Terrorism Watch

NEW DELHI:  India  has extended a helping hand to  Philippines  to counter  terrorism  and share its expertise to counter the menace.  In an immediate letter to the Philippines President following the terror attack on the Church that killed 20 PM Narendra Modi expressed deep condolences at loss of lives and injuries to so many Filipinos.  Modi wrote that violence has no place in democratic and pluralistic societies such as India and the Philippines and that he condemns such acts of terror in the strongest terms. India is ready to work with the Philippines to counter this global menace, the PM suggested.  The two sides have an active Joint working group on counter terrorism. Based on intelligence provided by India, Philippino authorities arrested a Filipino recruiter of jihadists who operated on the internet, sources said, adding, India has offered counter terror capabilities to Philippines. A strong intelligence cooperation exists between both sides. The Indian PM and Philippines Pres

Ideological cyberterrorist attacks are outpacing physical attacks among far-left groups, according to a new study. “Little work has been done around the use of the internet as an attack space,” says lead author Thomas Holt, professor of criminal justice at Michigan State University. “The bottom line is that these attacks are happening and they’re overlooked. If we don’t get a handle understanding them now, we won’t fully understand the scope of the threats today and how to prevent larger mobilization efforts in the future.” Holt’s findings, which appear in  Terrorism and Political Violence , underscore his concern for awareness and action. Online attacks, real-world victims To understand these attacks, Holt analyzed the scope, growth, and impact of ideological cyberterrorist incidents from far-left groups, such as the Animal Liberation Front, Earth Liberation Front, and the hacker conglomerate group Anonymous. These groups, Holt explains, don’t necessarily want to physicall

Cyberterrorism  is outpacing physical attacks among  far-left groups  -- such as  animal rights  and environmental activists -- who are passionate about their cause but do not want directly to harm humans, a study has found. According to researchers from  Michigan State University  in the US  cyberattacks  happen more often and can cause greater destruction than physical terrorist attacks. "Little work has been done around the use of the internet as an attack space," said Thomas Holt,  professor of criminal justice  at Michigan State. "If we don't get a handle understanding them now, we won't fully understand the scope of the threats today and how to prevent larger mobilisation efforts in the future," said Holt. The findings, published in the journal Terrorism and Political Violence, underscore that ideological cyberterrorist attacks are outpacing physical attacks among  far-left groups. To understand these attacks, researchers analysed the sco

An Akron cyber group allied with the decentralized international Anonymous hacking organization denied responsibility on Saturday for Tuesday’s attack on the city’s computers. In emails and a series of messages on Twitter, the Akron group said Saturday that the malware and ransomware attack, which the city characterized as financially motivated, violated Anonymous ethics. An individual who claimed to be Anonymous Akron’s founder denied in an email that the group had conducted the attack. “I can assure you none of anonymous akron Ohio had anything to do with this latest attack we condemn this attack and non of us took part or ok'd such a attack,” the email read. In Twitter messages, another individual connected with Anonymous Akron said the group does not conduct attacks for monetary gain and that such an attack would be against the group’s code of ethics. The individual wrote that the group believes a renegade hacker conducted the attack and was able to do so because th

Connected and autonomous systems promise to improve vehicle safety, but does the risk of a cyber attack undermine this benefit? By Josh Wickham As vehicles become increasingly automated and connected, the challenge for automakers becomes reassuring consumers that it is safe to make the switch. However, the threat of cyber attacks could make this difficult. Application protection firm Arxan Technologies aims to put its customers one step ahead of cyber criminals. It has been active for 18 years, and for the last five has specialised in protection software for connected vehicles. Automotive, says Rusty Carter, Vice President of Product Management at Arxan, is a rapidly growing industry which is made “massively vulnerable by the risks associated with being connected.” With 125 million cars with connected capabilities expected to ship worldwide between 2018 and 2022, according to a recent report from Counterpoint Research, there is an obvious need for sophisticated protection softwar

