By Justin Katz
Apr 27, 2021
The Department of Homeland Security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI on Monday issued a new advisory describing ways to counter tactics and techniques used by Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, the attackers behind the intrusion involving SolarWinds.
The advisory describes how the agencies noticed the SVR shift its tactics from using malware to targeting the cloud and email servers as a way to gather information, which was done when exploiting SolarWinds software and flaws in Microsoft Office 365.
“Targeting cloud resources probably reduces the likelihood of detection by using compromised accounts or system misconfigurations to blend in with normal or unmonitored traffic in an environment not well defended, monitored, or understood by victim organizations,” according to the advisory.
The White House is suspending the two interagency groups tasked with managing the government s response to the cybersecurity incidents involving SolarWinds and Microsoft Exchange, citing improving trends in patching.
By Justin Katz
Apr 21, 2021
Senate lawmakers on Wednesday continued to press Army Gen. Paul Nakasone for solutions that might prevent another massive cybersecurity intrusion into federal networks, but the director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command insisted the answer cannot be boiled down to a single authority or investment.
“Senator, I’m not seeking legal authorities either for NSA or for U.S. Cyber Command,” Nakasone told Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) during a hearing with the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
Nakasone was testifying along with several other intelligence agency chiefs about the IC’s new worldwide threat assessment report, which, among other things, notes that all of the United States’ primary adversaries are ramping up their activities and capabilities in cyberspace.
The White House announced a range of sanctions against Russia, and security agencies warned of software vulnerabilities that Russian intelligence services are actively exploiting.
By Lauren C. Williams
Apr 21, 2021
The Army is putting its new counter small unmanned aerial systems strategy to the test with its first demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground, focusing on how to limit damage when facing direct threats.
Leland Browning, the deputy director for the Joint Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO), said the Army has completed its first small drone demo, testing intercept capabilities from three different platforms.
This first demonstration, which was a joint effort between the JCO, Army and Air Force, was designed to look at low collateral effects intercepted capabilities, which are defined solutions that defeat small UAS in an environment that requires minimal minimum collateral damage for the surrounding environment, Browning told reporters April 16.