DIRTY LAUNDRY BEAR: The Russians have apparently discovered a new way to air other people's dirty laundry. The NSA, FBI, CISA and a long roster of allied cyber agencies are warning that a Russian state-sponsored hacking group nicknamed “Laundry Bear” is exploiting vulnerabilities in something called the Zimbra Collaboration Suite, which is a popular enterprise email platform used by governments, universities and businesses. The nasty twist? In some vulnerable versions, simply opening or previewing a specially crafted email can be enough to compromise an account—no clicking on a link or attachment required. The campaign is aimed at stealing emails, contacts, credentials and other sensitive information from organizations that haven't patched their systems. Consider it a reminder that in cyberspace, even opening the laundry basket can leave you with a mess.
ATTENTION WOMEN AND CHILDREN: Julia Davis, writing in The Daily Beast, notes that Kremlin propagandists are quietly rewriting who qualifies as fit for service in Russia. On his Sunday broadcast, Federation Council member Alexei Kondratiev argued that the Motherland deserves defenders regardless of wounds, sickness, or ailments. Host Vladimir Solovyov added that age and gender shouldn't matter either, invoking nostalgia for the Soviet women and children who once manned WWII rooftop defenses.
NO FACE TIME FOR THE FLEET: Navy Times has the skinny on a new USN directive aimed at protecting leadership, sailors and their families from foreign intelligence services and other online snoops. Commands led by vice admirals and below have been ordered to strip leadership portraits and biographies from public-facing websites. The Navy says America's adversaries have gotten very good at vacuuming up publicly available information to "track, profile, and target" personnel, meaning those smiling official headshots and career summaries may have become an unexpected OPSEC liability. The purge reportedly covers commanding officers, executive officers, chiefs of staff, deputies and command master chiefs. Meanwhile four-star commands and official Navy leadership pages get to keep their online glamour shots. Internal, non-public sites can still host the information. And now, the Associated Press reports that the Navy's Chief of Personnel has quietly widened the blackout to cover every sailor's service record — not just the brass. Rank, duty stations, awards are all now off-limits to reporters. That’s the kind of information that the service has provided for decades and that Pentagon privacy rules explicitly say is fair to release. The decision was announced right after the AP asked for a Blue Angels pilot's bio following a low-altitude flyover controversy. First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams calls the decision "flatly inconsistent with the First Amendment."
TEXAS RICHES FOR CELL-PHONE SNITCHES: Listen up. Texas reportedly dropped $4.5 million on four specially equipped vehicles that can reportedly trick nearby phones into checking in — suspect or not. According to Forbes, the Israeli firm Cognyte sold Texas state police four vehicles rigged with something called FalcoNet, a gadget that fakes being a cell tower so every phone nearby connects to it. (Apparently, no warrant required.) The cell tower simulator can be hidden in a vehicle, placed in a backpack for on foot missions or attached to a helicopter according to the reporting - which explicitly doesn’t say what Texas authorities are planning to use the device for though Texas isn't the only reported customer: DoD (AKA DoW) reportedly bought a backpack unit, and vans have gone to Albuquerque and New York State Police according to Forbes.
CARS OUT, TRICYCLES IN — Cuba, once known for streets teeming with vintage American cars, has witnessed a transformation in the way Cubans get around due to a crushing energy shortage on the island. Now, the streets are full of solar-powered electric tricycles. Because of a U.S. blockade and sanctions, solar-powered tricycles are running the same routes that buses once used. Many Cubans have sold their vehicles in order to be able to afford the Chinese-made tricycles.
THE NINJA TURTLES — China’s Ministry of State Security has warned on WeChat that “spy turtles and sensor-studded fish” are allegedly prowling China’s coast seeking to collect intelligence on Beijing’s activities, according to the New York Post. The turtles apparently are “collecting oceanographic data” and then transiting the information to foreign satellites. The MSS accuses foreign actors of crafting “underwater maps” and monitoring maritime activity, which threaten the mainland.
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