Elite Hackers Target WHO As Coronavirus Cyberattacks Spike 47
According to Reuters, elite hackers tried to break into the World Health Organization earlier this month. While the effort was unsuccessful, the agency said there's been a more than two-fold increase in cyberattacks as they battle to contain the coronavirus. From the report: The attempted break-in at the WHO was first flagged to Reuters by Alexander Urbelis, a cybersecurity expert and attorney with the New York-based Blackstone Law Group, which tracks suspicious internet domain registration activity. Urbelis said he picked up on the activity around March 13, when a group of hackers he'd been following activated a malicious site mimicking the WHO's internal email system. "I realized quite quickly that this was a live attack on the World Health Organization in the midst of a pandemic," he said.
Urbelis said he didn't know who was responsible, but two other sources briefed on the matter said they suspected an advanced group of hackers known as DarkHotel, which has been conducting cyber-espionage operations since at least 2007. When asked by Reuters about the incident, the WHO's Security Officer Flavio Aggio confirmed that the site spotted by Urbelis had been used in an attempt to steal passwords from multiple agency staffers. Cybersecurity firms including Romania's Bitdefender and Moscow-based Kaspersky said they have traced many of DarkHotel's operations to East Asia - an area that has been particularly affected by the coronavirus. Specific targets have included government employees and business executives in places such as China, North Korea, Japan, and the United States. Costin Raiu, head of global research and analysis at Kaspersky, could not confirm that DarkHotel was responsible for the WHO attack but said the same malicious web infrastructure had also been used to target other healthcare and humanitarian organizations in recent weeks.
Urbelis said he didn't know who was responsible, but two other sources briefed on the matter said they suspected an advanced group of hackers known as DarkHotel, which has been conducting cyber-espionage operations since at least 2007. When asked by Reuters about the incident, the WHO's Security Officer Flavio Aggio confirmed that the site spotted by Urbelis had been used in an attempt to steal passwords from multiple agency staffers. Cybersecurity firms including Romania's Bitdefender and Moscow-based Kaspersky said they have traced many of DarkHotel's operations to East Asia - an area that has been particularly affected by the coronavirus. Specific targets have included government employees and business executives in places such as China, North Korea, Japan, and the United States. Costin Raiu, head of global research and analysis at Kaspersky, could not confirm that DarkHotel was responsible for the WHO attack but said the same malicious web infrastructure had also been used to target other healthcare and humanitarian organizations in recent weeks.
Elite Hackers why not HACK BILLING ONLY! (Score:1)
Elite Hackers why not HACK BILLING ONLY!
Re:Elite Hackers why not HACK BILLING ONLY! (Score:5, Insightful)
Because whatever organized crime cartel gives them their orders, or is paying them, wants to sow chaos all over the world, because it gives them an opening to advance whatever agenda they might have.
Because some people just want to watch the world burn to the ground, 'for the lulz', or otherwise. Some of them actually think it's funny.
Maybe the 'agenda' has to do with furthering some countrys' political influence in the world, or reducing the influence of some other(s).
Maybe the 'agenda' has to do with a profit-oriented operation that goes deeper than just ransoming somebody elses' data, like crashing the economies of countries all over the globe. (Not being an economist or business major, I couldn't describe the mechanics of how that works).
Maybe the 'agenda' is to literally spread anarchy and chaos for it's own sake, because some people don't think that 'countries' or 'governments' or even 'civilization' is a good idea (vis-a-vis, 'people who just want to watch the world burn to the ground').
Maybe the 'agenda' has to do with bringing the biblical Apolcalypse, because there really are people in the world who believe it's a real thing, and worse: there are people who want it to happen, are looking forward to it happening, who think it's a good thing. Hard to believe, but they're out there, they believe that the Earth has all literally gone to Hell, that humans are just 'wicked' and 'sinful' and that it's time to end it all.
Re:Elite Hackers why not HACK BILLING ONLY! (Score:5, Funny)
Because whatever government gives them their orders, or is paying them, wants to sow chaos all over the world, because it gives them an opening to advance whatever agenda they might have. Because whatever organized crime cartel gives them their orders, or is paying them, wants to sow chaos all over the world, because it gives them an opening to advance whatever agenda they might have. Because some people just want to watch the world burn to the ground, 'for the lulz', or otherwise. Some of them actually think it's funny. Maybe the 'agenda' has to do with furthering some countrys' political influence in the world, or reducing the influence of some other(s). Maybe the 'agenda' has to do with a profit-oriented operation that goes deeper than just ransoming somebody elses' data, like crashing the economies of countries all over the globe. (Not being an economist or business major, I couldn't describe the mechanics of how that works). Maybe the 'agenda' is to literally spread anarchy and chaos for it's own sake, because some people don't think that 'countries' or 'governments' or even 'civilization' is a good idea (vis-a-vis, 'people who just want to watch the world burn to the ground'). Maybe the 'agenda' has to do with bringing the biblical Apolcalypse, because there really are people in the world who believe it's a real thing, and worse: there are people who want it to happen, are looking forward to it happening, who think it's a good thing. Hard to believe, but they're out there, they believe that the Earth has all literally gone to Hell, that humans are just 'wicked' and 'sinful' and that it's time to end it all.
