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Analysis

The New DoD University Consortium for Cybersecurity (UC2)

This post is an effort to follow up on a conversation from The December 2021 OODA Network Member Meeting regarding “The Security Community: Communication Style, Public Relations, Outreach Efforts, and Workforce Skills” (which came up when discussing responses to the Log4Shell threat and pro bono efforts by OODA Network members). We are not sure about…
In 2022, the Strategic Impact of Global Intermodal Supply Chain Gridlock on IT Supply Chain Remains High

The OODA Loop Research Team has been tracking the impact on supply chains from the onset of the pandemic.
Front Companies Muddy Already Dark Waters of Hostile Cyber Activity

Recently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) published an industry advisory outlining the tactics, techniques, and procedures of Emennet Pasargad, an Iran-based cybersecurity company supporting government organizations to help them defends against this company’s potential hostile activities. Earlier, the Department of Justice (DoJ) charged two Iranian nationals with cyber intrusion, fraud, voter intimidation, interstate threats,…
Extradited Russian Hacker and Indicted Iranian Hackers May Hold Keys to Foreign Influence Campaigns

Throughout the Mueller investigation, many subject matter experts (who felt the whole investigation to be a bit myopic) encouraged us to not miss the role Chinese, North Korean, and Iranian influence campaigns were playing (in addition to the Russians in what was a multinational Bitskrieg on our cognitive infrastructure in the lead up to the…
The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Releases Mobile App to Federal and Military Partners

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) was established at the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and given responsibility for integrating government analysis, strategic planning, and information-sharing with state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal partners. For the C-Level and executives managing the safety of personnel, mission-critical operations, and threats to physical plants and assets, risk awareness of…
The Current AI Innovation Hype Cycle: Large Language Models, OpenAI’s GPT-3 and DeepMind’s RETRO

For better or for worse, Large Language Models (LLMs) – used for natural language processing by commercial AI Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) subscription offerings – have become one of the first “big data” applied technologies to become a crossover hit in the AI marketplace. OpenAI, a San Francisco-based research and deployment company, released GPT-3 in June of…
The Past, Present and Future of DeFi, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Ethereum

We continue our effort to underscore certain patterns and themes found throughout the OODAcast library of over 80 conversations with leaders and decision-makers. In January 2021, OODA CEO Matt Devost interviewed Camila Russo, author of the book “The Infinite Machine: How an Army of Crypto-hackers Is Building the Next Internet with Ethereum”. Camila is also…
Cyber Safety Review Board Launched by DHS

Consistent with our analysis back in November ’21 – Cybersecurity and Cyber Incidents: Innovation and Design Lessons from Aviation Safety Models and a Call for a “Cyber NTSB” – the DHS has now established a Cyber Safety Review Board. The announcement was made today by the DHS.
Continue to Tighten Your OODA Loop for Year Three of the COVID-19 Pandemic

We strongly encourage OODA Loop subscribers to continue to prioritize tools for clear decision-making while operating in a low information environment. It is this ‘tightening your OODA Loop’ we want to reinforce now as we head into year three of our research and analysis of the pandemic and its impacts. Our goal is to assist…
Renewed Interest in Hack-Backs Is a Step in the Wrong Direction

In mid-2021, members of the Senate Finance Committee introduced Bill S2292, which directed the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to study the potential pros and cons of allowing private companies to hack back against perpetrators that attack their organizations. Dubbed the “Study on Cyber-Attack Response Options Act,” the bill is the government’s attempt to address…
Defending The Metaverse From Threats Old and New

There is some good news and some bad news with the coming Metaverse. The good news is the incredible use cases this third wave of Internet capabilities will bring. It will have its own thriving economy for business. Estimates are that the Metaverse economy will be a $Trillion dollars within 3 years and a Twenty…
Russia’s Long Game, Leadership Lessons, and Learning from Failure

In February of 2021, Matt Devost spoke to Rob Richer, a highly regarded advisor to international executives and global government leaders including several heads of state. Rob has a well-informed perspective on international risks and opportunities and an ability to analyze and distill observations in a way that is meaningful for your decision-making process. In…
Final Plan for Federal Zero Trust Strategy through 2024 Released by White House and OMB

