Our picksU.S. gun-related deaths are rising; North Korean ATM attack; Calif.’s camp fire burns down town, and mores

Gun-related deaths are rising again in the U.S.: CDC (Daily Beast)
Deadly shootings are rising in the U.S., reversing nearly two decades of a downward trend, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited Friday by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The report analyzed nationwide gun-related deaths and found a rise in gun homicides between 2015 and 2016. During that period, 27,000 people died from gun homicides, compared to 23,000 between 2012 and 2013. The study also reported that the number of deadly shootings had risen across all age groups, as did the number of suicides—which increased by 21 percent from the preceding decade. The report noted, however, that it’s not clear if these increases are short-term spikes or if they are indicative of longer-term national trends. The report, published Thursday, came just hours after the Thousand Oaks massacre, in which a gunman murdered 12 people at a college bar night in Ventura County, California.

America’s easy access to guns is enabling all these mass shootings (German Lopez, Vox)
It’s the guns. The guns are the problem.

With elections over, DHS maintains ‘heightened’ posture (Matt Leonard, FCW)
As the National Risk Management Center winds down its work on 2018 election security, it is turning its attention to securing other critical infrastructure sectors.

The U.S. Border Patrol’s last hiring surge invited a rise in corruption (Justin Rohrlich, Defense One)
Now it’s hiring again.

National Labs bring emerging tech to bear on grid security (Mark Rockwell, FCW)
Federal researchers are looking to leverage quantum computing, artificial intelligence and dedicated networks to help shield electric grid networks from remote cyber attackers as well as physical exploits involving unauthorized access to infrastructure.

Camp fire in Northern California explodes to 20,000 acres, all but destroying a town of 27,000 (Paige St. John, Sacramento Bee)
On Friday, firefighters were still finding pockets of holdouts, people who had stayed behind while thousands around them fled. A dozen homes were still occupied in Magalia, near the fire’s starting point, and their occupants needed to be ushered out, first responders told emergency dispatchers.

DHS wants to expand the reach of its critical infrastructure cyber training (Joseph Marks, Nextgov)
The department wants to be able to provide cyber training webinars to 5,000 simultaneous users.

Symantec researchers dissect North Korean malware used in ATM attacks (Sean Lyngaas, Cyberscoop)
As the North Korean government has felt the bite of international sanctions, its hackers have reportedly carried out damaging raids on financial institutions to raise cash. Few operations capture that naked ambition more clearly than a scheme that has reportedly stolen tens of millions of dollars from ATMs in Africa and Asia.
On Thursday, researchers from cybersecurity company Symantec detailed how the malware used in the ATM scheme intercepts fraudulent withdrawal requests and sends messages approving those withdrawals. The Lazarus Group, a broad set of North Korean hackers, is responsible for the so-called FastCash operation, according to Symantec.