Digital hacks happen an average of once every 39 seconds. AllSides covers multiple forms of security in our Red Blue Dictionary definition of national defense/national security.
Biden Administration Takes First Step to Retaliate Against China Over Hack
The Biden administration has taken its first step to retaliate for China’s broad hack of American telecommunications firms, moving to ban the few remaining operations of China Telecom in the United States.
In a notice issued last week to China Telecom Americas — the U.S. subsidiary of one of China’s largest communications firms — the Commerce Department detailed a preliminary finding that the company’s presence in American networks and its provision of cloud services posed a national security risk to the United States.
FBI Hacking Warning—Change 2 Settings On Your iPhone
In a surprising twist, the FBI—alongside CISA—has suddenly warned iPhone and Android users to use encrypted messaging and calls where available. This follows an extensive US telco network hacking campaign attributed to China’s Salt Typhoon, with officials warning of “a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign.”
At least 8 U.S. telcos compromised in ongoing Chinese espionage hacks
At least eight U.S. telecommunications carriers were compromised during a wide-reaching Chinese espionage campaign, Anne Neuberger, deputy adviser of cybersecurity and emerging tech, told reporters Wednesday. Why it matters: This is the first time the U.S. has confirmed the number of carriers reeling from the Salt Typhoon campaign — more than three months after news reports started uncovering details about the operation. The big picture: Salt Typhoon is now believed to have compromised telecom carriers in "dozens of countries around the world," Neuberger added.
Reports: Kash Patel, Trump's pick to lead FBI, targeted in Iranian hack
Kash Patel, President-elect Trump's pick for FBI director, was targeted in an Iranian cyber attack, Semafor first reported on Tuesday evening.
Why it matters: This would mark the latest in a series of alleged Iranian hack attacks on Trump's associates.
Federal officials have been investigating allegations of Iran-based hackings on Trump allies since the summer and prosecutors charged three Iranians in September in connection with a cyberattack on his 2024 election campaign.
US Ally Announces Security Lab To Compete With Russia In 'New AI Arms Race'
The U.K. announced plans to build a new laboratory for artificial intelligence (AI) security research as part of its aim to compete with Russia in the "new AI arms race."
The announcement was made on Monday at the NATO Cyber Defence Conference at Lancaster House in London, the second conference of its kind.
Rand Paul wants to abolish agency established under Trump, but calls prospect 'unlikely'
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., wants the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) to be abolished, but described the prospect as "unlikely," he told Politico.
"I'd like to eliminate it," Paul told the outlet. "The First Amendment is pretty important, that's why we listed it as the First Amendment, and I would have liked to, at the very least, eliminate their ability to censor content online."
FBI, CISA say Chinese hackers breached multiple telecom providers in targeted attack
The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said that People's Republic of China (PRC) hackers breached commercial telecommunication service providers in the U.S. The breached entities have been warned, and the agencies are proactively alerting other potential targets of elevated cyber activity. "The U.S. government's continued investigation into the People's Republic of China (PRC) targeting of commercial telecommunications infrastructure has revealed a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign," the agencies said Wednesday in a joint release.
US cyber defense agency says voting secure nationwide
The nation’s cyber defense agency said Tuesday evening that the voting process remained secure nationwide despite hoax bomb threats to polling locations, and it pushed back on an unspecified assertion of “cheating” from Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Cait Conley, a senior adviser to the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters that they are “not currently tracking any significant incidents with national-level impact to election infrastructure security.”
Colorado Publishes Voting System Passwords in Major Error
The office of Colorado's secretary of state has said partial passwords for voting system components were mistakenly posted on its official website.
The passwords, accessible via a hidden tab in a publicly available spreadsheet, were removed on October 24 after the error was discovered. State officials emphasized that the incident was inadvertent, has been rectified, and has not affected the election process.
Colorado governor works to remedy leak of voting system passwords
Colorado’s Democrat governor said Thursday that he is providing state aircraft and vehicles to help with changing voting system passwords that were accidentally leaked on a state website.
The mistake comes amid skepticism of voting systems, even though U.S. election nationwide remain fair and reliable.