The federal government will move to a “zero-trust” cybersecurity strategy by 2024. The final plan was released by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and includes insights from cybersecurity professionals, non-profit organizations, and private industry. “This strategy will serve as the foundation for a paradigm shift in Federal cybersecurity, and provide a model for…
The Air Force “Need for Speed”: The End of the Requirements Up Front Model, Software Factories and Digital Transformation

As early 2020, when OODA Network Member Chris Ward wrote about the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), there was also the growing traction and influence of two papers by Dr. Will Roper (who at the time was the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics) on digital engineering and acquisition…
The January 2022 OODA Network Member Meeting: Putin, Russia, Gray Zone Conflict Capabilities and The Future of Europe

To help members optimize opportunities and reduce risk, OODA hosts a monthly video call to discuss items of common interest to our membership. These highly collaborative sessions are always a great way for our members to meet and interact with each other while talking about topics like global risks, emerging technologies, cybersecurity, and current or…

Briefs

Biden signs TikTok ‘ban’ bill into law, starting the clock for ByteDance to divest it

President Joe Biden signed a foreign aid package that includes a bill that would ban TikTok if China-based parent company ByteDance fails to divest the app within a year. The divest-or-ban bill is now law, starting the clock for ByteDance to make its move. The company has an initial nine months to sort out a…
Generative AI is still a solution in search of a problem

The gigantic and costly industry Silicon Valley is building around generative AI is still struggling to explain the technology’s utility. AI chatbots and image generators are making headlines and fortunes, but a year and a half into their revolution, it remains tough to say exactly why we should all start using them. The most common rationale…
Seven teens with alleged ‘extremist ideology’ arrested in Sydney raids

Australian police have arrested seven teenagers in Sydney following a series of counter-terrorism raids, suspecting their involvement in a potential attack. The youths, aged between 15 and 17, are believed to share a “religiously motivated violent extremist ideology.” The arrests are linked to the recent stabbing of an Assyrian bishop, declared a terrorist act, with…
Kenya: Floods cause widespread devastation in Nairobi

Heavy rain has caused widespread flooding in Nairobi, Kenya, turning roads into rivers and forcing residents to seek refuge on rooftops. Nairobi county official Edwin Sifuna described the situation as reaching extreme levels, with footage showing entire neighborhoods submerged. The flooding has led to at least 32 deaths and displaced over 40,000 people across the…
Greece: Orange Sahara dust haze descends over Athens

Athens is enveloped in a dramatic orange haze as clouds of dust from the Sahara desert sweep over Greece, causing one of the worst episodes since 2018. The dust, which also affected Switzerland and southern France in late March and early April, has led to poor air quality across the country, prompting health warnings for…
Russian deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov accused of taking bribes

Russian Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, accused of accepting large-scale bribes, has been remanded in custody by a Moscow court, denying the charges against him. Ivanov, responsible for Russia’s military infrastructure projects since 2016, faces allegations of entering into a criminal conspiracy related to overseeing defence ministry facilities’ construction and overhaul. If convicted under Article…
Nagomi Security Emerges From Stealth With $30 Million in Funding

Nagomi Security has emerged from stealth mode, previously known as Vena Security, with a platform aimed at helping customers maximize the effectiveness of their existing cybersecurity tools. The company has secured $30 million in a funding round led by TCV, with participation from CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, Okta Ventures, and angel investors. Nagomi’s proactive defense platform…
Amplifier Security Emerges From Stealth With AI Copilot, Human-in-the-Loop Automation

Amplifier Security has emerged from stealth mode, unveiling a solution aimed at bridging the gap between the workforce and security teams using AI copilot and human-in-the-loop automation. The company has secured $3.3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Cota Capital, along with investments from Westwave Capital, Shift Left Ventures, and several angel investors.…
Google Patches Critical Chrome Vulnerability

Google has released Chrome 124, addressing four vulnerabilities, including a critical security flaw identified as CVE-2024-4058, involving a type confusion bug in the ANGLE graphics layer engine. This critical vulnerability could potentially allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or escape sandboxes with limited user interaction. Notably, only a few Chrome vulnerabilities have received a…
Tines Bags $50 Million Funding for Security Workflow Automation

Tines, an Irish security automation startup, has secured an additional $50 million in venture capital funding as part of its Series B round, raising its total funding to $146.2 million. Backed by investors including Accel, Felicis, and CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, Tines offers a no-code platform based on workflow automation, orchestration, and AI. With its ARR…
The TikTok ban was just passed by the House. Here’s what could happen next.

