Researchers Report Hacker Attack Campaign against US, EU Targets

Security vendor FireEye has uncovered a series of attacks against targets in Europe and the US that occurred between 29 April and 27 May. FireEye says a group of Middle East-based hackers called the Molerats are responsible for the attacks, launched via remote-access tool exploits known as Poison Ivy. The group, which also engages in phishing attacks, is become more active, according to researchers, who traced Molerats attacks to campaigns launched against the BBC, an unnamed US financial institution, and government organizations in Israel, Latvia, Macedonia, New Zealand, Slovenia, Turkey, the UK, and the US. Although the attackers typically use free, commonly available malware, FireEye says the group appears to be adapting its attacks to be increasingly difficult to detect. (SlashDot)(eWeek)(FireEye)

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Report: Half of US Residents’ Data Stolen this Year

About half of the adults in the US had data stolen within the last 12 months according to a new report by the Ponemon Institute research organization and CNNMoney. About 47 percent of all adults in the US had some piece of personal data taken and 432 million of their accounts were hacked in the last year, according to estimates based on data from the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit consumer-assistance organization. Cyberattacks are growing so numerous, according to CNN, that the US public has grown numb to them. Among the high-profile incidents have been attacks against major companies such as AOL, Adobe, eBay, Michaels, Neiman Marcus, and Target. (Digital Trends)(CNNMoney)(Ponemon Institute)

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Report: Young Tech Firms’ Sluggish Growth is a Problem for US Economy

Young technology firms’ sluggish growth rate is a troubling sign for the US economy, according to a newly-released white paper from the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit organization that studies entrepreneurship and provides grants to award educational achievement and entrepreneurial success. The high-tech sector has traditionally sparked economic growth in recent decades. However, the Kauffman report finds the number of technology firms five years old and younger—which typically drive job creation—has fallen from a high of 113,000 in 2001 to about 80,000 now, as it was in the mid-1990s. One factor that may have skewed the number is the acquisition of young firms by established technology companies. The report also finds that technology firms’ job reallocation rate—which basically subtracts the rate at which jobs are lost from the rate at which they are created—has fallen to the lowest rate since the late 1970s “Because young high-tech firms are so disproportionately important for innovation and job creation, a slowdown in this sector calls for a new approach to fostering a stronger entrepreneurial economy,” said Dane Stangler, the Kauffman Foundation’s vice president of research and policy. (Reuters)(Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation)

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Report: Chinese Hackers Spy on Foreign Ministries

Chinese hackers reportedly eavesdropped on the computers of five European foreign ministries prior to the September 2013 G20 Summit of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major global economic powers, according to research by computer security firm FireEye. The hackers reportedly employed a phishing campaign that used malware-tainted e-mails, to load malicious code on victims’ PCs. FireEye researchers say they monitored the hackers’ main server used for about a week in late August 2013 but lost contact when operations moved to another server. FireEye did not identify the affected nations but said all were European Union members. The company reported the attacks to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has declined comment. FireEye used technical evidence, including the language used on the control server, to determine the hackers are based in China. According to FireEye, the Chinese attackers are allied with the Ke3chang hacking group, which has been active since 2010 and typically targets aerospace, energy, and manufacturing firms. Whether the group is government-supported is unclear. The Chinese government has reportedly continued to deny any claims it has hacked foreign governments. (Reuters)(CNET)(BBC)
 

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