Accenture Labs on skills squatting with Amazon’s Alexa. Guest is Ronnie Tokazowski from Flashpoint on his work with the business email compromise working group.

In today’s podcast, we hear that CISA is now an agency within DHS. Cozy Bear is back, and spearphishing in American civilian waters. Ukrainian authorities say they’ve detected and blocked a malware campaign that appears targeted against former Soviet Republics. A reported Gmail issue may make for more plausible social engineering. The Outlaw criminal group expands into cryptojacking. Infrastructure, financial, and data corruption attacks discussed as possible “cyber 9/11s”. Rick Howard from Palo Alto Networks with a book recommendation from the Cybersecurity Canon project.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_19.html

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The NETSCOUT Arbor ASERT team has been tracking Cobalt Group campaigns targeting financial institutions. Richard Hummel is manager of threat intelligence with ASERT, and he joins us to share his team's findings. 

The research can be found here:

https://asert.arbornetworks.com/double-the-infection-double-the-fun/

In today’s podcast, we ask a question: when does a military exercise become hybrid warfare? Answer: when it affects civilian safety. Like with GPS jamming. Russian banks are sustaining a major, and well-crafted, phishing campaign. An unprotected server exposes SMS messages. China tightens laws enabling censorship and social control. It also helps Venezuela to do likewise. And did the US indict Julian Assange, or is it just a cut-and-paste error? Craig Williams from Cisco Talos with info on the sextortion scams they’ve been tracking. Guest is Christopher Porter from FireEye on threats in the aviation sector.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_16.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that tRAT indicates a criminal shift to a longer game. Chinese industrial espionage copies Russian services’ tricks. Dharma ransomware evolves. Bitcoin’s price may be tanking, but Bitcoin-based advance-fee scams are still all over Twitter, with bogus big brands’ blue checks all over them. Nigeria plans to go after cyber gangs. Fancy Bear says it can’t be sued, even if it did anything. And why a password manager is better than an infernal machine. Jonathan Katz from UMD describing a side channel attack on mobile device encryption. Guest is Mike McKee from ObserveIT on nation state attacks.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_15.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that Monday’s BGP hijacking wasn’t hijacking at all, but rather a fumbled upgrade in an ISP. The White Company’s Operation Shaheen is a nation-state espionage campaign directed against Pakistan’s military. Sleazy gamer and hacker SWAuTistic pleads guilty to Wichita swatting charges, and to bomb threats just about everywhere else. And the NPPD will soon become CISA, and the lead US civilian cybersecurity agency. Emily Wilson from Terbium Labs on their recent Truth About Dark Web Pricing white paper. Guest is Gregory Garrett from BDO on their telecommunications risk report.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_14.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that Finland is investigating  GPS signal jamming during NATO exercises. Russia’s the usual suspect, as usual Russia feels picked on and ill-used. Jihadists seem to be feeling the effects of social media screening, and may turn to account hijacking. Indian intelligence services look at ISIS use of Wickr. A look at Magecart. Cathay Pacific’s breach now believed to be worse than originally thought. The “Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace” expresses eight aspirations. Joe Carrigan from JHU ISI with a report on the NICE conference, and a presentation on including psychologists in cyber security decision making. Guest is Rich Bolstridge from Akamai with credential stuffing info from their latest State of Internet Security report.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_13.html

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In this premier episode of our new, four-part series, called “Ground Truth or Consequences: the challenges and opportunities of regulation in cyberspace,” we take a closer look at cyber security regulation in the U.S. 

Joining us are Dr. Christopher Pierson from BlackCloak and Randy Sabett from Cooley LLC. 

Later in the program we'll hear from Jason Hart, CTO for enterprise and cybersecurity at Gemalto. They're the sponsors of this show.

Joseph Nye is former dean of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He served as Chair of the National Intelligence Council, and as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs under President Clinton. He serves as a Commissioner for the Global Commission on Internet Governance, and is the author of over a dozen books, including, “Soft Power: The means to success in work politics,” and “The future of power.”

In today’s podcast we hear that Britain’s NCSC has warned, again, that the UK is likely to face a Category One cyberattack within the next few years. In the US, Government-industry-academic partnerships work toward making critical infrastructure more resilient to cyberattack. Pyongyang’s Lazarus Group continues to rob ATMs using malware. US officials complain that China is in violation of 2015’s agreement to avoid industrial espionage. Any Russian observers give the US a passing grade for fair midterm elections. Awais Rashid from Bristol University with thoughts on placing trust in blockchain systems. Guest is Bruce Schneier, discussing his latest book, “Click here to kill everybody.”

