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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

The Cipher Brief curates open source information from around the world that impacts national security. Here's a look at today's headlines, broken down by region of the world:  

In the Americas

Biden, McCarthy Fail to Reach Deal on Debt Ceiling. With just 9 days left before a potentially crippling U.S. default, President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced they could not reach an agreement Monday over precisely how to raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling. Both sides agreed to keep discussing the matter. McCarthy said after the talks that negotiators are "going to get together, work through the night" to find a solution. The nation has until June 1 to increase a federal borrowing limit or face an unprecedented debt default, which could trigger a recession. Deutsche Welle Reuters

Renewal of Foreign Surveillance Law Complicated by FBI Misuse of Spy Tool.  Efforts to renew Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act have been complicated by the revelation that the FBI misused a foreign-spying tool.  Section 702 allows the National Security Agency to intercept communications of foreign terrorist or espionage suspects in US telecom and internet networks.  This tool also gathers data about American citizens in the US, namely when they communicate with people abroad.  A secret court that oversees foreign surveillance found that the FBI accessed this data during investigations into those involved in the January 6 attack on the US capitol and the 2020 George Floyd protests.  In addition to the revelation of the FBI’s misuse of the tool in this way, the court also found that US intelligence agencies are using new, unspecified “sensitive techniques” for foreign surveillance.  The Biden administration is pushing for renewal of Section 702, without changes to maintain vital counterterrorism and cybersecurity operations.  While a majority of lawmakers support this, the court findings are causing some to pause and reconsider if Section 702 should undergo reform for better transparency, and to protect US citizens’ privacy.  Wall Street Journal

TikTok Sues Montana Over State-Wide Ban.  TikTok on Monday filed a suit against Montana to block the state’s ban on the video app.  TikTok argues that the measure will violate Americans’ First Amendment right to free expression, along with other federal laws.  Montana became the first US state to impose a full ban on the app, which is set to go into effect on January 1.  Supporters of the ban say it will protect Montanans’ private data and sensitive personal information from being accessed by the Chinese government.  CNN Reuters Washington Post

Former UK PM Johnson in Texas to Shore Up Ukraine Support.  Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended a private lunch in Dallas, Texas with top Texan conservative figures to rally Republican support for Ukraine.  Johnson reportedly told fellow guests at the lunch: “You are backing the right horse. Ukraine is going to win. They are going to defeat Putin.”  Johnson’s comments at the lunch, which was organized by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), add to his past remarks and efforts aimed at lobbying US lawmakers to continue sending military aid to Ukraine.  His Texas trip comes at a critical time when US conservative voices are questioning the efficacy of the billions in support for Ukraine.  Politico

Colombia Partially Suspends Ceasefire with EMC Armed Group.  The Colombian government suspended a ceasefire with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) armed group in Colombia’s southeastern provinces.  The move came after members of the EMC in the country’s southeast reportedly killed four Indigenous teenagers who were forcibly recruited into the group.  The government maintains that it will maintain the ceasefire with the EMC in other areas of the country and with other armed groups.  The EMC said the move has shown the Colombian military is violating the peace process with armed groups.  Reuters

Mexico Launching Temporary Work Visa for Central Americans.  Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced Monday that Mexico will launch a temporary work visa program for Central Americans this week.  The program will offer employment for at least one year to fill skilled labor jobs on public infrastructure projects.  Obrador did not specify how many visas will be issued or which projects will be supported. The new program is part of Mexican efforts to manage the surge of migrants from Central America.  Reuters

Western Europe

German Spy Chief Sees No Imminent Threat to Putin’s Rule.  Bruno Kahl, head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency (BND) says that he does not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule is in jeopardy over the Ukrainian war and argues that public criticism of the management of the war amounts to nothing more than “routine disputes” among Russians.  Kahl says that he believes that Putin has enough equipment and ammunition to wage a long-term war in Ukraine, and that Putin could ultimately prevail if the west does not continue to support Ukraine.  Deutsche Welle 

