Category: Spotlight

NATO has confirmed that its IT team is investigating claims about an alleged data-theft hack on the Communities of Interest (COI) Cooperation Portal by a hacking group known as SiegedSec. The COI Cooperation Portal (dnbl.ncia.nato.int) is the military alliance’s unclassified information-sharing and collaboration environment, dedicated to supporting NATO organizations and member nations. Yesterday, the hacking group ‘SiegedSec’ posted on Telegram…

Department of State says diplomats will discuss humanitarian issues and ‘critical interests’ with Afghan group officials. Washington, DC – United States diplomats will meet with Taliban representatives in Qatar this week, the US Department of State has announced, in what will be rare, direct talks between Washington and the ruling Afghan group. The Department of State said on Wednesday that…

Ilya Sachkov who helped found one of Russia’s most prominent cybersecurity firms was accused of passing information to foreign spies. A Russian court has jailed for 14 years a top cybersecurity executive for treason in a case which centred on allegations he had passed classified information to foreign spies. Following a closed-door trial, the AFP news agency quoted Judge Alexander…

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted new rules requiring publicly traded companies to disclose cyberattacks within four business days after determining they’re material incidents. According to the Wall Street watchdog, material incidents are those that a public company’s shareholders would consider important. The SEC also adopted new regulations mandating foreign private issuers to provide equivalent disclosures following cybersecurity…

The French-Italian owner of the Ray-Ban and Oakley eyewear brands was sued for allegedly scheming with competitors to inflate prices by as much as 1,000%. Paris-based EssilorLuxottica SA, the world’s largest eyewear company, is the “instigator and primary enforcer” of the price-fixing scheme in the US market, forming illegal agreements with Frames for America Inc. and For Eyes Optical Co.,…

The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region has said that Ukraine fired cluster munitions at a village near the Ukrainian border on Friday, but that there were no casualties or damage. The governor made the statement on Saturday during a daily briefing on his Telegram channel, without providing visual evidence. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities. “In Belgorod district,…

BAGHDAD — Hundreds of protesters attempted to storm Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses foreign embassies and the seat of Iraq’s government, early Saturday following reports an ultranationalist group burned a copy of the Quran in front of the Iraqi Embassy in Copenhagen. Security forces pushed back protesters, who blocked the Jumhuriya bridge leading to the Green Zone, preventing…

The USS Canberra is the latest military collaboration between the two countries as they join forces to combat China’s influence in the Pacific. The United States has commissioned a warship in Sydney, Australia, the first time a US Navy vessel joined active service at a foreign port, as the two close allies step up their military ties in response to…

In just the last five years, the “right to repair” movement has shifted from nerdy niche to the mainstream, thanks in part to significant support from the Biden FTC and efforts in states like Minnesota and New York to pass new right to repair laws, making it easier and less expensive for consumers and independent repair shops to gain affordable access…

The U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that Amazon has agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle alleged children’s privacy laws violations related to the company’s Alexa voice assistant service. Amazon has offered Alexa voice-activated products and services targeted at children under 13 years old since May 2018. In May 2023, the Federal Trade…

The president of Stanford University has stepped down in the wake of an independent investigation that found “substandard practices” in research papers he was involved in. Marc Tessier-Lavigne, the leader of the prestigious California university, issued a statement on Wednesday saying he would leave his post, effective August 31. Media reports in the United States had raised questions about “falsified…

Backstory: Epstein continued socializing with A-listers despite conviction – media, New reports on Jeffrey Epstein demonstrate deep-going corruption of US ruling elite The U.S. Virgin Islands government is seeking at least $190 million in penalties from JPMorgan Chase in connection to its banking relationship with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In a new legal filing on Friday, the USVI’s Attorney General…

Recent developments raise the prospect that British intelligence agents could finally face justice for their little-known role in the CIA’s global torture program. Britain’s foreign and domestic intelligence apparatus is facing scrutiny by a tribunal tasked with intelligence oversight. On May 26, London’s infamously opaque Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT) unanimously issued a landmark ruling which means the complaints of two…

The “missing” witness long touted by Republicans in Congress as the missing link to their probe into alleged Biden family corruption was accused Monday of being an unregistered foreign agent for China and international arms trafficker while violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and lying to investigators, among a laundry list of other federal charges. Dual U.S.-Israeli citizen Gal Luft had…

NEW YORK – Standard Chartered is ramping up its bullish Bitcoin prediction, targeting as much as US$120,000 (S$161,000) by the end of 2024 – almost quadruple the current price – as increasingly cash-rich miners reduce their sales of the token. “Increased miner profitability per BTC mined means they can sell less while maintaining cash inflows, reducing net BTC supply and…

TAIPEI/BENGALURU – Taiwan’s Foxconn has withdrawn from a US$19.5 billion (SS26 billion) semiconductor joint venture with Indian metals-to-oil conglomerate Vedanta, it said on Monday, in a setback to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chipmaking plans for India. The world’s largest contract electronics maker signed a pact with Vedanta last year to set up semiconductor and display production plants in Mr Modi’s…