Cybercriminals Using AI to Create Phishing Emails, Canadian Official Says

Hackers and propagandists are wielding artificial intelligence (AI) to create malicious software, draft convincing phishing emails and spread disinformation online, Canada's top cybersecurity official told Reuters, early evidence that the technological revolution sweeping Silicon Valley has also been adopted by cybercriminals. In an interview, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security Head Sami Khoury said that his agency had seen AI being used "in phishing emails, or crafting emails in a more focused way, in malicious code (and) in misinformation and disinformation."

Kevin Mitnick, Once Called 'Most Wanted Computer Outlaw,' Dies

Kevin Mitnick, who at the dawn of widespread internet usage in the mid-1990s became the nation’s archetypal computer hacker — obsessive but clever, shy but mischievous and threatening to an uncertain degree — and who later used his skills to become “chief hacking officer” of a cybersecurity firm, died on Sunday in Pittsburgh. Described by The New York Times in 1995 as “the nation’s most wanted computer outlaw,” Mr. Mitnick was a fugitive for more than two years.

North Korean Hackers Target U.S. Cryptocurrency Companies

A North Korean government-backed hacking group penetrated an American IT management company and used it as a springboard to target cryptocurrency companies, the firm and cybersecurity experts said. The hackers broke into Louisville, Colorado-based JumpCloud in late June and used their access to the company’s systems to target "fewer than 5" of its clients, it said in a blog post.

Chinese Hackers Gain Access to Email Account for U.S. Ambassador

Hackers linked to Beijing accessed the email account of the U.S. ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, in an attack that is believed to have compromised at least hundreds of thousands of individual U.S. government emails, according to people familiar with the matter. Daniel Kritenbrink, the assistant secretary of state for East Asia, was also hacked in the cyber-espionage attack, the people said.

Executives from U.S. Chip Companies Discuss China Policy with Secretary of State

U.S. chip company executives met with top Biden administration officials to discuss China policy, the State Department and sources said, as the most powerful semiconductor lobby group urged a halt to more curbs under consideration. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talked with chip company chief executives about the industry and supply chains after his recent trip to China, a department spokesperson told reporters.

Pentagon Acknowledges Emails Intended for .mil Addresses Sent to .ml Instead

Millions of emails meant for U.S. military personnel were inadvertently sent to email accounts in Mali over the past 10 years due to typos caused by how similar Pentagon email addresses are to the domain for the African country, according to multiple reports. The misdirected emails included sensitive information such as diplomatic documents, medical data, maps and photos of installations, identity document information, passwords, tax returns and hotel reservations for senior officers, according to Johannes Zuurbier, a Dutch technologist who discovered the problem in 2013.

Prosecutors Say Teenage Hacker Blackmailed Developer of Grand Theft Auto

A teenage member of the Lapsus$ hacking group hacked Uber and fintech firm Revolut then blackmailed the developers of best-selling videogame Grand Theft Auto, prosecutors have told a London court. Arion Kurtaj, 18, is said to have targeted Revolut and Uber in September 2022, accessing around 5,000 Revolut customers' information and causing nearly $3 million of damage to Uber.

Microsoft Signs Agreement with Sony to Keep Call of Duty on PlayStation

Sony has signed a binding agreement with Microsoft to keep Call of Duty on its PlayStation gaming consoles after closing the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Microsoft said. “We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said on Twitter.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Ninth Circuit Denies FTC's Appeal to Stop Microsoft-Activision Deal

In a victory for Microsoft, the U.S. Appeals Court for the 9th Circuit denied the Federal Trade Commission’s motion to temporarily stop Microsoft from closing its $68.7 billion acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard. Microsoft is still working to resolve concerns about the transaction from the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority.

  • Read the article: CNBC

Twitter Sues Four Entities in Texas for 'Unlawfully Scraping Data'

Twitter has filed a lawsuit against four unnamed entities in Texas for data scraping, a move that showed why the Elon Musk-owned social network recently placed daily limits on the number of tweets a user could read. The complaint by Musk's X Corp, which owns Twitter, alleged that the entities indulged in "unlawfully scraping data" and sought monetary relief of more than $1 million, the lawsuit said.

Lawsuit Says Texas Ban on TikTok on State Devices Violates First Amendment

A ban of TikTok on state devices and networks in Texas was challenged by First Amendment lawyers, who said that the law violated the Constitution by limiting research and teaching at public universities. The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed the lawsuit on behalf of a group called the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, whose members include Texas college professors who say their work was compromised after they lost access to TikTok on campus Wi-Fi and university-issued computers.

FTC Opens Consumer Protection Investigation of ChatGPT's Maker, OpenAI

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an expansive investigation into OpenAI, probing whether the maker of the popular ChatGPT bot has run afoul of consumer protection laws by putting personal reputations and data at risk. The agency this week sent the San Francisco company a 20-page demand for records about how it addresses risks related to its AI models, according to a document reviewed by The Washington Post.

Britain's Competition Regulator May Approve 'Modified' Microsoft-Activision Deal

Britain's competition regulator said a restructured deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard could satisfy its concerns, subject to a new investigation, marking a climbdown in its opposition to the biggest gaming deal in history. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in April became the first regulator to block the $69 billion deal, but it appeared to offer an alternative outcome after a U.S. court ruling saying the deal could go ahead left Britain's regulator isolated.

Chinese Hackers Target Specific U.S. Government Email Accounts, Microsoft Says

Chinese hackers intent on collecting intelligence on the United States gained access to government email accounts, Microsoft disclosed. The attack was targeted, according to a person briefed on the intrusion into the government networks, with the hackers going after specific accounts rather than carrying out a broad-brush intrusion that would suck up enormous amounts of data.

Judge Denies FTC's Motion to Stop Microsoft's Acquisition of Activision Blizzard

A federal judge in San Francisco has denied the Federal Trade Commission's motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft from completing its acquisition of video game publisher Activision Blizzard. The deal isn't completely in the clear, though. The FTC can now bring the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, and the two companies must find a way forward to resolve opposition from the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom.

  • Read the article: CNBC

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