Intelligence Agencies Facing Recruitment Difficulties Over Remote Work, Personal Phone Demands.  Bruno Kahl, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service BND, on Monday said that intelligence services are finding it hard to recruit new members following the Covid-19 pandemic.  Kahl said that prospective employees — especially young people — are seeking remote work options and do not want to part with their personal cellphones in the workplace, which he said will be difficult to accommodate for intelligence work.  Kahl added that this recruitment challenge is compounded by the fact that baby boomers are heading into retirement.  (Editor’s Note: Linda Weissgold, former Director for Analysis at CIA, spoke in part about how the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the agency’s work in a recent brief for Subscriber+Members. Read more here.) Reuters The Cipher Brief

Central and Eastern Europe

Russia Says Belgorod Border Region Secure Following Second Day of Fighting.  An armed group launched an attack on Russia’s southwestern Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, on Monday.  Administrative and residential buildings have reportedly been damaged.  Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov blamed an Ukrainian army “sabotage group” that had crossed into Russian territory for the attack.  Gladkov added that eight people have been injured in the attack but that there have been no civilian deaths, and a “majority” of the population in border villages have fled.  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Russian forces have been deployed to push out the “Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group” in the region.  Two paramilitary groups of anti-Putin Russian nationals aligned with the Ukrainian army — the Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) — claimed responsibility for the attack.  In a Telegram post, the groups said they have “liberated” a settlement in the Belgorod region.  Ukrainian military intelligence affirmed that Russian partisans were behind the attack, saying that “opposition-minded Russian citizens” have launched an operation in Belgorod and are working to establish a “security zone” along the Russia-Ukraine border that will protect Ukraine from further cross-border attacks by Russian forces.  The Russian Ministry of Defense later reported on Tuesday that Russian forces have pushed units blamed for the attack back into Ukrainian territory and that “more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists” were killed.  Governor Gladkov added that the “counterterrorism operation” is “cleaning up” the area and that 12 civilians had been injured in the fighting.  Al Jazeera BBC CNN Kyiv Independent New York Times Reuters

F16 Training for Ukrainian Pilots is Underway in Several EU Countries.  The EU’s top foreign affairs official Josep Borrell says that Ukrainian pilots are undergoing training on F16’s.  Borrell, speaking before a gathering of EU defense ministers in Brussels, says the training will take time but “the sooner the better.”  The Dutch defense minister says that countries who are part of the “fighter jet coalition” which includes Denmark, the UK, Belgium and others are working on a concrete timeline and that following the recent approval of the United States, the training effort will speed up.  CNN Deutsche Welle

Russian Minister Dies After Trip to Cuba, Adding to String of Unexplained Deaths of Russian Elites.  Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister of Science and Higher Education, Pyotr Kucherenko, died on Saturday while on a trip to Cuba.  His family says his death may have been from a heart condition but it is still uncertain.  A forensic examination will reportedly be conducted on Wednesday.  Kucherenko’s death is the latest in a series of mysterious deaths among top Russian officials and high-profile businessmen from unknown causes.  A journalist who fled Russia after its invasion of Ukraine said in a Telegram post that he had spoken with Kucherenko “just days” before leaving Russia.  The journalist said that Kucherenko warned him: “Save yourself and your family. Leave as soon as possible.”  When asked if he wanted to flee Russia too, Kucherenko allegedly told the journalist: “It is no longer possible to do so.”  CNN

Belarusian Blogger Detained on Ryanair Flight Pardoned.  Belarusian state media reports that a Belarusian opposition blogger who was arrested in 2021 was pardoned on Monday.  The blogger, Roman Protasevich, was detained after his Ryanair overflight was forced by Belarusian air authorities to land in Minsk.  Protasevich, who had worked as a journalist and reported on mass protests against Belarusian President Alexander Lukasehnko following a 2020 presidential election, had initially been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges including inciting terrorism, organizing mass unrest and slandering Lukashenko.  Euronews Reuters

Hungary’s Orban Says ‘No Victory’ in Ukraine.  Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Tuesday that the Ukraine war is a “failure of the world” and that it is “obvious that there is no victory for the Ukrainians on the battlefield.”  Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, Orban said that the most important thing now is to “save lives” by securing a ceasefire followed by negotiations, rather than “having stronger involvement in the war” and having a continued conflict.  Hungary has not backed all Western efforts related to the Ukraine war, at times declining to support EU sanctions against Russia or arguing against further military aid to Kyiv.  Al Jazeera Bloomberg Politico

