Microsoft launches inquiry into claims Israel used its tech for mass surveillance of Palestinians
Microsoft has launched an “urgent” external inquiry into allegations Israel’s military surveillance agency has used the company’s technology to facilitate the mass surveillance of Palestinians. The company said on Friday the formal review was in response to a Guardian investigation that revealed how the Unit 8200 spy agency has relied on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to store a vast collection of everyday Palestinian mobile phone calls.
Casino gaming company Bragg says hackers accessed ‘internal computer environment’
One of the leading casino game producers said hackers breached their systems and accessed internal environments during an incident discovered on Saturday morning. Bragg Gaming Group said on Monday that it “believes that the data breach was limited to Bragg’s internal computer environment” based on its preliminary investigation. “At the present time, there is no indication that any personal information was affected,” the company said. “Additionally, the breach has had no impact on the ability of the Company to continue its operations, nor has it been restricted from accessing any data that has been subject to the breach.”
Warning issued as new Pakistan-based malware group hits millions globally
Researchers at cybersecurity firm CloudSEK have issued a warning about a Pakistan-based malware syndicate carrying out infostealer attacks on millions of victims worldwide. The group commands a sprawling network of operators, affiliates, and infrastructure, according to CloudSEK, adding up to a multi-million-dollar cyber crime business. With many operators sharing the same family surname, researchers even suggested the group could be a multi-generational, family-run cyber crime outfit.
Mozilla warns Germany could soon declare ad blockers illegal
A recent ruling from Germany’s Federal Supreme Court (BGH) has revived a legal battle over whether browser-based ad blockers infringe copyright, raising fears about a potential ban of the tools in the country. The case stems from online media company Axel Springer’s lawsuit against Eyeo – the maker of the popular Adblock Plus browser extension. Axel Springer says that ad blockers threaten its revenue generation model and frames website execution inside web browsers as a copyright violation.
Web Hosting Firms in Taiwan Attacked by Chinese APT for Access to High-Value Targets
Web hosting entities in Taiwan have been in the crosshairs of a Chinese APT looking to establish long-term access to high-value targets, Cisco Talos reports. Tracked as UAT-7237 and believed to be active since 2022, the threat actor is likely a division of the hacking group that Talos tracks as UAT-5918, which overlaps with Chinese APTs such as Volt Typhoon and Flax Typhoon. According to Talos, however, UAT-7237’s use of Cobalt Strike, its deployment of web shells on select systems only, and its use of RDP access and of a legitimate VPN client suggest the APT represents a separate cluster of activity under the UAT-5918 umbrella.
Hacktivist Sentenced to 20 Months of Prison in UK
A 26-year-old man from South Yorkshire has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for cybercriminal activities, including hacktivist attacks and possession of user data, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced. The man is Al-Tahery Al-Mashriky. The NCA identified him based on intelligence provided by law enforcement in the United States as part of an investigation into hacktivist attacks conducted by the groups named Spider Team and Yemen Cyber Army, which authorities described as “extremist hacker groups”. Al-Mashriky was linked by investigators to the Yemen Cyber Army based on social media and email accounts. An analysis of his devices showed that he was responsible for attacks targeting organizations in North America, Yemen, and Israel.
