Government

Episode 96: State Elections Officials on Front Line against Russian Hackers

In this episode of The Security Ledger Podcast (#96): with primary elections taking place in states across the United States in the coming weeks, we talk to John Dickson about how state elections offices have become the front line in a pitched battle with state-sponsored hackers – with the fate of a 240 year democracy hanging in the balance. Also: we talk about the looming threat posed by so-called “deep fake” videos that use computer manipulation to make famous celebrities appear to say nearly anything.

Russian Fake News Ecosystem Targets Syrian Human Rights Workers

Kremlin linked news sites like RT and Sputnik figure prominently in an online disinformation campaign portraying Syrian humanitarian workers (“White Helmets”) as terrorists and crisis actors, according to an analysis by researchers at University of Washington and Harvard. 

Cyber Attacks May Be Early Consequence of Trump Exiting Iran Nuclear Deal

President Trump’s decision to exit from the Iran nuclear deal doesn’t bode well for U.S. cybersecurity and likely will spur cyber attacks on a number of U.S. industries from the Islamic State, a new report from Recorded Future has found.

Concerned over cyber espionage, U.S. military bans sale of Chinese smartphones

Are smartphones made in China trying to spy on us? Top U.S. security officials and the Department of Defense (DoD) think it’s possible, prompting a ban on the sale of Chinese smartphones military base exchanges worldwide.

Report: Chinese Ties to US Tech Firms put Federal Supply Chain at Risk

China poses a serious and immediate cybersecurity threat to the federal supply chain in part because of connections Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have to key tech companies working in the government sector, a report recently issued by the U.S. China Commission has found.