Bulgaria Parties Form Coalition Government.  Bulgaria’s two largest political parties have agreed to form a coalition government with a rotating prime minister on a nine-month basis to end a political deadlock. The parties, the center-right GERB and pro-Western bloc led by “We continue to change,” have been in negotiations on how to move forward from an April election that saw both sides win a sizable portion of Bulgaria’s 240-seat parliament short of a majority, with GERB winning 69 seats and the “We continue to change” block winning 64 seats.  The uncertainty has delayed Bulgaria’s process in adopting the euro and approving a 2023 budget and has hampered the country’s ability to use EU post-pandemic recovery funds.  Associated Press Reuters RFE/RL

Turkey Third-Place Candidate Endorses Erdogan in Runoff.  The third-place candidate in last week’s Turkish presidential election, Sinan Ogan, has endorsed incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the run-off election scheduled for Sunday.  Ogan, a hardline nationalist, won 5.2 percent of the vote in the initial election.  While he was far below Erdogan’s 49.5% support and the second-place opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s 44.9% support, analysts said that Ogan was in a “kingmaker” position as his supporters would push the scale in favor of whoever he backed.  In Ogan’s endorsement of Erdogan, he said Kilicdaroglu had “failed to convince us about the future” and that continued government under Erdogan would help the “non-stop struggle (against) terrorism.”  Al Jazeera Reuters

US Senators Say Kosovo Must Implement Serbia Peace Deal to Join NATO.  Two US senators said Monday that Kosovo must implement the Western-brokered peace deal with Serbia if it wants to join NATO.  The senators — Democrats Chris Murphy, who is a member of the foreign relations committee, and Gary Peters, who is a member of the armed services committee — made the comment during a congressional delegation visit to the Balkans.  Murphy specifically said that NATO members Romania, Spain, Greece and Slovakia — which have yet to recognize Kosovo as a state — will only be convinced to allow Kosovo into the military alliance if it settles the conflict with neighboring Serbia.  Ethnic tensions in the region still run high; despite the peace deal, the Kosovo and Serbia governments continue to clash, especially over matters concerning the 50,000 Serbs in northern Kosovo who still do not accept Kosovo’s statehood.  Reuters

Asia and Oceania

Russian Prime Minister Visits China.  Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin is in China for a two-day visit focused on expanding trade ties between Moscow and Beijing.  Mishustin is leading a delegation with several Russians subject to Western sanctions, including Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, who handles energy issues, and several tycoons from Russia’s fertilizer, steel and mining sectors.  Mishustin addressed a Russia-China business forum in Shanghai on Tuesday, where he praised Chinese trade for helping Russia lessen “dependence on the dollar” and said that Russia is set to increase agricultural exports to China.  He is set to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday to help finalize bilateral deals on energy, infrastructure and agriculture cooperation.  Al Jazeera Bloomberg Nikkei Asia

Blinken Signs PNG Defense Pact, Palau COFA.  US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister James Marape signed a US-PNG bilateral defense cooperation agreement on Monday.  While details on the pact have yet to be released, it is expected to grant the US military access to PNG bases, ports and airports.  Opponents of the deal in PNG say the government lacked transparency during negotiations and that the pact puts PNG in the middle of US-China rivalry in the region.  Marape has maintained that the agreement will not interfere with PNG’s business ties with China.  China’s foreign ministry did not directly condemn the US-PNG deal but said that it opposes the “introduction of any geopolitical games” in the Indo-Pacific.  Separately, Blinken on Monday also oversaw the signing of the extension of Palau’s Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the US for another 20 years.  He is set to secure the extension of Micronesia’s COFA today, and negotiations for the Marshall Islands COFA are expected later this year.  The COFAs were first reached in the 1980s and gave the US access to strategic areas of the Pacific in exchange for defense and economic support to the three island states.  Axios CNN Reuters US Department of State