TikTok users could soon find that the popular social media service is either under new ownership or, although it wouldn’t happen immediately, outright banned in the U.S. On Saturday, the House passed legislation that would bar TikTok from operating in the U.S. if the popular platform’s China-based owner doesn’t sell its stake within a year.…
The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses have multimodal AI now

When the Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses launched last fall, they were a pretty neat content capture tool and a surprisingly solid pair of headphones. But they were missing a key feature: multimodal AI. Basically, the ability for an AI assistant to process multiple types of information like photos, audio, and text. A few weeks after…
AI Search Startup Perplexity Valued at $1 Billion in Funding Round

Perplexity AI, a startup using artificial intelligence to build a search engine to compete with Alphabet Inc.’s Google, has raised about $63 million in a new funding round that values the company at more than $1 billion. The financing, set to be announced on Tuesday, doubles Perplexity’s valuation from just three months ago. Investor Daniel Gross…
The dawn of intelligent and automated data orchestration

The exponential growth of data, and in particular unstructured data, is a problem enterprises have been wrestling with for decades. IT organizations are in a constant battle between ensuring that data is accessible to users, one the one hand, and that the data is globally protected and in compliance with data governance policies, on the…
Microsoft launches lightweight AI model

Microsoft, opens new tab on Tuesday launched a lightweight artificial intelligence model, as it looks to attract a wider client base with cost-effective options. The new version called Phi-3-mini is the first of the three small language models (SLM) to be released by the company, as it stakes its future on a technology that is…
Ukraine cuts consular services for potential conscripts lodged overseas

Ukraine is set to suspend consular services for military-age men abroad. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had ordered services cut for all such men, except for those returning to Ukraine. The move comes as Ukraine pushes to boost conscription in a bid to halt Russian movement on the battlefield. Kuleba said the Ministry of…
German Far-right party aide held in China spy probe

Prosecutors have arrested a man working for a far-right politician in Germany on suspicion of spying for China. The man as an assistant to AfD MEP and European election candidate Maximilian Krah. He was arrested in the eastern city of Dresden. He allegedly passed information about the European Parliament to Chinese intelligence. He is also…
UnitedHealth Says Patient Data Exposed in Change Healthcare Cyberattack

UnitedHealth Group, the parent company for Change Healthcare, confirmed that Personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) was stolen in a February ransomware attack. The data breach likely impacts a large proportion of people in the United States, but the investigation into the full impact of the incident continues. Through initial data sampling,…
Russian Cyberspies Deliver ‘GooseEgg’ Malware to Government Organizations

According to a Microsoft report, Russian-linked cybercrime group APT28 has been exploiting Windows Print Spooler vulnerabilities to deploy an exploitation tool against organizations across Western Europe, in Ukraine, and in the US. The exploitation tool is named GooseEgg and is a simple launcher application that can spawn other programs, providing the attackers with remote code…
US Gov Slaps Visa Restrictions on Spyware Honchos

The US State Department is going to impose visa restrictions on 13 people involved in the development and sale of commercial spyware. The restrictions will also be imposed on their spouses and children. This is the first implementation on a spyware-related visa-restriction program announced in February. Visa restrictions mean the State department can deny entrance…
The ethical pros and cons of Meta’s new Llama 3 open-source AI model

Meta has a brand-new Llama to show off. On Thursday, the social media giant announced Llama 3, the next version of its open-source model for the Meta AI assistant, which it hopes will make its chatbot the leading artificial intelligence technology. Putting aside the question of whether this latest large language model (LLM) changes Meta’s positioning…
OpenAI or DIY? Unveiling the true cost of self-hosting LLMs

You’ve proudly labeled your services as “AI-powered” by integrating LLMs. The home page of your website proudly flaunts the revolutionary impact of your AI-powered services using interactive demos and case studies. This also makes your company’s first mark on the global generative AI landscape. Your small but loyal user base is loving an enhanced customer…
AI is about to make the online child sex abuse problem much worse

