Cyber Week in Review: January 13, 2023

U.S. Supreme Court Denies NSO Group’s Claim

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an injunction against WhatsApp’s lawsuit against NSO Group, alleging that the spyware maker exploited a flaw in the voice recording code of its instant messaging app to deliver the Pegasus spyware. The NSO had claimed that it was acting on behalf of the state when it exploited its vulnerabilities, thus avoiding litigation through sovereign immunity. NSO faces several other lawsuits. Apple and a group of journalists from El Salvador have filed a lawsuit in US courts. In addition to the lawsuit, the NSO said he is facing stifling sanctions imposed by the Biden administration in November 2021, causing turmoil within the company.

President Biden Calls for Tighter Tech Regulations

US President Joe Biden wall street journal The article calls for “clear limits” on the data companies can collect and store, particularly internet history, location, and biometric data. Biden also emphasized the need for the United States to “restore competition to the tech sector” by reducing the power of big tech companies to stifle growing rivals. Called for major reforms. This limits legal exposure to company speech on the platform. While it’s hard to imagine Republicans and Democrats supporting Biden’s call in the current political environment, some critics believe that concerted Congressional action on these issues will help the U.S. become more like Europe and the technology sector. I am concerned that this will restrict innovation and hinder innovation.

Russian cyber espionage group targets US nuclear lab

Researchers have discovered that Cold River, a Russian state-sponsored threat actor also known as Callisto, has targeted three U.S. nuclear research laboratories as part of a phishing campaign. The campaign used fake login screens to trick scientists from Argonne, Brookhaven, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories into submitting usernames and passwords. It is unknown whether the hackers have successfully penetrated the network. Cold River was known for attacking U.S. and Western European foreign policy and intelligence agencies, but since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Cold River has retargeted and targeted organizations and organizations associated with the war effort in Ukraine. It targets individuals broadly.

Air traffic control outage caused by computer failure

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) 90 minutes ground flight Earlier this week, after critical software used to run the Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM) system failed. NOTAM is used to provide pilots with information about changing conditions during flight. The FAA said the failure was likely human error as the contractor did not follow procedures in updating his NOTAM system. There was some speculation that a cyberattack was the cause of the outage, but officials were quick to say they did not believe a malicious attack was to blame. Federal officials have warned in the past about the consequences of aging federal technology infrastructure, but the software on which the NOTAM system runs has been in use for nearly three decades, so this outage is a legacy. It could be another result of infrastructure.

Jack Ma relinquishes control of Ant Group

Beleaguered Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma has handed over control of Ant Group, the fintech and digital payments arm of the Alibaba conglomerate he founded. Public interest in Ma’s whereabouts is palpable after Chinese authorities launched a campaign to increase regulatory pressure on tech giants and he blocked Ant Group’s IPO bid in 2020. . Instead, we focus on optimizing our business. Meanwhile, the Chinese government’s animosity towards big tech companies seems to be changing recently. Regulators recently approved his $1.5 billion capital plan for Ant’s consumer finance affiliate, but senior Communist Party officials have declared the crackdown “basically over.” A survey conducted this week by the Hangzhou Municipal Party Committee concluded that Ant Group should “maintain the right direction, promote innovation and continue to strengthen the enterprise’s core competitiveness.”