Australia Does Not Currently Back China’s CPTPP Membership. The South China Morning Post reports that Australia has decided not to publicly endorse China to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).  China was reportedly seeking Canberra’s support for China’s bid to join and a denial of Taiwan’s membership during Australian trade minister Don Farrell’s trip to Beijing in early May.  Sources say that while Australia did not outright oppose Chinese membership and does not currently support Taiwan’s membership, the Australian government still believes China has yet to meet required trade standards to join the agreement.  Experts say that Australian security concerns are a major obstacle.  South China Morning Post 

Pakistan Military Facing Unprecedented Challenge in Khan.  The Pakistan military is facing an unprecedented challenge in its current opposition against former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan and his supporters.  Khan had been arrested on corruption charges earlier this month, which he blamed on the military.  Resulting protests targeted military sites and senior military officers, which the military responded to with mass arrests and the promise of trials in military courts.  The Pakistan military has largely had strong influence for decades, but the military’s grip on power may be tested with Khan, who is still very popular and is unlikely to back down.  Analysts say tensions can only be resolved through some sort of agreement between Khan, the military and civilian government under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, but negotiations do not seem likely.  Reuters 

Middle East and Northern Africa

Israel Says Iran Turning Civilian Ships Into ‘Floating Terror Bases.’  Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant alleged Monday that Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been converting civilian ships into "floating terror bases.”  According to Gallant, these bases are used by Iran as platforms to launch commandos, drones, and missiles in Gulf waters.  In his allegation, Gallant presented six photos showing the alleged remodeled commercial ships and added that the platforms are part of Iran’s efforts to spread “maritime terrorism” from the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and the Indian Ocean and eventually the Mediterranean and Red Sea.  Iran has not commented on the matter.  Reuters

US Criticizes Israel Order Allowing West Bank Settler Outpost. In a sign of growing discord between U.S. and Israeli leadership, the Biden administration criticized an Israeli order that provides Jewish settlers a permanent presence in a West Bank outpost that has been a source of controversy between the two nations. The Homesh outpost area is the focus of the debate, with Israeli Central Command signing an order as of Thursday that effectively paved the way for a formal settlement. The move comes after renewed violence between Israelis and Palestinians that has drawn criticism from Washington. Reuters

Israel Raid in West Bank Kills Three Palestinians.  Israeli and Palestinian news sources reported on Monday that Israeli security forces killed three members of the militant Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade in a raid in Camp Balata, the West Bank’s largest refugee camp. The militant group is reportedly affiliated with the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Israel’s military said the raid targeted a bomb-manufacturing site and that its forces seized explosive material, ammunition, and rifles in the operation.  A spokesperson for Abbas called the attack “a major war crime and collective punishment.”  Reuters 

Syria's Assad Should Face Trial for War Crimes, says French Foreign Minister.  French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says that Syrian President Bashar al Assad should be put on trial following the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians and for Assad’s use of chemical weapons during the country’s brutal civil war.  Colonna’s comments came during a TV interview on Tuesday where she called Assad an “enemy of his own people”.  Colonna says that French policy towards Assad has not changed and she saw no possibility of a lifting of EU sanctions on Syria. France24

New Iran Nuclear Facility Reportedly Protected from Potential Air Raids.  Analysis of Iran’s new atomic facility near its Natanz nuclear site suggests that it is so deep underground that it will be beyond the range of standard bunker-busting US air strikes.  Satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC shows continued construction at the new facility, which is being dug into a mountainside.  Analysis from the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies of dirt mounds shown in the images suggests that the new facility is between 80-100 meters (260-328 feet) deep, though other experts say the facility may go even deeper.  Further analysis says the scale of the construction suggests the new facility will be so large it can be used to enrich uranium rather than just build centrifuges.  Experts say that if the site is completed, it will mark a major escalation in Iran’s nuclear program.  As the US and its allies would be left with few options to target the facility, if diplomacy fails, they may turn to sabotage attacks such as those the Natanz site has already allegedly been hit by.  Al Jazeera

Iran’s Top Security Official Steps Down. Iranian state media reported Monday that the country's top security official, Ali Shamkhani, who is also a key ally of Iran's supreme leader, has stepped down. Viewed as the sole ethnic Arab Iranian in a senior role, Shamkhani helped further along the China-brokered deal with Saudi Arabia. He was appointed the secretary of the security council in 2013, and boasts a decades-long career in the security services.  State TV said later Shamkhani had been appointed as a Khamenei political adviser, fueling speculation that he is being groomed for a more senior level position. Al Jazeera Reuters