The nation’s system for tracking down and prosecuting people who sexually exploit children online is overwhelmed and buckling, a new report finds — and artificial intelligence is about to make the problem much worse. The Stanford Internet Observatory report takes a detailed look at the CyberTipline, a federally authorized clearinghouse for reports of online child…
Boston Dynamics’ new humanoid moves like no robot you’ve ever seen

The humanoid robotics market is starting to heat up, and the company that’s been doing this the longest isn’t going to sit by and watch. Boston Dynamics has a new humanoid robot that the company says represents a path to commercialization. It’s the company’s next-generation, all-electric “Atlas” robot. While new Atlas and old Atlas share a…
AI Will Eventually Fade From View, By Design

Commodization has been a staple of the information technology realm for years. It really doesn’t matter what personal computer or smartphone you use, and stepping it up in the enterprise, databases and cloud systems can readily be swapped, based on price and support servies. Is artificial intelligence reaching this point? Opinions vary. Commoditization occurs when…
Rocket Attack from Iraq Targets US Base in Syria

Several rockets have been fired from Iraq towards a US military base in northeastern Syria. The attack is the first since early February to target US troops, when Iranian-backed groups in Iraq brought to an end a campaign that had seen regular strikes against the US-led international coalition. The resumed hostilities came a day after…
Why is Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi Visiting Pakistan?

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is in Pakistan on a three-day trip to discuss regional and bilateral relations. Raisi is scheduled to hold talks with top Pakistani leadership, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, as the two neighbors seek to mend ties after tit-for-tat missile attacks in January. Mosharraf Zaidi, a partner at advisory services firm Tabadlab…
U.S. Considers Imposing Sanctions on Israeli Military Unit

The United States is considering imposing sanctions on one or more Israeli battalions accused of human rights violations during operations in the occupied West Bank. Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Saturday called the possibility of the Biden administration’s placing such sanctions “the peak of absurdity and a moral low” at a time…
Vote to Resume U.S. Military Aid Is Met With Relief in Ukraine

The aid package for Ukraine has finally been approved by Congress. The decision by American lawmakers to resume military assistance after months of costly delay was greeted with a collective sigh of relief and an outpouring of gratitude across a battered and bloodied Ukraine. The $60 billion military assistance package approved by the House is…
Rural Texas Towns Report Cyberattacks that Caused One Water System to Overflow

A hack that caused a small Texas town’s water system to overflow in January has been linked to a shadowy Russian hacktivist group, the latest case of a U.S. public utility becoming a target of foreign cyberattacks. The group, calling itself CyberArmyofRussia_Reborn, claimed responsibility for January attacks on water facilities in the United States and…
LastPass Users Targeted by Vishing Attackers

The CryptoChameleon phishing kit is being leveraged by vishing attackers looking to trick LastPass users into sharing their master password. The site has been taken down, but the company expects others to pop up quickly, and is thus warning users to be wary of attackers calling them up and posing as a company representative. CryptoChameleon…
Cannes Hospital Cancels Medical Procedures Following Cyberattack

Cannes Hospital Centre – Simone Veil (CHC-SV) fell victim to a cyberattack last week. Due to this attack, the healthcare organization shut down its systems to contain the attack, which forced employees to turn to pen and paper to continue providing services to patients. CHC-SV says it is making all the efforts to ensure that…
Mistral in talks to raise €500mn at €5bn valuation

French artificial intelligence start-up Mistral is in talks to raise €500mn in a deal that would more than double its valuation to at least €5bn, following proposals from multiple investors seeking to invest in the one-year-old company. Mistral’s three founders, led by chief executive Arthur Mensch, are considering their options just four months after raising…
Meta steps up AI battle with OpenAI and Google with release of Llama 3

Meta Platforms on Thursday released early versions of its latest large language model, Llama 3, and an image generator that updates pictures in real time while users type prompts, as it races to catch up to generative AI market leader OpenAI. The models will be integrated into virtual assistant Meta AI, which the company is…
Microsoft’s new VASA-1 AI framework generates super-realistic talking heads that can even sing songs

Microsoft Corp. has published a research paper that introduces a new kind of artificial intelligence framework that makes it possible to upload a still photo, add a voice sample and create a super-realistic talking head that looks and sounds like the real person. The new framework is called VASA-1, and it takes a single, portrait…
Robots can make jobs less meaningful for human colleagues