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_09.html

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In today’s podcast, we hear that, while election hacking seems not have happened in the US this week, that hasn’t stopped the IRA and its mouthpieces in Sputnik, RT, and elsewhere from loudly claiming it has. Election influence operations continue long after the election. VirtualBox zero-day disclosed to everyone. USCYBERCOM posts Lojack to VirusTotal. FCC vs. robocalls. US Postal Services’ Informed Delivery exploited. Canada Post slips to reveal cannabis customers. Dr. Charles Clancy from the Hume Center at VA Tech on in-car cell phone jammers. Guest is Ian Paterson from Plurilock Security Solutions on behavioral biometrics.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_08.html

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In today’s podcast we take a quick look back at the US midterm elections, and at what did and didn’t happen. Is Iran looking at waging cyber-enabled economic warfare? If you use Apache Struts, update now to avoid remote code execution. A spyware-delivering app is used to smish Spanish-speaking users of the Play Store. And, once again, people really seem to think that Elon Musk will return them their Bitcoin donations tenfold. (Enough people to make crime pay, anyway.) Justin Harvey from Accenture on notification laws and incident response. Guest is Christian Lees from InfoArmor with thoughts on what they’re seeing trafficked on the dark web.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_07.html

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In today's podcast, we hear that Iran has accused Israel of a second Stuxnet, claiming the attack was thwarted, and threatening retaliation. Nor is Tehran neglecting domestic surveillance of its own: Persian Stalker is involved with some pretty suspicious greyware. It's Election Day in the US, and officials are cautiously optimistic work to secure the voting will be successful. Concerns about information operations persist, and people continue to work to distinguish them from good-old-fashioned American confident chatter. Ben Yelin from UMD CHHS on the FBI using Google location data to nab crooks. Guest is Victor Danevich from Infoblox on the challenges on managing higher ed networks.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_06.html

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In today's podcast, we note that US midterm elections end tomorrow evening, with officials on high alert for election hacking. Russia sends poll watcher to the US to make sure democratic norms are observed. Side-channel attack proof-of-concept announced for CPUs, but risk seems relatively low. Botnets are fighting over Android devices for cryptojacking power. And Russia's GU, né GRU? It looks like it's going to get its "R" back. Rick Howard from Palo Alto Networks with thoughts on DevOps and the future of orchestration. 

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_05.html

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Symantec technical director Vikram Thakur returns to share his team's look at threat groups APT 28 and APT 29, the influence they had on the 2016 election, and how the cyber security industry has responded in preparation for the 2018 midterms.

The original research can be found here:

https://www.symantec.com/blogs/election-security/election-hacking-faq

In today's podcast, we hear that people are asking if that lull in Chinese cyber operations was just a strategic pause. Huawei's on a charm offensive. People are seeing plenty of Russian trolling, but election hacking proper continues to be quiet. Another strategic pause? US Cyber Command is said to be ready to respond to any election cyberattacks swiftly and in kind. And if you want to hear what people think about 80s techno-pop, a dark web souk will sell you the relevant Facebook messages for just one thin dime apiece. Malek Ben Salem from Accenture Labs on blockchain use in election security. Guest is Shannon Morse, host and producer at Hak5.org.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_02.html

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In today's podcast, we hear that Bleeding Bit flaws leave Wi-Fi access points open to war drivers and other malefactors within a hundred meters of your equipment. US Cyber Command continues its attempts to dissuade foreign influence operations against midterm elections. Social networks have difficulty identifying who's buying ads. Canada's data privacy law takes effect today. GandCrab crooks take a million-dollar bath. And if you go to Soulmates in Google Play, you're looking for love in all the wrong places. Johannes Ullrich from the ISC Stormcast podcast on hiding malware in benign files. Guest is Tara Combs from Alfresco on coming US cyber regulations.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/November/CyberWire_2018_11_01.html

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In today's podcast, we hear about influence operations in social media (again): Americans remain more vulnerable (because they lack a cultural experience of state propaganda) than Eastern Europeans. Rules of thumb for recognizing the good, the bad, and the bogus online. Kraken Cryptor is a black market leading ransomware strain. SamSam remains active. US indicts Chinese industrial spies. And what not to look at on your Government laptop. David Dufour from Webroot with thoughts on processor vulnerabilities. Guest is Maria Rerecich from Consumer Reports on their product testing processes, and how they’ve evolved to keep up with the times.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_31.html