Hezbollah Conducts Wargames Near Lebanon-Israel Border.  Around 200 Lebanese Hezbollah fighters took part in wargames on Sunday about 12 miles from the Lebanon-Israel; border in the biggest display of their military strength in years. The drills, involving simulated raids with drone technology and snipers, as well tests exercises involving rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft weapons, and rocket launchers.  According to a retired Lebanese general, the wargames, which come ahead of the anniversary of Israel’s departure from Lebanon on May 25, may be in response to recent Israeli air attacks in Gaza that killed 30 Palestinians, or perhaps to Israeli marches in Jerusalem last Thursday.  Al Jazeera

Sub Saharan Africa

US Says Wagner Group Moving Material Acquisitions Through Mali.  The US State Department reported on Monday that Russia’s Wagner Group has been attempting to conceal the transfer of military equipment to Ukraine by moving the materials through Mali.  A department spokesperson said that the Wagner group is using this method to access equipment from foreign suppliers, though he added that there have been no "indications that these acquisitions have been finalized or executed" and that the US is monitoring the situation.  The Wagner Group has a strong presence in West Africa, which Russia claims is to aid the training of local forces on Russian equipment.  Reuters

Sudan Ceasefire Starts, Continued Fighting Reported.  Despite a US-brokered ceasefire in Sudan, reports of fighter jets flights and persistent fighting continued. The truce, meant to last at least a week, began Monday and was intended to allow the flow of aid to the war-ravaged country. But heavy weaponry fire could be heard throughout the capital city early this week, with witnesses reporting black smoke rising in east Khartoum.  Al Jazeera Deutsche Welle Reuters

Cyber and Tech

Tweet Showing Fake Image of Pentagon Explosion Goes Viral.  A tweet from a verified Twitter account displayed an image of an apparent explosion near the Pentagon Monday morning, but it turned out to be a hoax.  The tweet from an account impersonating Bloomberg News displayed a photo showing a large black smoke plume rising from what appeared to be a building near the Pentagon complex.  Twitter has suspended the account, but it is unclear who the account owners are or where the image originated. Closer examination of the image showed it to be a fake that likely was generated by artificial intelligence.  A digital forensics expert consulted by CNN said the image showed clear signs of “being AI-synthesized.”  Although the tweet was quickly deemed a hoax, the news was carried on Twitter, and the tweet is thought to have briefly had an impact on Wall Street trading, moving the Dow down 85 points before it quickly regained losses. The Arlington, Va. Fire Department confirmed that no explosion took place near the Pentagon compound.  BleepingComputer CNN  Washington Post

Ukraine Cyber Chief Says Russians Preparing ‘Large-Scale’ Cyber Operation.  In an interview with The Record, Yurii Shchyhol, chief of Ukraine’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine (SSSCIP), said that in the midst of changing Russian cyberattack tactics, he sees Moscow “likely preparing for a large-scale operation in the future.”  Shchyhol said that Russian cyberattacks against defense and commercial systems have declined in 2023 as fewer “vulnerabilities” are available. He noted, however, that attacks against critical infrastructure, like the energy sector, are on the rise as well as a “surge” in supply chain attacks, particularly targeting software manufacturers.  A change in the Russian cyber “toolbox” also has been noted, with wiper devices declining in use in favor of malware to extract data from private messengers, emails, and devices.  Shchyhol believes this is “setting the stage” for further wiper use, with the goal of “destroying infrastructure and causing more harm to Ukraine.”  He also pointed to realignment of Russian hacker groups, with some specializing in the different sectors, including energy and telecommunications.  Shchylol said Ukraine has detected increased coordination among the groups, possibly indicating that they “receive instructions from the country's leadership” and are “in some way controlled by special services, the military and politicians.”  The Record