Much has been (and will continue to be) written about automation’s impact on the jobs market. In the short-term, many employers have complained of an inability to fill roles and retain workers, further accelerating robotic adoption. The long-term impact these sorts of sweeping changes will have on the job market going forward remains to be…
Artificial Intelligence 2024: Smarter But More Expensive

After a year of fast and furious development of generative AI, the industry is at a crossroads. The technology is poised to deliver unprecedented productivity growth but may be hamstrung by limits to the technology as well as guardrails for its usage. That’s the word from Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), which just…
Frontier Communications Shuts Down Systems Following Cyberattack

Frontier Communications disclosed to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it experienced a cyberattack on April 14, leading to the shutdown of certain systems after a third-party gained unauthorized access to portions of its information technology environment. The company swiftly activated its incident response protocols and contained the incident, although the disruption was significant.…
Akira Ransomware Made Over $42 Million in One Year: Agencies

Since early 2023, Akira ransomware has victimized over 250 organizations globally, collecting over $42 million in ransom payments, as per CISA, the FBI, Europol, and NCSC-NL. Targeting a wide range of sectors, including critical infrastructure and finance, Akira initially focused on Windows systems but expanded to infect VMware ESXi virtual machines. Exploiting VPN services lacking…
US Government Releases Guidance on Securing Election Infrastructure

The US government, through CISA, the FBI, and ODNI, has issued new guidance to bolster the resilience of election infrastructure against malign influence operations from state-sponsored threat actors like China, Russia, and Iran. These actors employ tactics such as using fake online accounts, enlisting individuals to promote narratives, and leveraging proxy media entities to disseminate…
First Major Attempts to Regulate AI Face Headwinds From All Sides

Lawmakers in several states are advocating for legislation to address bias in artificial intelligence (AI) decision-making, despite facing opposition from both civil rights-oriented groups and the industry. These bills aim to promote transparency and accountability in AI systems, particularly regarding discrimination. While labor unions and consumer advocacy groups support greater oversight, the industry is concerned…
Russia doesn’t have Capability to Knock Ukraine out of War: Ex-US Commander

Ben Hodges, who led US forces in Europe, says Western powers should overcome their fears of supporting Ukraine towards victory. He stated that the worst-case scenario for Ukraine is for Western powers to “keep doing what we’re doing, exactly right now”. Hodges described the administration of US President Joe Biden as “unduly scared”. “They think…
Ukraine Says it Shot Down Russian Strategic Bomber After Strike Kills Nine

Ukraine’s air force says it shot down a Russian strategic bomber with antiaircraft missiles for the first time since the war began in 2022. The warplane was downed in Russian airspace on Friday after it took part in a long-range air strike that killed at least nine people in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk. Russian…
‘Blatant Aggression’: Reactions to US Veto of Palestine’s UN Membership Bid

The United States vetoed a draft resolution at the UN Security Council (UNSC) which recommended granting the State of Palestine full membership in the United Nations. This veto was expected as the United States is Israel’s main political and military backer. Twelve countries voted in favor of the resolution, which was introduced by Algeria, while…
Israel’s Strike Was Smaller Than Expected, and So Was Iran’s Reaction

The relatively limited scope of Israel’s overnight strikes on Iran, and a subdued response from Iranian officials, may have lowered the chances of an immediate escalation between the two countries, analysts said. For days, there have been fears that a forceful Israeli response to Iran’s attack on southern Israel last weekend could prompt an even…
AI isn’t useless. But is it worth it?

As someone known for my criticism of the previous deeply flawed technology to become the subject of the tech world’s overinflated aspirations, I have had people express surprise when I’ve remarked that generative artificial intelligence tools can be useful. In fact, I was a little surprised myself. But there is a yawning gap between “AI…
Improving decision-making in LLMs: Two contemporary approaches

Emergent large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT (particularly its latest iteration, GPT-4), Claude AI and Gemini have demonstrated limited decision-making. In this article, we’ll discuss contemporary research surrounding decision-making by LLMs and what it could mean for their future. Traditionally, effective decision-making in LLMs refers to deducing underlying patterns or rules and flexibly…
Worldcoin, Sam Altman’s eye-scanning crypto project, announces its own blockchain

