Tag: All Regions

Legendary national security journalist Seymour Hersh has published a report this week alleging US intelligence helped the Ukrainians blow up the Kerch Bridge (or also, Crimean Bridge), which happened earlier this month and corresponded to President Putin refusing to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative deal. What’s more is that Hersh’s sources described that the US assisted in the initial, larger Kerch Bridge explosion which had initially temporarily disabled it in October 2022. “The Biden administration’s role in both attacks was…

After three decades, Florida investigators say they have found the man allegedly responsible for kidnapping and killing a 12-year-old girl as she was walking home from school—before leaving her body in a nearby orange grove. Jeffrey Norman Crum, 61, was indicted on several charges, including first-degree murder, in connection with the February 1993 death of Jennifer Odom, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday. Crum is already serving two life sentences in connection to a similar cold case a few…

The passing of a bill this week by the Israeli parliament, or Knesset, restricting the Supreme Court’s powers has garnered domestic opposition and even international calls for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right government to reconsider. The push for the bill, months in the making, has brought out thousands of Israelis to the streets, with the country’s opposition rallying around a call to “protect democracy”, and maintaining that the present government and its control of the Knesset mark a…

Intellexa (AKA Intellexa Anonymi Etaireia), an alliance of digital intelligence firms in Greece run by an ex-Israeli intel officer, and Cytrox AD (AKA Sytrox), which produces their Predator spyware, added to U.S. ‘entity list’ which already includes Israel’s NSO and Candiru. Late last year, Citizen Lab uncovered the hacking of an Egyptian dissident’s phone. The affected device was host to two forms of malware, one created by NSO Group and the other by Cytrox. According to the Citizen Lab investigation, these infections were…

A former intelligence officer-turned-whistleblower told Congress Wednesday that top government officials have hidden a top-secret program to find and study alien UFOs — and that he fears for his life for choosing to speak out. “I’ve suffered retaliation for my decision, but I am hopeful that my actions will ultimately lead to a positive outcome of increased transparency,” Air Force Maj. David Grusch told the House Oversight Committee Wednesday. Grusch claimed that a highly secret program exists to retrieve and…

A Russian fighter jet fired flares and struck another U.S. drone over Syrian airspace on Wednesday, the White House said, in a continued string of harassing maneuvers that have ratcheted up tensions between the global powers. It’s the sixth reported incident this month, and the second in the past 24 hours, in which the United States has said Russian warplanes have flown dangerously close to American manned and unmanned aircraft, putting crews and the planes at risk and raising questions as to…

Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to put Sam Bankman-Fried in jail ahead of his trial, which is scheduled to start in October. As he considers their request, the judge has imposed a broad, temporary gag order in the case. There were audible gasps in the courtroom on Wednesday when prosecutors told the judge they were seeking Bankman-Fried’s detention. His defense attorney, Mark S. Cohen, said he was only notified of the ask “one minute before court.” Bankman-Fried has been…

A T-38C Talon training jet crashed in eastern Mississippi last November after a bird collided with its windshield — shattering the canopy, breaking its engines and prompting the lone pilot to eject, an Air Force investigation has concluded. The pilot, an instructor with the 49th Fighter Training Squadron at Mississippi’s Columbus Air Force Base, sustained minor injuries but safely escaped the hobbled aircraft. The jet, valued at $8.5 million, was destroyed. It was an “unavoidable” incident that the experienced airman…

A Texas A&M University professor was suspended, investigated and ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing for allegedly criticizing Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick during a lecture about the opioid crisis. The probe has free speech advocates concerned about political influence over academia in Texas. Joy Alonzo, a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy, nearly lost her job for a remark she made while delivering a lecture at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston in March, the Texas Tribune reported….

Two Linux vulnerabilities introduced recently into the Ubuntu kernel create the potential for unprivileged local users to gain elevated privileges on a massive number of devices. Ubuntu is one of the most widely used Linux distributions, especially popular in the U.S., having an approximate user base of over 40 million. Two recent flaws tracked as CVE-2023-32629 and CVE-2023-2640 discovered by Wiz’s researchers S. Tzadik and S. Tamari were recently introduced into the operating system, impacting roughly 40% of Ubuntu’s userbase. CVE-2023-2640 is a…

The judge in the Hunter Biden case said Wednesday she is not ready to accept the plea deal struck between the president’s son and the Justice Department, and asked both parties to submit additional briefs and return to the court on a future date. Judge Maryellen Noreika demanded that the lawyers from both sides make clear that the deal does not convey broad immunity offered to Biden from prosecution on his business dealings. As a result, Hunter Biden pleaded not…

It’s so hot in Florida right now that the ocean temperature in one area just crossed into the triple digits. On Monday, a water temperature sensor in Manatee Bay near Everglades National Park recorded a temperature of 101.1 degrees, according to a park spokesperson. The startling data matched high water temperatures observed elsewhere in the Florida Bay recently, and the scorching conditions could pose a major risk to coral and other marine life, experts warn. “High temperatures over long periods…

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 what they claimed to be hundreds of documents stolen from the COI Cooperation Portal. SiegedSec post on Telegram Cybersecurity company CloudSEK analyzed…

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 Thomas West and Rina Amiri will hold meetings on Afghanistan in Astana, Kazakhstan, with representatives from Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic,…

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 Rybak as saying on Wednesday, “The court found Ilya Sachkov guilty under Article 275 of Russia’s Criminal Code and sentenced…

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 breaches. “Whether a company loses a factory in a fire — or millions of files in a cybersecurity incident —…