La più grande minaccia del mondo: la guerra cibernetica
Cari Lettori,
Immaginate di perdere tutto.
Vi alzate dal letto, andate a fare colazione, pagate con la vostra credit card, e la vostra card viene rifiutata. Chiamate la vostra credit card company e vi dicono che il vostro account non esiste.
Siete confusi, ma dovete almeno saldare il vostro bill prima di risolvere il vostro credit card issue.
Andate in bank per prelevare cash per il vostro meal. Arrivate all'ATM, digitate il vostro PIN, tentate di prelevare i vostri money, ma la vostra transaction viene rifiutata.
Il saldo del vostro bank account è zero.
Chiamate la vostra bank. Non hanno alcuna registrazione di chi siete.
Chiamate il government. Non hanno alcuna registrazione di chi siete.
Non esistete.
Questo nightmare potrebbe sembrare uscito direttamente dalle pagine di un thriller di Tom Clancy, ma potrebbe accadere a voi.
E potrebbe accadervi domani.
L'era della guerra cibernetica
Un anno fa, dopo le fughe di notizie di Snowden, ho parlato con urgenza del ruolo crescente della cyber security (il che, ovviamente, significava che i cyber security stocks sarebbero saliti.\
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Da allora, abbiamo assistito a numerosi cyber security attacks. Dal presunto hack di Sony da parte della N. Korea, al potenziale ruolo della Cina nell'hacking del gigante healthcare, Anthem Inc., il flusso di major hacks in tutto il mondo si è ora trasformato in un system di complex rivers.
Siate avvertiti: questo è solo l'inizio.
Le nuove wars della nostra generation vengono sempre più combattute con la technology; dagli unmanned drones, ai viruses che attaccano la power source di una nation.
Mentre la threat della cyber warfare è iniziata molti years ago, è diventata molto più apparent nel 2010, quando il world ha scoperto che l'uranium-enrichment facility dell'Iran a Natanz era stata infected con un computer worm chiamato Stuxnet.
Stuxnet è riuscito a rallentare l'uranium enrichment dell'Iran manipolando valves su centrifuges per aumentare la pressure al loro interno, damaging devices, così come l'enrichment process. Questo è stato un virus che ha causato actual physical damage.
Il damage fatto ai systems fu grand, ma più importantly, fu fatto senza shooting a gun, o dropping a bomb. Fu fatto senza any sort di physical infiltration.
Coloro che hanno created e implemented il virus sono stati able di destroy critical systems, all the while avoiding public e political scrutiny perché evidence della sua source poteva solo essere assumed, e non proven.
Primo Colpo
L'obvious culprit in Stuxnet era likely un group che voleva hinder Iran e i suoi nuclear programs. Questo would mean che l'immediate finger pointing would have been directed at Israel e gli U.S.
Of course, both nations would deny gli attacks.
Years later, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden would reveal che Stuxnet fu created as part di una joint operation tra gli Israelis e la NSA’s Foreign Affairs Directorate (FAD).
Later, other officials would concur.
Tramite The Register:
“Un unnamed US official ha anche detto che Stuxnet era part di un program chiamato Operation Olympic Games, started under President Bush e continued under the current administration, aimed at slowing down l'Iranian nuclear effort senza having to resort a risky airstrikes.
General James Cartwright, a former vice-chairman dei Joint Chiefs of Staff, è currently under investigation dal US government per allegedly leaking details di Operation Olympic Games.”
Stuxnet fu just the beginning di many highly sophisticated viruses che would be used per infiltrate systems di governments e private organizations.
In the years following the discovery di Stuxnet, more sophisticated versions del virus would spring up nel Middle East. These included Flame, Duqu, e Gauss – all with the ability di steal information by activating computer microphones e cameras, log keyboard strokes, take screen shots, extract geo-location data da images, e send and receive commands e data through Bluetooth.
Some di these viruses attacked private oil companies nel Middle East, while others attacked financial institutions – wreaking havoc su oil and gas systems, e stealing everything da login data, a banking information.
But the invasions di viruses che attack systems furono just the beginning.
In un recent report di Kaspersky Lab, un Russian-based security software maker che ha exposed numerous Western-originated cyber-espionage operations, revealed che there could be a much bigger spying infiltration operation than ever before – one che has been happening since 2001.
Tramite Reuters:
“La U.S. National Security Agency ha figured out how to hide spying software deep within hard drives made by Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba e other top manufacturers, giving the agency the means per eavesdrop sulla majority dei world’s computers, according to cyber researchers e former operatives.
… Kaspersky ha detto che ha found personal computers in 30 countries infected con one or more dei spying programs, con the most infections seen in Iran, followed by Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Mali, Syria, Yemen e Algeria. The targets included government e military institutions, telecommunication companies, banks, energy companies, nuclear researchers, media, e Islamic activists, ha detto Kaspersky.
