North Korean Ransomware | Countering Spyware Threats | Hackers Sway Litigation Battles, and more
The Elbert County Board of Commissioners is the site’s governing authority, he said. No suspect has been identified in the case. In a statement Wednesday, White said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has “many” leads in its probe of the explosion and “a case is being made against the perpetrator.” The agency released new surveillance video Thursday showing what it described as an unknown person leaving the device at the site in northeastern Georgia. The explosion occurred around 4 a.m. Wednesday. The agency said one of five massive granite slabs — which are engraved with messages about the conservation of humanity — was destroyed in the explosion.
China’s Use of Search Engines to Spread Propaganda (Jessica Brandt and Valerie Wirtschafter, Brookings)
For authoritarian states like China, search engines represent a key—and underappreciated vector—to spread propaganda to audiences around the world. On a range of topics of geopolitical importance, Beijing has exploited search engine results to disseminate state-backed media that amplify the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) propaganda. Users turning to search engines for information on Xinjiang, the site of the CCP’s egregious human rights abuses of the region’s Uyghur minority, or the origins of the coronavirus pandemic are surprisingly likely to encounter articles on these topics published by Chinese state-media outlets. By prominently surfacing this type of content, search engines play a key role in Beijing’s effort to shape external perceptions.
Chinese Police Database Was Left Unsecured Long Before Hackers Seized It (Amy Qin, John Liu and Amy Chang Chien, New York Times)
The breach is “a big black eye” for the Chinese security apparatus, one expert says, exposing the risk of the state’s vast effort to amass citizens’ personal data.
North Korea Is Targeting Hospitals with Ransomware, U.S. Agencies Warn (Kevin Collier, NBC News)
The warning is the starkest alert to date that North Korea has turned to locking up essential American services as a new way to generate money for the state.
Apple’s Lockdown Mode Aims to Counter Spyware Threats (Lily Hay Newman, Wired)
Starting with iOS 16, people who are at risk of being targeted with spyware will have some much-needed help.
Lawmakers Ask FTC Chair to Investigate TikTok’s Data Practices (David McCabe, New York Times)
Questions are surfacing once again about whether TikTok poses a national security threat because it is owned by a Chinese company.
Police Sweep Google Searches to Find Suspects. The Tactic Is Facing Its First Legal Challenge. (Jon Schuppe, NBC News)
A law enforcement technique that allows investigators to identify suspects based on their search history is facing its first major challenge in court. Using the technique, commonly known as reverse searching, investigators subpoena search engines for records of all users who searched a relevant, incriminating term. The defendants, accused of arson, were identified after they searched for the address where the fire would later be set. The case has major implications for how search data might be used as part of prosecutions, including potentially as part of abortion-related cases.
How Mercenary Hackers Sway Litigation Battles (Raphael Satter and Christopher Bing, Reuters)
A trove of thousands of email records uncovered by Reuters reveals Indian cyber mercenaries hacking parties involved in lawsuits around the world – showing how hired spies have become the secret weapon of litigants seeking an edge.
