November 30, 2025
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Cyber Intelligence > government
Editorial Team
News One Minute Roundup
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Elon Musk Blames ‘Massive Cyberattack’ for Widespread X Outage – March 10th

Social media platform X suffered a major outage on March 10, with tens of thousands of users unable to access the site. Owner Elon Musk blamed the disruption on a “massive cyberattack,” suggesting that a well-funded group or nation-state may have been involved.

The outage, which peaked around 10 a.m. EST, affected both the X app and website, with intermittent service disruptions continuing throughout the day. As frustrated users flocked to alternative platforms like Threads and Bluesky, concerns grew over the security of X’s infrastructure.

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Tony Glover
China News Telecommunications
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19

US takes on Chinese hackers

A man alleged to be behind the recent Salt Typhoon US telecoms network and US Treasury department breaches has been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Yin Kecheng  “has been a cyber actor for over a decade and is affiliated with the People’s Republic of China Ministry of State Security (MSS)”, says the Treasury Office. Yin is alleged to have had direct and associated involvement in both breaches.

Two key individuals in President Donald Trump’s new administration, Elon Musk, and the president’s nominee to head the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, have specifically cited the two devastating breaches as the prime examples of why the nation’s cybersecurity strategy is in pressingly urgent need of being overhauled.

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Editorial Team
China Cyber Espionage News
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19

FBI unplugs Chinese hackers

The US Justice Department and FBI have completed a law enforcement operation to delete Chinese malware from approximately 4,258 U.S.-based computers and networks. The international operation was led by French law enforcement and France-based private cybersecurity company Sekoia.io.

According to court documents unsealed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, a group of hackers paid by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), known as “Mustang Panda” and “Twill Typhoon,” used a version of PlugX malware to infect, control, and steal information from victim computers. Since at least 2014, Mustang Panda hackers have infiltrated thousands of computer systems in campaigns targeting US victims, European and Asian governments and businesses, and Chinese dissident groups.

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Editorial Team
Cyber Espionage cybercrime News
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14

Cybercriminals pose as law enforcement agencies

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued an urgent warning to business and law enforcement agencies that cybercriminals are using genuine stolen US and foreign government email addresses to hack into companies.

As of August this year, the FBI has observed an increase in posts on criminal forums relating to fraudulent emergency data requests. In August 2024, a cyber-criminal known to the FBI offered for sale, “High Quality .gov emails for espionage/social engineering/data extortion requests, etc”, that included official US credentials. The cyber-criminals also offered to guide buyers through emergency data requests and to sell real stolen subpoena documents to allow the buyer(s) to pose as law enforcement officers.

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Tony Glover
News Phishing Russia
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13

Russian secret service steps up cyber-attacks on the West

Software giant Microsoft has made an urgent public announcement that the Russian secret service is currently sending thousands of weaponized spear-phishing emails to key individuals in over 100 organizations in countries including the US and the UK.

According to Microsoft: “The emails were highly targeted, using social engineering lures relating to Microsoft, Amazon Web Services (AWS)… In some of the lures, the actor attempted to add credibility to their malicious messages by impersonating Microsoft employees.”

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Alexis Hess
Government India News
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India Enlists Army of 5000 “Cyber Commandos”

The Indian Government is upping the ante with its fight against cybercrime. Indian Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah this week announced the launch of four major platforms under cyber security program Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C), including the training of 5,000 “Cyber Commandos,” to counter the increasing threat of cyber-crime.

The Cyber Commando Program will create a special wing in every Central Police Organization, aiming to train 5,000 “Cyber Commandos” over the next five years. Trained Commandos will assist Central Agencies in “securing digital spaces”. Other platforms include a national Suspect Registry, a Cyber Fraud Mitigation Center, and an online portal for cyber-crime data analytics and crime mapping. 

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Tony Glover
European Union News Spyware
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12

EU spyware scandal spreads

This week, Poland’s Supreme Court quashed an ongoing probe into spyware abuses allegedly conducted by its own government – claiming it to be “unconstitutional”. Comprehensive new research, published earlier this month by the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research (DFR) Labs, also now shows that government abuse of spyware is now widespread across the European Union (EU).

The findings of DFR Labs’ research provide a truly damning description of the widespread abuse of spyware by governments across Europe, accusing the EU of effectively turning a blind eye to the widespread abuse of its citizens’ rights despite being made aware of the widespread abuses at least two years ago. In 2022, the European Parliament (EP), frustrated by the Commission’s reluctance to tackle the growing scandal, established the PEGA Committee to investigate the misuse of surveillance spyware. 

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Editorial Team
Breaking News Geopolitics News
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14

German Intelligence warns of Russian cyber-attacks

The cyber cold war just became a little warmer, with German Intelligence now publicly crying foul on Monday at Russia for online attacks stretching back to 2020.

Germany’s Bundesverfassungsschutz has issued a strong warning against a cyber group belonging to Russian military intelligence (GRU) Unit 29155, which was linked to the 2018 poisonings of a former Russian double agent and his daughter in the UK, claiming that the unit has also been active in carrying out cyberattacks against NATO and EU countries.