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In today's podcast, we hear that installing cybersecurity tools to protect elections is tougher than it looks. Information operations continue to pose the most prominent foreign threat to US midterm elections, although there are concerns about voting machine security. Cointracker looks like a trader's tool with a side order of malware. Video embedded in Microsoft Word documents can carry malicious payloads through detection systems. Hardware worries and sanctions. Competing visions of norms in cyberspace. Robert M. Lee from Dragos with thoughts on the real-world threat of electromagnetic pulses. Guest is Rahul Kashyapp from Awake Security on the skills shortage and the importance of mentorship.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_30.html

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Facebook takes down accounts linked to Iran for coordinated inauthenticity. Iranian information operations appear to be learning from the Russian approach: be divisive, be negative, and be opportunistic. Investigations of pipe-bombs and the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting look at the suspects' digital record. IBM announces its acquisition of Red Hat. The Satori botnet continues to evolve. British Airways and Magecart. Supply chain seeding, probably not; dragonnades, yes. Emily Wilson from Terbium Labs on data from the most recent Facebook breach showing up on the dark web.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_29.html

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Researchers at security firm Check Point Software Technologies explored the possibility of exploiting old, complex fax protocols to gain access to modern multifunction office printers, and then pivot to connected networks. 

Yaniv Balmas is head of security research at Check Point, and he joins us to share what he and his colleague Eyal Itkin discovered.

The research can be found here:

https://research.checkpoint.com/sending-fax-back-to-the-dark-ages/

In today's podcast, we hear that British Airways' breach has gotten bigger. Mexico's financial institutions say they've contained the anomalies in interbank transfer systems. "Demonbot" is infesting poorly secured Hadoop servers. Google receives criticism for slow action against ad fraud. Bitdefender and Romanian police produce a decryptor for GandCrab ransomware. Discussion of a "Civilian Cybersecurity Corps:" are white hats the radio hams of the Twenty-first Century? Daniel Prince from Lancaster University joins us to talk about quantum hardware primitives. And Britney Hommertzheim, director of information security at AMC Theaters, sits down with Dave to talk about building partnerships within your organization to strengthen security’s role.

For links to all the stories mentioned in today' podcast, check out today's Daily Briefing: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_26.html

In today's podcast, we hear that the US Department of Homeland Security sees lower-than-expected rates of Russian election system probing even as Russian information operations continue. Sophos warns of the emergence of the Linux-based "Chalubo" botnet. Mexico's Central Bank raises its alert level. Cathay Pacific discloses a breach of passenger information. Privacy-related fines and lawsuits. And notes from the 2018 ICS Cyber Security Conference. Justin Harvey from Accenture joins us to talk about insourcing vs. outsourcing threat intelligence, and Tony Pepper from Egress Software Technologies shares his perspective on protecting unstructured data.

For links to all of the stories mentioned in today's podcast, check out our Daily Briefing: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_25.html

In today's podcast, we hear that US Cyber Command has been reaching out to tell the trolls Uncle Sam cares. Industrial control system security suffers from poor asset management practices. FireEye looks at the Triton malware and says the Russians did it, but of course things are complicated. Are hostile intelligence service hackers superheroes, salaryman nebbishes, or something in between? How threat intelligence drives threat evolution. The risk of shadow web-apps. Apple speaks on privacy. Ben Yelin from the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security talks with us about the EFF coming out against license plate sharing between retailers and law enforcement. Our UK correspondent Carole Theriault speaks with ESET’s Lysa Meyers about overcoming the cyber skills shortage and attracting new talent to the industry.

For links to all the stories in today's podcast, check out today's Daily Briefing: https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_24.html

In today's podcast we wonder WhatsApp with Brazil's runoff election? Hacktivism hits Davos-in-the-Desert. Kraken Cryptor ransomware gets an upgrade. Remote code execution vulnerabilities disclosed in two classes of systems. Healthcare.gov breach under investigation. More calls for retraction of the spy chip story. Cozy Bear calls for proper Internet governance. US on effects of influence ops. Notes on industrial control system cybersecurity, with an emphasis on attending to the obvious. We talk to Awais Rashid from Bristol University to get his thoughts on supply chain security, and we also hear from IJay Palansky from Armstrong Teasdale on IoT legal liability concerns.

For links to all of the stories discussed in today's podcast, visit https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_23.html

In this cyberwire special edition, my guest is Cisco’s Chief Privacy Officer Michelle Dennedy. We discuss what exactly a chief privacy officer does at a global organization like Cisco, why she thinks we’re in the early stages of a privacy revolution, why we all tend to shake our heads cynically when I company claims, “Your privacy is important to us” and how, maybe, respecting the privacy of your users and customers could be a competitive advantage.

