News

(If only that would keep folks off unsanctioned chat app side quests)

The US Department of Defense (DoD) is overhauling its "outdated" software procurement systems, and insists it's putting security at the forefront of decision-making processes.…

Because who needs cybersecurity when there’s culture wars to win

President Trump's dream 2026 budget would gut the US govt's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, aka CISA, by $491 million - about 17 percent – and accuses the organization of abandoning its core mission in favor of policing online speech.…

No, really? That's a shocking surprise

An unidentified miscreant is said to have obtained US government communications from TeleMessage, a messaging and archiving app based on the open-source Signal app and used by ousted national security advisor Michael Waltz.…

Hails DOGE operatives for computer skills during interview in which he also flubbed some tech investment figures

US President Donald Trump has said TikTok will be “very strongly protected” as the made-in-China social network has “a warm spot in my heart”.…

PLUS: China spring cleans its AIs; South Korea fines Meta, probes Broadcom; and more!

PLUS: China spring cleans its AIs; South Korea fines Meta, probes Broadcom; and more! India’s ambition to become a global semiconductor manufacturing player went backwards last week after two big players changed their plans.…

PLUS: AirPlay exploits; Six-year old backdoor opens; Raytheon settles federal charges; and more!

Infosec In Brief  Microsoft has decided to push its consumer customers to dump password in favor of passkeys.…

With North Korean IT workers storming the gates, too

RSAC  Another RSAC has come and gone, with almost 44,000 attendees this year spread across San Francisco's Moscone Center and the surrounding facilities, according to conference organizers. Hopefully, all of us made it home safely, didn't get deported to a Venezuelan prison, and didn't end up bringing home a virus - computer or corona.…

El Reg checks out shop in SF

On Thursday, six stores across America opened their doors with a curious proposition: Come on in, let a metal orb scan your irises, and walk out with a new online profile that promises you're an individual human – and a few bucks in crypto for your troubles.…

A 25-year-old California man pleaded guilty to stealing and dumping 1.1TB of data from the House of Mouse

When someone stole more than a terabyte of data from Disney last year, it was believed to be the work of Russian hacktivists protesting for artist rights. We now know it was actually a 25-year-old California resident.…

Real-time video deepfakes? Not convincing yet

RSAC  Spam messages predate the web itself, and generative AI has given it a fluency upgrade, churning out slick, localized scams and letting crooks hit regions and dialects they used to ignore.…

UK starts prosecution days after FBI vowed to clamp down on the crime

Three young Brits are accused of stateside swatting offences and will appear in a UK court today to face their charges after a joint investigation by the FBI and Merseyside cops.…

Experts suggest the obvious: There is an ongoing coordinated attack on UK retail sector

Globally recognized purveyor of all things luxury Harrods is the third major UK retailer to confirm an attempted cyberattack on its systems in under two weeks.…

House Oversight probes missing Musk disclosures, background checks, data mess at NLRB

Elon Musk is backing away from his Trump-blessed government gig, but now House Democrats want to see the permission slip that got him in the door.…

This time criminals targeted partner’s third-party software

It's more bad news from Ascension Health which is informing some of its patients, potentially for the second time in the space of a year, that their medical data was compromised during a major cyberattack.…

Will the personal assistant shop for groceries? Or get hijacked by a teen?

RSAC  If Amazon's Alexa+ works as intended, it could show how an AI assistant helps with everyday tasks like making dinner reservations or arranging an oven repair. Or things could go terribly wrong: it might turn on the oven and turn dinner plans into a house fire.…

President's campaign continues against man he claims covered up evidence of electoral fraud in 2020

Chris Krebs, former CISA director and current political punching bag for the US President, says his Global Entry membership was revoked.…

No MFA? No problem – as long as you show you’ve learned your lesson

The UK's data protection overlord is not going to pursue any further investigation into the British Library's 2023 ransomware attack.…

For now it's a potential bug-finder and friend to defenders

RSAC  Former NSA cyber-boss Rob Joyce thinks today's artificial intelligence is dangerously close to becoming a top-tier vulnerability exploit developer.…

Cybersecurity is national security, says Jen Easterly

RSAC  America's top cyber-defense agency is "being undermined" by personnel and budget cuts under the Trump administration, some of which are being driven by an expectation of perfect loyalty to the President rather than the nation.…

Feds say $970k scheme defrauded 13+ companies

A Maryland man has pleaded guilty to fraud after landing a job with a contractor working on US government software, and then outsourcing the work to a self-described North Korean developer in China.…