…The firm declined per publicly name the country behind the spying campaign, but ha detto che era closely linked a Stuxnet, la NSA-led cyber weapon che was used per attack Iran’s uranium enrichment facility. La NSA è the agency responsible per gathering electronic intelligence on behalf degli United States.
…Kaspersky ha published i technical details della sua research on Monday, che should help infected institutions detect the spying programs, some of which trace back as far as 2001.”
Se what Kaspersky ha detto è true, it would mean che il program could give la NSA, o “whoever” involved, direct access ai world’s computers – even when offline.
Ho over five hard drives dai manufacturers menzionati above.
Quanti ne avete voi?
**CLICCA QUI per Condividere i Tuoi Pensieri sulla Guerra Cibernetica**
Ritorsione della Guerra Cibernetica
Mentre Stuxnet e i suoi cousins furono la collaboration di highly sophisticated personnel con un massive treasure chest per fund such an advanced attack, la reality è che cyber warfare è un game che can be played by anyone.
Non devi avere billions of dollars per un army. Non devi avere nuclear capabilities. Non devi avere una military presence. Devi just be really smart.
Con l'awakening di Stuxnet, l'intensity della cyber warfare è grown a all corners del globe, e is being played by nations all around the world – including America’s enemies.
Since evidence points a U.S. responsibility per il launch di these viruses, you can bet their enemies will retaliate.
E lo hanno fatto.
On August 15, 2012, the eve di un Muslim holy day chiamato Lailat al Qadr, “the Night of Power,” la world’s largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, fu attacked.
Islamic hackers, che called themselves the Cutting Sword of Justice, initiated un bug che would wipe gli hard drives di 30,000 Aramco personal computers, leaving only a calling card behind: l'image di un American flag on fire.
Shortly after, un barrage di cyber-attacks against American interests began. Some di these included attacks on the New York Stock Exchange e financial institutions, including some degli United State’s biggest banks such as JPMorgan, CitiGroup, Wells Fargo, e HSBC. While no money fu stolen, la threat era real: Hackers furono able per infiltrate even our most secure systems.
Let’s not forget l'hack attack I talked about nella mia Letter, Shocking Truths About Trading, whereby l'hacking dell'Associated Press’s Twitter account ha caused il Dow per drop 150 points-the equivalent di $136 billion in value-within a matter of minutes.
Let’s also not forget il shutdown at Nasdaq nel 2013, when the system fu closed per 3 hours due a un glitch nel software.
Tramite NYTimes:
“… (A) series di attempts by a market operated by the NYSE Euronext per connect with the Nasdaq system che reports i prices di recent trades ha generated un surge di data. That ha led a un failure dei Nasdaq’s backup systems, forcing the market per go offline per fix the problem.
…All told, i data sent greatly exceeded the amount che Nasdaq’s system – known as the Securities Information Processor, o SIP – era intended per handle. People con direct knowledge della matter ha detto che Nasdaq’s system non era designed per “throttle,” o forcefully slow down, il flood di information. That meant che i data stava hitting il SIP at full force.”
Looking back, perhaps it wasn’t un “glitch,” o un software malfunction. Perhaps it was un directed attack on the stock market, using un simple distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack che causes un overload di information a un system, forcing it per crash.
Over the past years, stock exchanges all around the world – Australia, Spain, Russia, Japan, New Zealand – sono state halted due a “glitches.” Perhaps their systems, too, non erano un glitch, but un direct attack.
Cosa ne pensate? Il NASDAQ failure è stato un glitch? E gli other stock exchanges?
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Even European defense organizations, such as governments e media organizations, are being targeted by malware campaigns. Some have even spread a iOS devices.
Tramite Trendlabs:
“Operation Pawn Storm è un'active economic e political cyber-espionage operation che targets a wide range di entities, like the military, governments, defense industries, e the media.
The actors di Pawn Storm tend per first move a lot di pawns nella hopes they come close ai their actual, high profile targets. When they finally successfully infect a high profile target, they might decide per move their next pawn forward: advanced espionage malware.
Il iOS malware we found è among those advanced malware. We believe il iOS malware gets installed su already compromised systems, e it is very similar a next stage SEDNIT malware we have found per Microsoft Windows’ systems.”
Cosa fa? Everything from collect text messages, obtain contact lists, grab pictures, access geo-location data, e start voice recordings.
Today, la threat di Stuxnet e other computer e mobile super bugs remain – hidden negli corners di hard drives e other computer devices, quietly waiting per another mission.
It’s no wonder why in recent months, there has been a growing political effort per combat cyber threats. Ironically, its being led by the same group che are thought per be the first movers on cyber warfare.