This conversation continues on Michelle Dennedy's podcast, Privacy Sigma Riders. 

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/about/trust-center/privacy-podcast.html

In today's podcast we hear that the US has indicted a Russian accountant for conspiring to influence US midterm elections. Different nations have different styles of information operations because they have different goals. Technology shifts, but underlying principles of propaganda remain. The EU barks cyber deterrence but doesn't bite, yet. North Korea's petty cyber crime wave. A scammer is after alt-coin enthusiasts. And there's neither confirmation nor retraction of Bloomberg's spy-chip story. Joe Carrigan from the Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute joins us to discuss network segmentation.

For links to all of today's stories, visit https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_22.html

Security firm Lastline recently took a close look at threats to the Office 365 cloud environment, taking advantage of the insights they gain protecting their clients. 

Andy Norton is director of threat intelligence at Lastline, and he joins us to describe their findings. 

The research can be found here:

https://www.lastline.com/blog/malspam-malscape-snapshot-malicious-activity-in-the-office-365-cloud/

In today's podcast, we hear that no one but Bloomberg seems to retain much faith in Bloomberg's story about Chinese supply-chain seeding attacks. Twitter blocks bots retailing coordinated Saudi talking points about the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Latvia says it blocked attempts to interfere with its October elections. SEO poisoning exploits interest in key words associated with US midterms. OceanLotus shows some new trick. A Connecticut town pays ransom. Ransomware hoods take pity on a grieving father. We speak with our Johannes Ullrich from the SANS Institute who discusses DNSSEC root key rollover and Mike Horning from Virginia Tech, shares the results of a study on the implications of regulating social media. For links to all of today's stories, visit https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_19.html

In today's podcast, we hear that a campaign reuses some of the old Comment Crew code, but McAfee researchers think it's not the same old Crew. Facebook thinks its big breach was the work of spammers, not spies. Twitter releases a trove of trolling and invites researchers to take a look. Researchers disclose flaws in D-Link and Linksys routers. Ghost Squad says that they downed YouTube the other day, but who knows? And if YouTube goes down, please don't call 911.  Dr. Charles Clancy from VA Tech’s Hume Center on cognitive electronic warfare. Guest is Mike Janke from DataTribe on Maryland’s aspirations to be the nation’s hub of cyber operations.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_18.html

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Kim Zetter is longtime cybersecurity and national security reporter for the New York Times, and author of the book Countdown to Zero Day. She joins us to discuss her recent feature for the New York Times Magazine, titled The Crisis of Election Security. In it she explores the structure and fragile integrity of the US election system, how we got to where we are today, and what can be done to reestablish confidence in the system.

Link to Kim Zetter's feature The Crisis of Election Security:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/26/magazine/election-security-crisis-midterms.html

In today's podcast, we hear about election security, and two ways of hacking the vote. DHS points out that the states are getting better about sharing election security information. ISIS sets the template for terrorist information operations. BlackEnergy is back, in Poland and Ukraine, with new, "GreyEnergy" malware. Diplomatic targets prospected in Central Asia. North Carolina, recovering from hurricane damage, also faces some ransomware. Silicon Valley governance receives scrutiny. Craig Williams from CISCO Talos on dealing with FUD. New York Times writer Kim Zetter on election security.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_17.html

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In today's podcast we hear about social networking for genocide in Myanmar: Facebook takes down the Army's inauthentic and inflammatory pages. The supply chain seeding attack from China remains dubious. Probes of US election infrastructure, and black market offers of voter databases, are reported. GCHQ sees cybercrime as a chronic threat, but state-sponsored cyber operations as an acute problem. EU prepares sanctions against a big country to the east. And farewell to Paul Allen, departed this life yesterday at the age of 65. Mike Benjamin from CenturyLink with an update on the Satori botnet. Guest is Larry Sjelin, Director of Game Development at the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security, discussing the Cyber Threat Defender card game.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_16.html

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In today's podcast, we heat that Facebook has found that fewer users than feared were affected by its breach, but that in this case "fewer" still means "a lot"—nearly thirty-million of them. Do privacy advocates have an image problem? Supply chain seeding attack story draws more skeptical comment. A pipeline accident turns out not to have been a cyberattack. Estonia joins the UK and the Netherlands in an effort to clarify EU cyber sanctions. But Italy pumps the brakes. (Do Putin's Angels rejoice?) Rick Howard from Palo Alto Networks on exponential technologies, and how they could change the notion of scarcity.

For links to all of today's stories check our our CyberWire daily news brief:
https://thecyberwire.com/issues/issues2018/October/CyberWire_2018_10_15.html

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