The State Sponsored Podcast

Could Cyberwar Make the World Safer?Uhhhhh, no.

But an alternative perspective sees cyberwar as an opportunity to decrease global violence. Could such tactics shift war’s focus away from human casualties?

In other words, can nations settle for slugging it out online, rather than with guns and missiles?

Fighting digitally offers a unique opportunity: the continuation of politics by other means, without the physical invasion of a sovereign territory or the inevitable sacrifice of lives. Tempered by responsible use and appropriate controls, cyberwarfare is a safer and more flexible strategic alternative, one critical step between sanctions and bombs.

“The purpose of warfare is not to fight; it is to achieve a political objective,” said Nora Bensahel, a visiting professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “If you can achieve this objective without kinetic conflict, so much the better.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/opinion/cyberwar-world-safety.html?smid=tw-share

A secret SAS hacker squad was made public after defence officials accidentally published a job advert with full details of the role.

“What is the colour of the boat house in hereford?”

The secretive Computer Network Operations (CNO) Exploitation Unit had its cover blown on the MoD's external job ad website.

Any "extraordinary talented electronics" engineers interested in the £33,000-a-year vacancy would have seen the address and phone number for SAS barracks.

Based in Hereford, the £33k-per-year post was to be filled by an "extraordinary talented electronics engineer" [sic] to "work alongside some of the best scientists and engineers within defence and will be tasked with delivering prototype solutions directly to the soldiers and officers of a unique and specialised military unit."

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/sas-hacker-mab5-mod-online-job-advert/

Nigerian Threat Actors Solicit Employees to Deploy Ransomware for Cut of ProfitsThe insider threat is the biggest threat….

Researchers have discovered a Nigerian threat actor trying to turn an organization’s employees into insider threats by soliciting them to deploy ransomware for a cut of the ransom profits.

Researchers at Abnormal Security identified and blocked a number of emails sent earlier this month to some its customers that offered people $1 million in bitcoin to install DemonWare ransomware. The would-be attackers said they have ties to the DemonWare ransomware group, also known as Black Kingdom or DEMON, they said.

“In this latest campaign, the sender tells the employee that if they’re able to deploy ransomware on a company computer or Windows server, then they would be paid $1 million in bitcoin, or 40% of the presumed $2.5 million ransom,” researchers wrote in a report published Thursday about the campaign. “The employee is told they can launch the ransomware physically or remotely.”

https://threatpost.com/nigerian-solicits-employees-ransomware-profits/168849/

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Javvad Malik, Scott Terban