Giochi di Guerra Cibernetica
British e US intelligence agencies are about per roll out un transatlantic cyber “war games” per test their resilience against un increasing number di global cyber-attacks.
Il first test? Un war game against il financial sector.
Tramite il Guardian:
“Il “war game” against il financial sector, che will be carried out in co-operation con la Bank of England e other financial institutions, will be coordinated by a new joint “cyber-cell” che will be established by the two leaders per share information.
Agents from GCHQ e MI5 on the UK side e from the National Security Agency e l'FBI on the US side are already working nella US division della cell. This will be matched by a cyber-cell nel UK.
…Il president this week ha spoke del “urgent and growing danger” posed by cyber-attacks, che fu starkly illustrated by the destructive e intrusive attack on Sony Pictures.
Obama ha announced earlier this week che he would call per un all-embracing response nel suo address. In un speech on Tuesday at the National Cybersecurity Communications Integration Center, il president ha spoke della need per una “shared mission” involving il government e il private sector. Warning che most degli US’s “critical infrastructure” è owned by the private sector e run on networks connected al net, il president ha detto: “Neither the government nor the private sector can defend the nation alone. It is going to have to be a shared mission.”
In other words, la threat di un cyber financial attack è very real. That means in order per “protect us,” il government will have per gain even further access ai our private e personal data. How will il government do this?
Continued tramite il Guardian:
“Cameron will also press Obama per put more pressure sugli Internet giants, such as Facebook e Twitter, per do more per cooperate con le intelligence agencies as they seek per monitor the communications di terror suspects. Il prime minister ha outlined plans earlier this week per create a stronger legal framework per allow intelligence agencies per break into encrypted communications di suspects.”
It’s no surprise then che Obama ha just signed un executive order last Friday che encourages e promotes sharing di information on cyber security threats within il private sector. In layman’s terms, it calls per companies per give up information a government agencies.
Major companies such as Apple, Intel, e la Bank of America hanno already committed themselves al government’s new cyber threat framework.
That means all of those private pictures, passwords, e documents sul vostro iPhone may not be as private as you may think – e it won’t take un virus per il government per access them.
È Necessario?
All'inizio di questa letter, ho painted un very horrific scenario about how your money – e identity – could be wiped from existence.
That scenario isn’t just a dramatic imaginary depiction del nostro future.
È il nostro future. E sta accadendo now.
Furto di Bitcoin
Over the past year, we have seen millions of dollars worth di Bitcoins lost due a hacks e security breaches.
Last year, one dei largest Bitcoin exchanges ha lost 850k Bitcoins, worth $500, as a result di hackers.
Just recently, digital currency exchange BTER announced che it has lost 7,170 Bitcoins, o roughly $1.75 million at press time, in un apparent hack on its cold wallet system.
Perhaps Bitcoins non sono as safe of an alternative a currency as promoters of it will have you believe.
But neither è currency itself…
Hacker Rubano un Miliardo di Dollari
This past week, Kaspersky ha reported che up to US$1 billion è stato stolen da up to 100 banks:
Tramite NYTimes:
“In late 2013, un A.T.M. in Kiev ha started dispensing cash at seemingly random times of day. No one had put in a card o touched a button. Cameras hanno showed che le piles of money erano state swept up by customers che appeared lucky per be there at the right moment.
But when a Russian cyber security firm, Kaspersky Lab, fu called a Ukraine per investigate, it discovered che la errant machine era the least dei bank’s problems.
I bank’s internal computers, used by employees che process daily transfers e conduct bookkeeping, erano stati penetrated by malware che allowed cybercriminals per record their every move. Il malicious software ha lurked per months, sending back video feeds e images che hanno told un criminal group – including Russians, Chinese e Europeans – how the bank ha conducted its daily routines, according to gli investigators.
Then il group ha impersonated bank officers, not only turning on various cash machines, but also transferring millions of dollars da banks in Russia, Japan, Switzerland, gli United States e the Netherlands into dummy accounts set up in other countries.
In un report per be published on Monday, e provided in advance al The New York Times, Kaspersky Lab ha detto che the scope di this attack on more than 100 banks e other financial institutions in 30 nations could make it one dei largest bank thefts ever – e one conducted senza the usual signs di robbery.”
Some may say it’s a clever ploy by Kaspersky per draw more attention ai its cyber security sales. O perhaps millions of dollars are actually being stolen everyday dai our banks senza our knowledge.
I vostri money sono safe at the bank?
La vostra identity è safe with the government?
Perhaps il next market crash will be caused by un act di cyber terrorism.
Siate avvertiti.
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Cercate la Verità,
Ivan Lo
The Equedia Letter