The US Department of Justice says it has mapped out and disrupted an illegal computer network created by North Korean hackers. Officials say the hackers used malware to target computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system. It enabled the cybercriminals to control computers without being detected by their owners. Last year, the FBI and other investigators obtained a court order and search warrant which enabled them to modify servers and mimic the virus. As a result, they are now able to locate other infected computers and notify victims in the US. US officials say they're working to eradicate the threat of North Korean state hackers. Earlier this week, an assessment by American intelligence agencies said the country poses a significant cyber risk. The North is thought to be behind a number of high-profile hacking incidents. These include a cyber-attack on Sony Pictures and the theft of more than 80 million dollars from the Central Bank of Bangladesh. Source:  htt

Paul Lipman has worked in the cyber world for over a decade, and is currently CEO of  BullGuard,  a global leader in smart home cybersecurity. It seems each new year brings with it more headlines around cybersecurity, usually the negative sort decrying the latest data breach or cyber attack. The truth is that as technology grows more sophisticated and ubiquitous, so does its seedy underbelly. This is a frustration for the consumer, and it can potentially sound the death knell for the enterprise. Fortunately, the cybersecurity industry is working overtime to prevent, harness and mitigate attacks from every angle. Add to that a more savvy consumer, more invested regulatory agencies and new market entrants poised to offer increasing levels of security and privacy protections, and it feels like we’re paying greater attention and looking into better ways to keep our digital lives safe. Hackers aren’t slowing down either, however, and I predict 2019 will see critical data breac

The nightmare of a recession, Is a cyber attacker's obsession. Be wise, proactive and collaborate, Or face this truly unfortunate fate. I predict a recession within 2 years and I don't need to have a formal qualification in finance or economics to see the signs around me. Clear warning signs include: Declining stock market Increasing unemployment rate Increasing inflation Declining home sales, etc. Recessions are painful for most of us.  Why most of us, and not all? Because in a struggling economy, cyber attackers can thrive.  Cybercrime is one of the fastest growing and lucrative methods of attack. It also has momentary and seasonal surges, e.g. during Christmas (see my article:  With Christmas Comes Cybercrime – Are You Prepared? ). Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., on Thursday, July 17, 2014. U.S. stocks fell while Treasuries rallied with gold after the crash of a passenger jet in Ukraine sparked dema

Airbus on Wednesday said it had detected a cyber attack on its information systems which resulted in a data breach but it said the incident did not affect its commercial operations. READ MORE:  Airbus open to fighter plane assembly plant in Quebec The world’s second-largest aerospace group said that the incident was being investigated and that it had taken actions to beef up security. “Investigations are ongoing to understand if any specific data was targeted, however we do know some personal data was accessed. This is mostly professional contact and IT identification details of some Airbus employees in Europe,” the company said. Source:  https://globalnews.ca/news/4907405/airbus-cyber-attack-data-breach/

Washington (CNN)  —  FBI and Air Force investigators modified computer servers to collect information about a network of devices infected with a malware spread by North Korean hackers, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. The operation, backed up by court orders and search warrants that enable the so-called government hacking, allowed law enforcement to map out the breadth of the network of infected devices, known as the Joanap botnet, and to notify victims in the US of the alleged North Korean cyberattack. "This operation is another example of the Justice Department's efforts to use every tool at our disposal to disrupt national security threat actors, including, but by no means limited to, prosecution," said John Demers, the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's National Security Division, in a statement. "Through this operation, we are working to eradicate the threat that North Korea state hackers pose to the confide

In a hate crime, a Hindu temple has been vandalised in the US state of Kentucky by miscreants who sprayed black paint on the deity and walls, and left a knife stabbed into a chair in the main hall. The incident happened between Sunday night and Tuesday morning at the Swaminarayan Temple in Louisville. According to local media report, vandalism resulted in deity image sprayed with black paint, broken windows, walls spray-painted with inappropriate messages and graffiti. A knife was stabbed in the chair, and cabinets were emptied. The incident has come as a big shock to the Indian-American community in Louisville, Kentucky. US Authorities are investigating the incident as a hate crime. Condemning the incident of vandalism, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer called upon the city residents to stand up against this hatred. "Anytime we see hatred or bigotry we will stand against it. The cowards who did this have only given our community more fuel and determination to embrace