 The U.S. Army is planning to increase the number of its cyber force staff. The statement came from Army Secretary Christine Wormuth. More: - Wormuth testified before the House Appropriations defense subcommittee and stated that the U.S. must work to close its skill gap in cybersecurity, which is a vulnerability. Wormuth stated that the Army has learned valuable lessons from the Russian invasion of Ukraine and that cybersecurity is the main source of concern for the U.S.
- Wormuth said that the Army has been at the forefront of developing its cyber capabilities and is committed to further expansion. She noted that the military faces competition from the private sector, which is more lucrative for prospective employees. One solution Wormouth proposed is activating the excepted service provision, allowing the government to hire highly-skilled people while circumventing the lengthy competitive hiring process.
- The secretary stated that these changes will also be reflected in the 2023 budget for the Army, hinting at an increase in spending.
- These changes have already begun, as the Army is actively searching for soldiers currently enlisted whose cyber and coding experience have not been identified previously as a short-term solution for the skill gap.
U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville stated that this approach has led to some soldiers having their skills discovered, for example, an army medic who "Codes at the Ph.D. level, and we want to be able to credential that capability, no formal training, because of his skill set." Zoom Out: - The Pentagon wants $11.2B for various cyber efforts, with plans to harden networks, shield critical infrastructure, and expand forces. The budget would represent an increase of $800M or nearly 8% from the previous year.
- The talent gap in cybersecurity has been considered a national threat by the Department of Homeland Security, claiming that over 500,000 jobs need to be filled in the public sector.
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 Russia is being increasingly hacked by foreign hacking groups, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He claims the hacks are "state-sponsored." More: - The Russian president made the claims in a meeting with the country's Security Council, stating that state-owned companies and media organizations were the main targets.
- Putin stated that the country should strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities and rely on domestically-produced technology equipment.
- Several Russian companies so far have claimed that they've had data leaked and that their security firewalls were breached, including state communications regulator Roskomnadzor, which said it had blocked a website that was hosting the personal data of a number of companies' clients. Russia's second-biggest bank, VTB, said that its customers' phone numbers had been leaked, but there was no risk of their funds being withdrawn.
- The largest Russian e-commerce store, Wildberries, and online marketplace Avito denied reports that their data had been leaked, while a data leak in March exposed the personal details of more than 58,000 people who used an app owned by Yandex.
Zoom Out: - Russia has been attempting to improve its own internet infrastructure so that it wouldn't be susceptible to cyberattacks. Last summer, it disconnected from the global internet as a test run.
- The country also launched a cyberattack campaign during its invasion of Ukraine, hacking Ukraine's government websites, institutional websites in Finland, and other international organizations.
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General Motors announced that it was a victim of a data leak last month by unknown threat actors. Customer information and gift cards were manipulated in the breach. More: - General Motors operates an online platform that enables the owners of Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac vehicles to manage their bills and services and redeem rewards points.
- The auto manufacturer detected suspicious login activity between April 11 and April 29, 2022, and has confirmed that the hackers redeemed customer reward points for gift cards in certain instances.
- These hackers used credential stuffing, which is a method in which hackers obtain information that was leaked on one website and try those usernames and passwords on another site, in this case, GM's online platform. GM stated that the data was not hacked out of its systems but rather from other companies.
- The information that was leaked includes: First and last name, personal email address, personal address, username and phone number for registered family members tied to the account, last known and saved favorite location information, currently subscribed OnStar package, family members' avatars and photos, profile picture, search and destination information, etc.
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 Anonymous declared cyber-war on the pro-Russian hacker group Killnet. The group claims it hacked Killnet immediately afterward. More: - Anonymous made the same declarations against the Russian government recently, which resulted in over 300,000 documents of the Russian government being leaked.
- Killnet has attacked the websites of various Italian institutions and government ministries, including the Superior Council of the Judiciary, its customs agency, and its foreign affairs, education, and cultural heritage ministries. Killnet also launched attacks against Italy’s upper house of Parliament, the National Health Institute, and the Automobile Club d’Italia.
- The group most recently tried to hack the European signing competition Eurovision during its live stream, watched by over 200 million people worldwide.
- The Five Eyes Alliance — the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, recently published its assessment of Kremlin-backed units and cybercrime groups that have pledged to support Russia, including Killnet.
Zoom Out: - Anonymous has been active in cyber-attacks against Russian companies in the past, including an attack against Russian energy company Alet, leaking over 1 million documents as a result.
- The group also managed to hack Russian TVchannels during a livestream and play footage of the war in Ukraine as a way of convincing people that the war is real. Many people in Russia, especially the elderly, have limited access to information due to multiple news outlets being banned in the country.
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 The U.K. Cabinet Office reported 800 missing electronic devices in three years. This report raised concerns about possible security issues. More: - The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the prime minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
- More than 61% of the lost devices were mobile phones, 28% were laptops, and MiFi devices were 5%. Another 55 devices were also reported missing.
- The 2019-20 financial years saw the most devices lost or stolen, totaling 435, which is likely linked to Cabinet Office employees transitioning to home working after the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
- Last year, official data showed that the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy had 234 mobiles and 72 laptops lost or stolen during the calendar years of 2019 and 2020. In addition, almost 100 laptops, tablet computers, and other electronic gadgets were reported missing by Parliamentary staffers in the calendar years 2019 and 2020.
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- Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed the latest version of the Chaos ransomware line, tracked as Yashma.
- A fake Windows exploit targeting the infosec community with Cobalt Strike has been reported.
- Windows 11 was hacked three more times besides the existing reports during the last day of Pwn2Own contest.
- Semperis has raised a $200M financing round led by KKR&CO.
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 |  | Arbër is an Inside writer who also has experience in entrepreneurship. He has experience covering Consumer Tech, Venture Capital, NFTs, Crypto, etc. Arbër holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from XAMK University in Finland. When he is not reading(and writing) business news, he chooses to watch sports or anime...and then read news about sports or anime. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 Ford. | |
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