Tag Archive for: American
Chinese Hackers Target American Infrastructure, Raising Concerns of Cyber Warfare
According to U.S. officials and security experts, hackers affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army have been infiltrating the computer systems of critical American entities in an effort to disrupt key infrastructure. Over the past year, about two dozen entities have fallen victim to these cyber intrusions, including a water utility in Hawaii, a major West Coast port, and at least one oil and gas pipeline. Their targets also included the operator of Texas’s power grid. It appears that the Chinese military aims to sow chaos and panic or obstruct logistics in the event of a conflict between the U.S. and China in the Pacific.
While the intrusions did not cause any disruptions or impact industrial control systems, it is evident that China wants to complicate U.S. efforts to deploy troops and equipment to the Pacific region. The Chinese military intends to gain the ability to disrupt critical infrastructure and affect decision-making during a crisis. This marks a significant shift from their previous cyber activities focused on political and economic espionage.
The cyber campaign, known as Volt Typhoon, was first detected the U.S. government about a year ago. It targets entities within the Indo-Pacific region, particularly Hawaii. The hackers often disguise their tracks utilizing innocuous devices like home or office routers. Their primary objective is to steal employee credentials that can be used to maintain persistent access.
The revelations concerning China’s cyber warfare capabilities confirm the fears expressed in the annual threat assessment the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The assessment warned that China is capable of launching cyberattacks that could disrupt critical U.S. infrastructure. In the face of a possible conflict, China would not hesitate to conduct aggressive cyber operations against U.S. assets worldwide.
The victims of Volt Typhoon include smaller companies and organizations across various sectors. It is believed that these entities were opportunistically targeted in the hopes of gaining access to larger, more critical customers through their supply chains.
Chinese military officers have outlined the use of cyber tools and network…
American Airlines Pilots Union Hit By Major Ransomware Attack That Took Down Website And Could Have Resulted in Sensitive Data Being Stolen
The union, which represents more than 15,000 pilots at American Airlines, says it fell victim to a ransomware attack that took down its website and may have allowed hackers to steal the sensitive personal data of its members.
The Allied Pilots Association (APA) says it became aware of the hack attack on October 30 when its servers were taken offline, blocking access to both the union’s public website and secure member-only pages, as well as specific tools built for pilots.
The APA website and its online services are completely separate from American Airlines, and there is no suggestion that the airline’s systems have been compromised.
The attack was so widespread that APA was forced to update its members via social channels because its website was inaccessible and email systems had been taken offline.
In a statement set up on a temporary new website, APA said it was still assessing the full extent of the damage and that cyber security experts were trying to determine whether personal data had been compromised.
The union warned that it may take some time to figure out whether sensitive information has actually been stolen.
“On October 30, we experienced a cybersecurity incident,” the union confirmed on Thursday. “Upon discovery of the incident, we immediately took steps to secure our network.”
“Our IT team, with the support of outside experts, continues to work nonstop to restore our systems. We are pleased to report that our restoration efforts are progressing, and we will soon be able to begin to bring back some of our online services”.
The union said it could take days to restore all of its online services.
A preliminary investigation suggests APA was targeted in a ransomware attack and that the hackers had managed to encrypt certain systems, which has blocked access to the union’s IT team.
“The restoration of those systems has entailed a methodical and time-consuming process for our IT team and outside experts,” the union warned.
Earlier this year, thousands of pilots who had applied for positions at American Airlines and Southwest had their personal details stolen by hackers who…
Survey: Every sixth American avoids using the internet in public
Shopping malls and public event venues are considered to have the most cyber threats
Almost 16% of American internet users avoid going online in public places and nearly 70% of Americans prefer their mobile internet for online activities in public, according to a survey conducted by NordVPN. Cybersecurity experts say that these measures help to mitigate cyberthreats, but issues raised by using public Wi-Fi can also be managed by other means.
Cyberthreat of shopping malls
In the new survey, most American internet users mentioned shopping malls (51%), public event venues (50%), and cafeterias, bars, or restaurants (49%) among the places where devices are exposed to cybersecurity threats the most. Home and workplace are mentioned as the safest places from cybersecurity threats with only 20% of respondents concerned about internet security and privacy in each location.
“Internet users should evaluate cybersecurity risks in every location because the scope of threats varies depending on a place. While universities or offices tend to put more effort into cybersecurity, it might not be the case with cafeterias and shopping malls,” says Marijus Briedis, CTO at NordVPN.
Americans trust in themselves more than in technology
The survey reveals that Americans tend to rely more on their behavior online to protect themselves from cybersecurity threats in public places rather than technology. 45% of respondents claim that they avoid entering or accessing sensitive information when they are connected to public Wi-Fi. At the same time, 42% of respondents go only to safe websites, and 35% verify if the public Wi-Fi is legitimate before joining.
Regarding the usage of cybersecurity and privacy tools, the numbers are more modest. Only 27% of Americans use a VPN service, and 33% choose antivirus software. While a VPN is a more popular solution among younger generations, older generations tend to trust antivirus software.
“Cybersecurity literacy is important, and it is great that internet users avoid entering or accessing sensitive information, like banking accounts, clicking on pop-ups, or going to suspicious websites. But a human mistake is an important factor in cybersecurity and even experts do…