FCC to vote on net neutrality rules on April 25
The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to vote to restore net neutrality at the commission’s open meeting later this month. If adopted by the commission, restoring net neutrality would bring back a national standard for broadband reliability, security and consumer protection as well as reclassify the internet as a telecommunications service under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934. Net neutrality rules were first put in place under former President Barack Obama and were repealed by the FCC under former President Donald Trump in 2017. The commission is scheduled to vote on the rules during an open meeting on April 25.
Hacker Leaks 8.5M U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Contact Data (UPDATED)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a data leak, carried out by a hacker operating under the alias USDoD. This data leak has exposed personal and sensitive information belonging to more than 8.5 million users, including customers and contractors. The data breach was brought to light on the morning of Sunday, April 7, 2024. Notably, USDoD has a history of engaging in high-profile data breaches, with previous incidents including the exposure of data from 87,000 members of InfraGard, a sensitive security program funded by the FBI and dedicated to safeguarding critical infrastructure in the United States.
CHINA IS USING GENERATIVE AI TO CARRY OUT INFLUENCE OPERATIONS
China is using generative artificial intelligence to carry out influence operations against foreign countries, including the U.S. and Taiwan, and fuel social disorders. According to the report published by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC), titled Same targets, new playbooks: East Asia threat actors employ unique methods, China-linked threat actors are using generative artificial intelligence to create content aimed at influencing U.S. voters. The state-sponsored activity relies on deceptive social media accounts posing provocative questions on divisive U.S. domestic issues. These operations allow for identifying the key concerns dividing American voters, possibly to gather intelligence on crucial voting demographics ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Cyberattack on UK’s CVS Group disrupts veterinary operations
UK veterinary services provider CVS Group has announced that it suffered a cyberattack that disrupted IT services at its practices across the country. CVS Group operates 500 veterinary practices throughout the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Ireland, including nine specialist referral hospitals, 39 dedicated out-of-hours sites, three laboratories, and seven pet crematoria. The company employs 9,100 people, including 2,400 veterinary surgeons and 3,400 specialized nurses. In an announcement published on the London Stock Exchange site, CVS Group warns that threat actors gained unauthorized access to some of its IT systems. The firm responded to the situation by shutting down its IT systems, which impacted its operations.
Critical WordPress Plugin Vulnerability Exposes 1 Million Sites to SQL Injections
A researcher recently discovered a critical vulnerability in LayerSlider, a premium WordPress plugin used by over 1 million websites. The flaw exposes impacted websites to unauthenticated SQL injection attacks, letting potential attackers retrieve significant data. LayerSlider, the vulnerable plugin, is a popular tool that lets website owners create image galleries, animations, and responsive sliders. Tracked as CVE-2024-2879, the SQL injection vulnerability, which has a CVSS score of 9.8 and is flagged as critical, affects plugin versions 7.9.11 through 7.10.0. It was discovered by researcher AmrAwad on March 25, 2024, and submitted to the bug bounty program of WordPress security firm Wordfence.