Worldcoin Foundation, the company behind Worldcoin, today announced World Chain, a permissionless, open-source Ethereum layer 2 that’s expected to launch mid-2024. The blockchain will be deeply entwined with the Worldcoin protocol and is aimed at accelerating adoption of “World ID.” Worldcoin, according to its website, is a “free, privacy-preserving, open protocol intended to be the world’s…
How Automation And Real, Human-To-Human Collaboration Go Hand-In-Hand In The Working World

Since generative AI burst onto the scene, much of the discussion around AI and automation in general seems to be focused on how it can eliminate the human element from the working world. Look deeper, however, and it’s apparent that this actually isn’t the case. When done properly, partnering with AI automation can become a…
US Air Force confirms first successful AI dogfight

The US Air Force is putting AI in the pilot’s seat. In an update on Thursday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) revealed that an AI-controlled jet successfully faced a human pilot during an in-air dogfight test carried out last year. DARPA began experimenting with AI applications in December 2022 as part of its…
Jordan says Israeli retaliation for Iran strikes risks wider regional war

On Wednesday, Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi stated that an Israeli retaliation against Iranian strikes sparks risks of conflict spreading to other parts of the region. In an interview published by state media, Safadi stated that his country was actively lobbying against escalation with major powers that would pose a greater threat to the challenge…
UN Security Council to vote Friday on Palestinian UN membership

On Friday, the United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote on a Palestinian request for full U.N. membership. The 15-member council is scheduled to vote on the issue at 3 pm Friday (1900 GMT), a move that the United States is expected to block as it would officially recognize a Palestinian state. The member…
US Navy flies aircraft through the Taiwan Strait a day after US-China defense chiefs hold rare talks

On Wednesday, the U.S. 7th Fleet declared that a Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait. This comes just a day after U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. In a news release, the 7th fleet stated that the P-8A “transited the…
China foreign ministry welcomes Blinken’s visit to China as tensions simmer

On Thursday, China’s foreign ministry welcomed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a visit to China. This visit comes amidst rising tensions between the U.S. and China over regional conflict in the South China Sea, the Russia-Ukraine war, and global trade disputes. During the trip, Blinken is set to meet with senior Chinese officials…
Phishing Platform LabHost Shut Down by Law Enforcement

Between April 14 and April 17, LabHost one of the largest “phishing-as-a-service” platform has been shut down. A joint operation composed of agencies from 19 different countries collaborated over several years to bring down the platform. Europol was the coordinator of the operation wherein law enforcement took down several of the platform’s websites. So far,…
Cisco Unveils AI-Native Enterprise Security Solution Hypershield

On Thursday, Cisco revealed Hypershield, an AI-native and cloud-native enterprise security solution. According to Cisco, Hypershield is a new security architecture that is built with AI considerations. Essentially, Hypershield was designed to provide security for applications, devices, data, and clouds. Equipped with a multitude of capabilities, Hypershield can include distributed exploit protection with automated detection,…
Recent OT and Espionage Attacks Linked to Russia’s Sandworm, Now Named APT44

On Wednesday. Mandiant published a new report summarizing the latest activities of Russia’s Sandworm group, also known as APT44. Sandworm is one of the most notorious Russian threat actor groups, conducting espionage, disruption, and disinformation campaigns. Sandworm utilizes malware to conduct its campaigns including highly disruptive Industroyer and BlackEnergy. Recently, the threat actor group has…
Malicious Google Ads Pushing Fake IP Scanner Software with Hidden Backdoor

A new maladvertising campaign through Google with the moniker MadMxShell is leveraging several domains to replicate a legitimate IP scanner software. Google Ads to push fake decoy domains as the top search engine results for keywords is how the threat actors were able to target victims. A backdoor zero-day exploit is used by the threat…
Power-hungry AI is putting the hurt on global electricity supply

Electricity supply is becoming the latest chokepoint to threaten the growth of artificial intelligence, according to leading tech industry chiefs, as power-hungry data centers add to the strain on grids around the world. Billionaire Elon Musk said this month that while the development of AI had been “chip constrained” last year, the latest bottleneck to…
Former OpenAI Board Member Calls for Audits of Top AI Companies

Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner said leading AI companies should be required to share information with the public about the capabilities and risks of the technology they’re building, and collect more data when these tools go awry. AI companies should have to “share information about what they’re building, what their systems can do, and how…