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Alexis Hess
Breaking News cybercrime News
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11

Secret Service Hot on the Trail of Cybercriminal “Stalin”

The United States Secret Service is doubling down on the search for cybercriminal “Stalin.”

On August 26, 2024, the U.S Department of State partnered with the US Secret Service to put out a bounty of up to $2.5 million for information leading to the arrest of Belarusian hacker Volodymyr Kadariya, sometimes going by the alias “Stalin.”

Kadariya was allegedly part of a malicious advertising (“malvertising”) ring responsible for transmitting the Angler Exploit Kit, a toolkit utilized by threat actors to exploit vulnerabilities in a system or code.

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Editorial Team
Cyber Espionage cybercrime News
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14

“Voldemort” impersonates tax authorities worldwide

A threat actor named “Voldemort” is impersonating tax authorities from governments in Europe, Asia, and the US – targeting dozens of organizations worldwide. Cybersecurity company Proofpoint believes “with moderate confidence” that Voldemort’s ultimate goal is cyber-espionage.

Since August 5 this year, Voldemort, named after the main villain in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter children’s books, has sent over 20,000 messages purported to be from various tax authorities to over 70 organizations around the world. The threat actor poses as the US Internal Revenue Services, the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs, France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques, Germany’s Bundeszentralamt für Steuern, Italy’s Agenzia delle Entrate, India‘s Income Tax Department and Japan’s National Tax Agency.

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Editorial Team
Breaking News Government News
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18

The EU bares its teeth – again

The EU has bared its cyber teeth for the second time in a week. Hard on the heels of the arrest of Telegram founder and owner, Pavel Kurov, Uber has been slapped with a $290 million fine for allegedly violating the European Union (EU)’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by failing to protect personal data of European taxi drivers held on servers located in the US.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) enforced the regulation by imposing a fine on Uber, which transmitted European drivers’ personal data to the US, including drivers’ account details, taxi licenses, location data, photos, payment details, identity documents and, in some cases, even criminal records and medical data.

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Tony Glover
Arrest Breaking News News
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Telegram chief arrested in Paris

Speculation is today mounting concerning the arrest of the popular encrypted messaging app Telegram head and founder, Pavel Durov, at Le Bourget airport north of Paris on Saturday evening. The arrest has been widely reported in France, although the authorities have yet to issue a full statement.

 In the past, the French president. Emmanuel Macron and his team have been enthusiastic users of Telegram, using it to orchestrate their political strategies. But Durov’s arrest on Saturday is now being seen as part of an attempt by the UK and the European Union to curtail the reach and influence of largely unregulated communications platforms such as Telegram and X (formerly Twitter). This theory is born out of sources close to the situation, who believe that Durov will face charges of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children, and fraud – all allegedly stemming from a lack of moderation controls on Telegram.

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Tony Glover
AI Analysis European Union
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EU AI Act to act as a template for other regions

The European Union (EU) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, which came into effect earlier this month, is now set to act as a template for other regions, such as the US. The American government has already drafted an AI Bill of Rights, which aims to create a similar framework regulating AI.

However, while governments are rightly concerned about the personal privacy aspect of the universal adoption of AI, some have a dangerously bullish view of the new technology’s potential. Despite a deluge of hilarious howlers, such as Google’s AI-driven images of African Vikings and American founding fathers, politicians anxious not to be left behind in the tech race swallowed Silicon Valley’s AI hype hook, line, and sinker.

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Editorial Team
Geopolitics Government News
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15

America’s enemies strive to sway the US presidential election

Nations hostile to America, primarily Russia and China, are currently doubling down on their efforts to influence the outcome of the upcoming US elections. So far, their efforts appear to be directed at preventing Donald Trump from winning a second term as president, possibly fearing a Republican victory could herald the US taking a tougher stance on international affairs.

According to an extensive nine-page Microsoft threat intelligence report: “Foreign malign influence concerning the 2024 US election started off slowly but has steadily picked up pace over the last six months due initially to Russian operations, but more recently from Iranian activity.”

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Editorial Team
cybercrime Government News
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Russian gang shuts down two Indiana counties

Clay County, Indiana, in the US, is sounding a Local Disaster Declaration in the wake of a “criminal ransomware attack” that occurred last week, following reports of increasing cyber-attacks on local governments across America.

“Clay County local government suffered a significant ransomware attack in the early morning hours of July 9, 2024. This has resulted in an inability to provide critical services required for the daily operation of all offices of the Clay County Courthouse, Community Corrections, and Clay County Probation,” said the county in an official statement.

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Editorial Team
Cyber Espionage News Phishing
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Public sector phishing attacks increase fourfold

With national elections coming up later this year, US public-sector organizations are experiencing unprecedented levels of phishing attacks designed to dupe government staff into opening weaponized links in fake emails.

According to email security firm Abnormal Security: “Between May 2023 and May 2024, public sector organizations experienced an astounding 360 percent growth in phishing attacks. While phishing tends to consistently increase each year and regularly accounts for the majority of advanced threats, this level of growth is extraordinary.”

