Mediaboss Marketing

Thank you

Your message has been sent.

There was an error emailing this page.

Annoyed with the U.S. missile strike last week on an airfield in Syria, among other things, hacker group Shadow Brokers resurfaced on Saturday and released what they said was the password to files containing suspected National Security Agency tools they had earlier tried to sell.

Is appearing you are abandoning your base, the movement, and the peoples who getting you elected, the group wrote in broken English in a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump posted online on Saturday.

The hacker group, believed by some security experts to have Russian links, released in January an arsenal of tools that appeared designed to spy on Windows systems, after trying to to sell these and other supposedly Windows and Unix hacking tools for bitcoin.

The group also announced its retirement, which coming a few days before Trump's inauguration led to speculation that the Shadow Brokers was part of the hacking operations Russia had set up to allegedly help the new president get elected.

The group shot to prominence in August after it dumped hacking tools for routers and firewall products that they said came from the Equation Group, a cyberespionage team that is suspected to work for the NSA. The group published sample files as well as those to which they would provide the password to the winning bidder in the auction.

The U.S. attacked a Syrian government airfield last week in response to reports of an alleged chemical weapon attack by the government that killed many people including children. Trump said the chemical attack had been launched from the airfield.

Quick review of the #ShadowBrokers leak of Top Secret NSA tools reveals it's nowhere near the full library, but there's still so.... much here that NSA should be able to instantly identify where this set came from and how they lost it," former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden said in Twitter messages.

If they can't, it's a scandal, he added.

The strike on the airfield has also irked Russia, a backer of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The Shadow Brokers' criticism of the move is likely to further fuel speculation that they are backed by the Russian government, though there have also been theories that they are cleverly disguising their identity with their broken English on Twitter and in their posts to pass off as Russians.

The group on Sunday denied it was backed by Russia stating that: If theshadowbrokers being Russian dont you think wed be in all those U.S. government reports on Russian hacking? they wrote.

The NSA could not be immediately reached for comment after business hours.

John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for the IDG News Service.

Read more:
Angry Shadow Brokers release password for suspected NSA hacking tools - PCWorld

White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster on Sunday characterized the decision to relocate a U.S. aircraft carrier strike group to the Sea of Japan as "prudent," given North Korea's "pattern of provocative behavior."

"Well, it's prudent to do it, isn't it?" McMaster told Fox News' Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday," adding that "the president has asked to be prepared to give him a full range of options to remove that threat the American people and to our allies and partners in the region."

On Saturday, Adm. Harry Harris, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, redirected the USS Carl Vinson strike group from Singapore to the Sea of Japan, due east of the Korean Peninsula. The Navy said the strike group "will operate in the Western Pacific rather than executing previously planned port visits to Australia."

The strike group consists of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, the guided missile destroyers USS Wayne E. Meyer and USS Michael Murphy, and the guided missile cruiser USS Lake Champlain.

North Korea has already conducted four missile launches this year, marking a considerable uptick in frequency compared to recent years. The U.S. government and its allies have repeatedly condemned North Korea's nuclear and missile program as illegal.

Originally posted here:
NSA McMaster: 'Prudent' to send strike group to Korean Peninsula - ABC News

Last Updated On 10 April,201710:39 am

WikiLeaks released hundreds of NSA cyber weapons variants.

(Daily Dunya) - WikiLeaks has unearthed documents stating USs National Security Agency (NSA) has allegedly spied on Pakistani civilian and military leadership in the past.

NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collection, and processing of information and data for foreign intelligence and counterintelligence purposes in the USA.

Edward Snowden, a former NSA employee, has also suggested in the past that NSA used wiretapping and cyber weapons to spy on many international leaders.

On Saturday, WikiLeaks revealed hundreds of cyber weapons variants which include code pointing towards NSA hacking Pakistan mobile system.

The link shared in the tweet by WikiLeaks official account points to a Github repository containing the decrypted files pertaining to NSA cyber weapons. A complete analysis of these files by a cyber security expert is needed to further highlight the severity of the situation.

