insiders – SSL and internet security news

AI Decides to Engage in Insider Trading

December 1, 2023 infossl

academic papers, artificial intelligence, cheating, deception, insiders, LLM, Security technology, Uncategorized

A stock-trading AI (a simulated experiment) engaged in insider trading, even though it “knew” it was wrong. The agent is put under pressure in three ways. First, it receives a email from its “manager” that the company is not doing well and needs better performance in the next quarter. Second, the agent attempts and fails … Read More “AI Decides to Engage in Insider Trading” »

NASA’s Insider Threat Program

March 23, 2022 infossl

insiders, national security policy, reports, Security technology, Uncategorized

The Office of Inspector General has audited NASA’s insider threat program: While NASA has a fully operational insider threat program for its classified systems, the vast majority of the Agency’s information technology (IT) systems — including many containing high-value assets or critical infrastructure — are unclassified and are therefore not covered by its current insider … Read More “NASA’s Insider Threat Program” »

Twitter Hackers May Have Bribed an Insider

July 17, 2020 infossl

hacking, insiders, leaks, Security technology, socialmedia, twitter

Motherboard is reporting that this week’s Twitter hack involved a bribed insider. Twitter has denied it. I have been taking press calls all day about this. And while I know everyone wants to speculate about the details of the hack, we just don’t know — and probably won’t for a couple of weeks. Powered by … Read More “Twitter Hackers May Have Bribed an Insider” »

Insider Logic Bombs

July 26, 2019 infossl

databases, hacking, insiders, Security technology, securityengineering

Add to the “not very smart criminals” file: According to court documents, Tinley provided software services for Siemens’ Monroeville, PA offices for nearly ten years. Among the work he was asked to perform was the creation of spreadsheets that the company was using to manage equipment orders. The spreadsheets included custom scripts that would update … Read More “Insider Logic Bombs” »

More Attacks against Computer Automatic Update Systems

May 16, 2019 infossl

games, insiders, malware, Security technology, southkorea, supplychain

Last month, Kaspersky discovered that Asus’s live update system was infected with malware, an operation it called Operation Shadowhammer. Now we learn that six other companies were targeted in the same operation. As we mentioned before, ASUS was not the only company used by the attackers. Studying this case, our experts found other samples that … Read More “More Attacks against Computer Automatic Update Systems” »

“Insider Threat” Detection Software

February 27, 2019 infossl

coastguard, falsenegatives, falsepositives, insiders, lawenforcement, Security technology, terrorism

Notice this bit from an article on the arrest of Christopher Hasson: It was only after Hasson’s arrest last Friday at his workplace that the chilling plans prosecutors assert he was crafting became apparent, detected by an internal Coast Guard program that watches for any “insider threat.” The program identified suspicious computer activity tied to … Read More ““Insider Threat” Detection Software” »

El Chapo’s Encryption Defeated by Turning His IT Consultant

January 16, 2019 infossl

backdoors, courts, drugtrade, encryption, fbi, insiders, keys, Security technology

Impressive police work: In a daring move that placed his life in danger, the I.T. consultant eventually gave the F.B.I. his system’s secret encryption keys in 2011 after he had moved the network’s servers from Canada to the Netherlands during what he told the cartel’s leaders was a routine upgrade. A Dutch article says that … Read More “El Chapo’s Encryption Defeated by Turning His IT Consultant” »

Intimate Partner Threat

March 5, 2018 infossl

authentication, computersecurity, insiders, Security technology, securityquestions, socialmedia, threatmodels

Princeton’s Karen Levy has a good article computer security and the intimate partner threat: When you learn that your privacy has been compromised, the common advice is to prevent additional access — delete your insecure account, open a new one, change your password. This advice is such standard protocol for personal security that it’s almost … Read More “Intimate Partner Threat” »

Long Article on NSA and the Shadow Brokers

November 14, 2017 infossl

breaches, hacking, insiders, leaks, nsa, Security technology

The New York Times just published a long article on the Shadow Brokers and their effects on NSA operations. Summary: it’s been an operational disaster, the NSA still doesn’t know who did it or how, and NSA morale has suffered considerably. This is me on the Shadow Brokers from last May. Powered by WPeMatico

Yet Another Russian Hack of the NSA — This Time with Kaspersky’s Help

October 6, 2017 infossl

cyberattack, cyberespionage, hacking, insiders, kaspersky, leaks, nsa, russia, Security technology

The Wall Street Journal has a bombshell of a story. Yet another NSA contractor took classified documents home with him. Yet another Russian intelligence operation stole copies of those documents. The twist this time is that the Russians identified the documents because the contractor had Kaspersky Labs anti-virus installed on his home computer. This is … Read More “Yet Another Russian Hack of the NSA — This Time with Kaspersky’s Help” »