South Korean Government Will Not Restrain Chipmakers from Filling China Market Gap.  A South Korean trade official has signaled that the country’s leading chip producers, Samsung and SK Hynix, will not be constrained by the government if they choose to fill a market gap in China after Beijing banned certain Micron products.  Vice Minister of Trade Jang Young-jin said that as global companies, Samsung and SK Hynix “will make a judgment on this.”  Both companies have declined to comment.  In April, the Biden administration asked South Korea to appeal to its chipmakers to not fill any gaps that might occur from a Chinese ban on Micron products.  The Financial Times reports that the two South Korean firms are aiming to increase business in the U.S. and are in line to apply for one-year waivers from Washington to ship new equipment to their fabrication facilities in China.  The waiver requirement potentially provides the U.S. with leverage in any move to increase chip supplies to China.  Financial Times

Israeli Official Says Status as ‘AI Superpower’ Is Among Defense Ministry Goals.  Eyal Zamir, director general of Israel’s Defense Ministry, said the country plans to leverage its technological advances to become a “superpower” in AI applications.  He noted, in particular, steps like the creation of a Defense Ministry component dedicated to military robotics and a record defense ministry R&D budget in 2023.  Zamir said that GPT and advanced general intelligence developments eventually would have military applications, including “the ability of platforms to strike in swarms” and combat systems capable of operating independently.  One recent example was the autonomous intelligence-gathering submarine produced by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, which the company said has completed "thousands of hours" of operations.  Zamir summed up Israel’s ambitions: "Our mission is to turn the State of Israel into an AI superpower and to be at the head of a very limited number of world powers that are in this club."  Reuters

Senate Bill Aims to Establish ‘Digital Platform Commission’ To Guide AI Development.  As discussions and ideas mount for regulating AI technology development, two U.S. senators have reintroduced a bill to create the “Federal Digital Platform Commission” to oversee digital and AI products and online outlets.  The legislation advanced by Sens. Michael Bennet and Peter Welch would establish the five-member commission to hold hearings, conduct investigations, and participate in the creation of “rules of the road” for platform competition and consumer protection.  The bill also would empower a panel of technologists and experts, operating as a “code council,” to make recommendations on “specific technical standards, behavioral codes and other policies” for the commission’s consideration.  The bill’s sponsors acknowledged that the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission already exercise authority over digital platform operations, but said those components are limited in their oversight and expertise at a time when “proactive, long-term rules for the sector are required.”  NextGov ExecutiveGov

Italy Data Watchdog Agency Plans Review of AI Systems Beyond ChatGPT.  The Italian Data Protection Authority plans to expand its review of AI platforms, including adding to its staff of AI experts.  The data authority gained headlines in March when it temporarily suspended ChatGPT operations before coming to an agreement on added privacy protections for users.  Looking to next steps for the authority, board member Agostino Ghiglia said, "we plan to kick off a wide-scope review of generative and machine learning AI applications…because we want to understand if these new tools are addressing issues linked to data protection and privacy laws compliance.”  In conducting its review of ChatGPT, the authority drew on provisions of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), especially those that protect underage children.  Reuters

Microsoft Reports Return of FIN7 Hacking Group in New Wave of Attacks.  After an absence of almost 2 years, Microsoft has detected the return of the FIN7 cybercrime group in deploying CIop ransomware against targeted networks.  According to the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (TIC), FIN7 has been linked to other threat actors such as Black Basta, REvil and Lockbit, and is known for attacking financial services, media, transportation, and utilities systems.  The group’s recent attacks involved the deployment of a Cl0p ransomware variant against multiple unnamed targets.  The TIC notes that FIN7 also has a practice of establishing fake security companies to recruit talent and conduct ransomware attacks and other operations.  HackerNews CyberScoop

DoD Plans Strategy for Contractor Cybersecurity Responsibilities This Year.  The Pentagon’s guidelines for how private contractors will implement cybersecurity safeguards will be released by November.  David McKeown, DoD chief information and security officer, said his office expects to have a strategy in place this year that would describe “who's going to be doing what, and…overlay everything on top of the NIST cybersecurity framework.”  Congress requested that a strategy be developed to reduce vulnerabilities that might occur in the Pentagon’s interactions with hundreds of thousands of private contractors.  McKeown said the plan would roll out in several phases, including measures to protect data, monitor intrusions, and recover from cyberattacks.  He noted as well that the DoD is examining and revising contract language to clarify contractors’ responsibilities for cybersecurity.  FCW

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