Tag Archive for: Curtain

U.S. Struggles to Stop Hackers Behind Russia’s Cyber Curtain


(TNS) — U.S. authorities are running into a major obstacle in holding hackers responsible for an onslaught of ransomware attacks: The extortionists remain out of reach in Russia, safely ensconced behind a cyber curtain as difficult to penetrate as the iron one that defined the Cold War.

Recent high-profile ransomware assaults have added urgency to U.S. government efforts to combat Russia-linked hackers who have disrupted East Coast U.S. fuel supplies, raised fears about nationwide meat shortages and exposed sensitive files from a Southern California police force. The problem, Justice Department officials say, is that the Kremlin believes it benefits from allowing such hackers to target U.S. interests, gathering valuable intelligence in the process.

“The criminal hacking the Russian government is willing to tolerate and take advantage of is beyond what we see in virtually every other country,” said John Demers, the Justice Department’s top national security prosecutor who has battled ransomware since 2017. “It is very difficult to stop hacking when it is occurring in a country that is more than just tolerating it, but is quite happy with it.”


President Joe Biden is expected to discuss Russian ransomware attacks with allies during his European trip, hoping to find common ground in confronting the Kremlin. Advisers say he will also seek to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin during a June 16 meeting in Geneva to rein in hackers.

Biden issued an executive order last month that White House officials say will enhance cybersecurity of federal government networks and enhance security standards for commercial software.

The Justice Department is also seeking new ways to combat what a top agency official called an “epidemic” and Attorney General Merrick Garland told Congress was a “very, very serious threat” that is “getting worse and worse.” The FBI on Monday managed to recover $2.3 million in difficult-to-trace cryptocurrency that a pipeline company paid in ransom to Russia-linked hackers to unlock its systems, a move that Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said showed the Justice Department…

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Putin Will Put Russia Behind an Internet Curtain – WIRED

Putin Will Put Russia Behind an Internet Curtain  WIRED

Hacking big companies, building a better voting machine, and more security news this week.

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Security News This Week: Putin Will Put Russia Behind an Internet Curtain

The week began with dragon’s breath. After a major breach in its firewall, a scrappy security team in the north engaged in an epic battle to rid its system of an infected payload that kept growing …
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Apple OS Update Lifts Curtain on iPhone USB Restricted Mode

Apple has officially added a controversial security feature, USB Restricted Mode, to iPhones as part of its new iOS 11.4.1, released on Monday.
The first stop for security news | Threatpost