Damn bro, have you learned nothing from the 280, formerly 140, character limit? Our attention spans are just not that long.
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Well, if you read the summary carefully, IMHO at this point it could be anybody since what they intend to collect and/or do isn't clear yet. It could even be some agencies that some would categorize as the "good guys" who want to install spyware on representatives of foreign countries for your own protection. The raise in email traffic between members of the WHO and the fact that the current situation may make users less vigilant is to consider also. Of course, it could also be what you say but the perpetra
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I saw a tweet from the WHO before it all kicked off saying that they considered no problem with China an covid, oh no, no pandemic approaching, China are lovely there;'s no way they could allow anything like this to happen.
WHO get paid a lot from China propaganda funds apparently.
So maybe it is someone looking for more info to use in the propaganda battle that is raging right now (remember kids, its racist to call the virus the Wuhan or Chinese virus, but African swine flu is quite fine)
When SARS escaped fr
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Of course, it could also be what you say but the perpetrators aren't always the bad guys wishing to end the world as we know it.
Sure, it makes more sense for criminals and/or Bad Actors for any cause/reason to only bite off what they can chew right now and otherwise leave the target still standing. Having a 'scorched earth' policy isn't very forward-thinking if you're a criminal.
Wouldn't it be nice... (Score:2)
The the various intelligence services across the world tracked down these, "Elite hackers" and eliminated them.
To me they are no difference than some Islamic Yahoo that deserves a missile up his ass.
WHO hacked according to the CIA (Score:2)
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WHO? Like, Ozzy Osbourne? (Score:2)
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Take 'em out (Score:5, Interesting)
These people need to be taken out. If you know of someone involved in this shit, turn them in. Cyber-interference with efforts to combat this thing need to made a capital crime. Maybe public hangings. Enough is enough.
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It's probably some nation state's "security" services doing it. Classified, above the law, nothing anyone can do about it.
Even just proving who did it will be hard so before you suggest it no we can't just launch cruise missiles at them. Anyway if it's Russia or China the retaliation would start an real war.
Not this time!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
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Do the WHO and CDC have anything to do with developing cures? Maybe the FDA... Although some of the most promising ones are being developed in Europe and China so if they pan out the FDA's role would only be to fast-track approval.
The WHO is there to help countries coordinate and share information. I suppose in that sense they help develop a cure.
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Do the WHO and CDC have anything to do with developing cures
ask Dr. Jimmy, perhaps?
he supposedly won't get fooled again.
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The WHO make a cure? Where have you been for the last 20 years.
the WHO is a talking shop, more interested in giving out education guidelines that tell teachers they should teach masturbation to 4 year olds (or was it unesco that did that, 2 cheeks of the same arse these days) and how important gender fluidity is to 5-8 year olds.
These NGOs employ a lot of people at vast salary to do fuck all, its no wonder they now are full of useless SJWs who think they can tell us what to do because they work for a once-r
What for? (Score:2, Interesting)
All the NGO, nations demanding the correct world use for wuflu over weeks.
The demands of Communist China.
Why the UN could not send experts to Communist China.
France, Italy and Sweden telling the UN they are open to Communist China for tourism, education and trade.
That they will enforce the use of the correct UN approved words for wuflu.
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"Why the UN could not send experts to Communist China, (rest of racist rant omitted)"
Bubba, you're typing this on a computer made in China, via a router made in China, in clothes made in China.
You're kinda funny that way.
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More to the point, bought from China.
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Aww, poor toolbags get upset when you point out that China isn't communist. Triggered, snowflake?
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Or one made in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam - China got too expensive for the cheap crap and was never good enough for the complicated stuff.
Elite ? (Score:3)
It they were elite you would have been hacked and you would not have known it...
Re:Elite ? (Score:5, Funny)
The logic is just not that strong with some people.
Elite not getting caught means low and slow (Score:2)
One thing I learned working with some state-level technicians is that the very best don't get caught *because* they go very, very slow. For example, you don't detect their scans because they don't scan most of your network in an hour or two; they blend in with regular traffic by checking the various ports on many over weeks.
When we asked a very good red team to do an abbreviated pen test in just three days, first they objected to the timeline and second we caught them in multiple ways. Some pretty good ha
It's an act of terrorism. (Score:2)
Find 'em and kill 'em. Violence is all humans really respect.
Hunting for vaccine research (Score:2)
Don't forget malware/ransomware... (Score:1)
Keep at it gaxx0rz (Score:1)
The shelbo isn't invincible
You'rs truly
Fallen bro