Initial impressions, however, seem to indicate that these leaks will certainly provide more substance to previous allegations against NSA.

Read this article:
U.S. NSA hacked Pakistani mobile system: WikiLeaks - DunyaNews Pakistan

Deputy national security adviser KT McFarland is expected to leave her position and accept an ambassadorship to Singapore, a senior administration official confirms to ABC News.

The move is the latest indication that National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster is taking full control over the National Security Council, following up on last week's decision to remove Steve Bannon from the principals committee.

McFarland is a former Fox News commentator brought on to the job by Trump's former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn, who resigned after reports that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about the nature of his conversations with Russian officials during the campaign.

McFarland is expected to remain at her post for the next two weeks before President Trump formally submits her as a nominee for the ambassadorship.

According to the same official, McFarland is "excited" to accept the position, and McMaster thought she did a great job as deputy national security adviser.

The official characterized the move as a "promotion," because instead of working as a deputy, she will be a leader in a "critical diplomatic outpost."

ABC News' Erin Dooley contributed to this report.

View post:
KT McFarland to depart as deputy NSA, take ambassadorship to Singapore, official confirms - ABC News

Joseph Baucum , jbaucum@pnj.com 8:00 a.m. CT April 10, 2017

University of West Florida students Ian Briggs, left, and Jessica Aguilar work on a computer program in the Battle Lab at UWF on Wednesday, April 5, 2017.(Photo: Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com)Buy Photo

The University of West Florida's role inevolving the Southeastas a power in cybersecurity workforcedevelopment will soon expand exponentially.

In a joint sponsorship betweenthe National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, the university's Center for Cybersecurity has been designated as the National Center Academic of Excellence (CAE) Regional ResourceCenter for the Southeast region.

Only six institutions were given the regional designation. As part of the honor, the universitywill serve as the CAE Regional Resource Center for all colleges and universities in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.

"The goal of the National Security Agencys CAE office is to increase the number of qualified cybersecurity professionals by expanding the number of CAE institutions," said Eman El-Sheikh, director of theCenter for Cybersecurity."Our missionwill be to provide leadership to do that in the Southeast."

The university plans to host workshops and professional development activities in the local area and across the region in its role as a resource center. They include a CAE mentor and peer reviewer workshop in June at theNational Cyber Summit in Huntsville, Alabama, andaworkshop on securingsoftware development for faculty in Pensacola in the fall. It will alsocreate an online resource portal thatcolleges and universities in the Southeast can access.

At left, Dustin Mink, University of West Florida assistant director of the Center for Cybersecurity, and student Nathan Earley talk on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, in the UWF Battle Lab.(Photo: Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com)

With cyberattacksescalatingastechnology advances, a qualifiedworkforce in cybersecurity is critical. According to the Department of Homeland Security's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Careers and Studies, aboutone out of every five Americans havebeen victimized by cybercrime. Cyberattacks also cost the average U.S. company more than $15.4 million annually.

To ensure enough qualified professionals exist, El-Sheikh said the National Security Agency's goal is to increase the number of CAE institutions across the country. More than 200 colleges and universities across the U.S. and Puerto Ricoare already designated as a CAE based on their degree programs and close alignment to specific cybersecurity-related criteria and curriculum.

But a substantial amount more could benefit from earning the designation.

"Currently less than 5 percent of institutions have it, and in our world, that designation is a gold star," El-Sheikh said.

Martha Saunders, University of West Florida president, expects the university'sdesignation as a CAE Regional Resource Center to further its mission of being a community resource. She anticipatescybersecurity to change and be redefined dozens of times over the next few years, but she saidas changes in the industryoccur, the university will always play a handin developing the kind of workforce that is needed.

"There are lots of centers for cybersecurity across the U.S. that could have been picked, but they chose us," she said of the CAE Regional Resource Center designation. "I find that encouragingnot just for the university, but for the whole community."

Read or Share this story: http://on.pnj.com/2oReQhd

Read the rest here:
NSA awards UWF Center for Cybersecurity with designation - Pensacola News Journal