Tag Archive for: department

State Department Offers Reward for BlackCat Hacker Information – The Presidential Prayer Team

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Change Healthcare is still recovering from the ransomware attack in February.

The Department of State recently announced a $10 million reward for information about the Blackcat ransomware group. 

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “The ALPHV BlackCat ransomware-as-a-service group compromised computer networks of critical infrastructure sectors in the United States and worldwide, deploying ransomware on the targeted systems, disabling security features within the victim’s network, stealing sensitive confidential information, demanding payment to restore access, and threatening to publicize the stolen data if victims do not pay a ransom.”

The hacking group launched a ransomware attack against Change Healthcare in February, which shut down payment management systems in hospitals and pharmacies across the country. This forced many patients to pay out-of-pocket for their health care for several days. The healthcare service company, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, has still not entirely recovered from the attack, though it has been able to resume its payment processing capabilities.

As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…

  • For U.S. officials as they seek information on the BlackCat and other ransomware hacking groups.
  • For members of the various government agencies seeking to secure the cyber infrastructure of the nation.

Sources: The Hill, Reuters

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FBI, Department of Homeland Security investigating AT&T outages

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Several agencies, including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, are investigating whether the widespread AT&T outages are the result of a cyberattack or hack.

Reports of disruptions started flooding in early Thursday morning around 4 a.m., with some 30,000 AT&T customers complaining of technical difficulties, leaving them unable to place calls, text or access the internet. Within hours, the number of people suffering issues more than doubled, and by 9:30 a.m., some 74,000 people reported having network connection issues, according to downdetector.com, a website that provides real-time information about the status of online services.

AT&T, the nation’s largest service carrier, acknowledged the outages in a statement shortly thereafter, saying 75% of its network had been restored. According to downdetector.com, some 15,000 users still had issues as of 1 p.m.

So far, no reason has been given for the service problems, but the White House said multiple federal agencies have communicated with AT&T about the outages, Reuters reported. National Security spokesman John Kirby confirmed Thursday that both the FBI and the DHS are looking into the matter in addition to working with partners in the tech industry to “see what we can do from a federal perspective to lend a hand to their investigative efforts to figure out what happened here.”

Kirby added that while they “don’t have all the answers” yet, the investigative efforts are ongoing.

“I mean, this just happened earlier today. And so we’re working very hard to see if we can get to the ground truth of exactly what happened,” he said.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — an agency under the DHS umbrella, which is tasked with monitoring cyber threats — echoed Kirby’s statement in a confidential memo obtained by ABC News. It said “the cause of the outage is unknown, and there are no indications of malicious activity.”

The Federal Communications Commission is also investigating the outages.

With News Wire Services

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US Space Force Major urges Defense Department to adopt Bitcoin as an ‘offset strategy’

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U.S. Space Force Major Jason Lowery has brought a novel perspective on Bitcoin to light, extending its significance far beyond finance and into national defense and cybersecurity.

In a detailed letter to the Defense of Defense’s (DoD) Innovation Board, Lowery argued that Bitcoin and similar proof-of-work (PoW) protocols hold substantial strategic importance, urging the government to delve deeper into their potential applications.

Macrochip

The major’s letter contextualized Bitcoin within the military strategy of an offset approach. The concept historically involves leveraging technological advancements to counterbalance adversaries’ strengths.

Lowery suggested that Bitcoin and its underlying technology could serve as contemporary tools in this regard, potentially redefining the landscape of cyber warfare and defense.

Lowery described Bitcoin as a pioneering “macrochip,” a concept that transforms the global electric power grid into a vast, resource-intensive computer. This innovative approach, he argued, introduces physical costs into the digital domain, offering a new method of securing a wide array of data across the internet.

According to Lowery, this strategy challenges the conventional paradigms of cybersecurity and could mark a significant shift in protecting national interests in the digital age.

Lowery also addressed the ongoing challenges in cybersecurity, highlighting the inadequacies of existing software-based solutions. He proposed that the proof-of-work protocol, as exemplified by Bitcoin, represents a significant innovation in this field.

By introducing the notion of real-world physical costs as deterrents in cyberspace, this approach could revolutionize the way digital security is enforced.

Recommendations to DoD

The letter further explored the implications of this technology for cyber warfare and defense strategies. Lowery emphasized the need for the United States to recognize and quickly adapt to Bitcoin’s potential as a strategic offset in cybersecurity.

He warned that failure to do so could impact the global balance of power, especially in an era where digital and interconnected systems are increasingly vulnerable to security breaches.

In his role as the U.S….

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AUKUS Defense Ministers Meeting Joint Statement > U.S. Department of Defense > Release

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Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted the Honourable Richard Marles MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Australia, and the Right Honourable Grant Shapps, Secretary of State for Defence, United Kingdom, at the Defense Innovation Unit Headquarters in California today to discuss the AUKUS enhanced defense and security partnership.

For more than a century, the three nations have stood shoulder-to-shoulder, along with other allies and partners, to help sustain peace, stability and prosperity around the world. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister acknowledged that, in the face of an evolving security environment, AUKUS presents a generational opportunity to modernize and enhance longstanding partnerships and cooperation to address global security challenges and contribute to stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed that at the core of this partnership is the shared resolve to bolster security and stability and ensure that the Indo-Pacific remains a region free from coercion and aggression.

For Australia’s acquisition of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines (Pillar I), AUKUS partners are collaborating to deliver this capability at the earliest possible date while upholding the highest nuclear non-proliferation standard. For Advanced Capabilities (Pillar II), AUKUS partners are substantially deepening cooperation on a range of security and defense capabilities, making sure that each nation has the capabilities needed to defend against rapidly evolving threats. Through these efforts, AUKUS contributes to integrated deterrence by pursuing layered and asymmetric capabilities that promote increased security and stability.

The Secretaries and Deputy Prime Minister reaffirmed the three nations’ commitment to maximize the strategic and technological advantage of AUKUS by combining national strengths and pooling resources to deliver game-changing capabilities. They agreed that advancing AUKUS requires continued commitment to streamlining defense trade controls and information-sharing while minimizing policy and financial barriers across public and private…

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