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Editorial Team
Big Tech Geopolitics News
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US and UK call time on Silicon Valley

A clarion call has gone out on both sides of the Atlantic for digital technologies to be made secure by design rather than by default.

At San Francisco’s RSA cyber conference earlier this month, Jen Easterly, the director of CISA, the US Cyber Defense Agency, called for software to be made far more secure. This week, Ollie Whitehouse, the CTO of the NCSC, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, also echoed her thoughts, demanding that the technology industry make its products more cyber-secure from the start.

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admin
News One Minute Roundup
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Rise in Tax-Related Phishing Scams Detected – March 22nd

Microsoft’s Threat Intelligence arm issued a warning on the rise of new, sophisticated tax phishing scams that could lead to stolen personal and financial data.

These tax-related phishing scams are initiated by impersonating trusted employers, tax agencies, and payment processors. Victims click on a malicious attachment, which leads to a believable landing page designed to capture sensitive information.

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admin
News One Minute Roundup
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Google’s Improvements to Chrome’s ‘Safe Browsing’ Mode – March 18th

Google announced major security-focused revamps to Chrome’s ‘Safe Browsing’ mode, which enables the service to work while checking against a server-side malware-site list in real-time.

The added safety feature to Google Chrome’s ‘Safe Browsing’ mode is a massive improvement compared to the browsing mode cross-checking against lists of malware-infected sites that were manually added every two hours.

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Editorial Team
Cyber Espionage Geopolitics News
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Geopolitical crises fuel cyber-attacks in the US

As geopolitical tensions and conflicts rise across the globe, so are cyber-attacks on critical Western infrastructure, particularly industrial facilities running on operation technology (OT) systems.

Ransomware attacks on industrial organizations increased by over 50 percent in 2023, according to a report by cybersecurity firm Dragos: OT Cybersecurity – 2023 in Review. Seventy percent of all ransomware attacks targeted 638 manufacturing entities in 33 unique manufacturing subsectors.

Dragos tracked a total of 21 threat groups targeting industrial organizations including three new threat groups: Gananite, Laurionite, and Voltzite. Dragos reports all three new groups as conducting diverse operations against various organizations, including cybersecurity research firms, government and military defense entities, rail, manufacturing, automotive, and utilities. Voltzite has been the most active of the three in targeting critical infrastructure.

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Tony Glover
Analysis European Union Government
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Corruption allegations overshadow EU cyber rulings

The European Union (EU) has adopted its first Cybersecurity Certificate scheme to boost cybersecurity in products and services sold within the EU states, amid ongoing investigations of alleged corruption in Brussels.

The European Cybersecurity Scheme on Common Criteria (EUCC) drafted by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) was adopted on Wednesday as the first scheme within the EU cybersecurity certification framework. ENISA is also already developing two additional cybersecurity certification schemes: EUCS on cloud services and EU5G on 5G security.

But the announcement coincided with another press release published by the EU on the same day. On Wednesday, Jan 31st, 2024, the Committee on Civil Liberties also endorsed the draft negotiating mandate for stronger rules against corrupt decision-makers across all levels in the EU. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) amended the draft anti-corruption provisions to cover “any person entrusted with tasks of public interest or in charge of a public service”, with top EU decision-makers, European Commissioners, the President of the European Council and MEPs to be added to the category of “high-level officials” who will now be subjected to more severe rules than in the past.

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Tony Glover
Analysis Cloud Security Cyber Espionage
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Storm gathers over the cloud

News of the mass exploitation of ownCloud customers as a result of a zero-day vulnerability follows revelations earlier this month of a critical security vulnerability in Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform.

Reports of gaping security flaws in cloud services come at a bad time for cloud service providers in general and Microsoft in particular. The Seattle-based computing giant is currently doing its utmost to persuade the US, UK, and Australian governments that its Azure Government Cloud is the best way for the AUKUS trio to securely update cross-border information and enhance mutual collaboration. This might prove problematic for Microsoft, whose Azure platform was recently proven to have a  critical vulnerability, and some of whose government clients suffered a series of serious breaches earlier this year.

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admin
News One Minute Roundup
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UK and US Develop Global AI Security Guidelines – November 27th

The UK’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC), in partnership with the US’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) launched the ‘Guidelines for Secure AI System Development’.

The guidelines are set to secure AI system development, to help developers make informed cybersecurity decisions at every step of the AI development process. These AI guidelines were also co-signed in cooperation with 21 other international agencies and ministries from across the world. 

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Tony Glover
China Cyber Espionage News
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20

FBI sounds second call to arms to fight cybercrime

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is increasingly anxious to enlist the private sector in the losing battle it is fighting against global cybercrime and espionage. Speaking in Washington on Monday, FBI director Christopher Wray stressed the importance of “collaborative, public-private” operations in fighting cybercrime, developing a strategy previously outlined by FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate at a Boston cybersecurity conference three months ago.

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