cyberattack news stories on Newser

Clinton: We Hacked Yemeni al-Qaeda Sites

Rob Quinn — Thu, 24 May 2012 02:54:11 CDT

Al-Qaeda has issued a call for "electronic jihad," but it looks like the terror group has been outgunned by State Department experts. Hillary Clinton, speaking at the Special Operations Command gala dinner last night, said that American specialists had hacked into al-Qaeda sites in Yemen that "bragged about killing Americans,...

Al-Qaeda Calls for 'Electronic Jihad'

Rob Quinn — Wed, 23 May 2012 02:41:00 CDT

Al-Qaeda compares flaws in America's cybersecurity to gaps in aviation security before the 9/11 attacks in a chilling video released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security. In the video, which was obtained by the FBI last year, an al-Qaeda operative calls for "electronic jihad" against the US with attacks...

Federal Agency Lives in Dark Ages After Hacker Hit

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 10:36:32 CDT

At the Economic Development Administration, employees are actually picking up the phone to talk to congressional staffers, meeting with clients face to face, and using— gasp —fax machines. The small Commerce Department bureau was forced to return to the pre-Internet days after a virus struck, via email, nearly three months...

Obama, NSA Spar on Cyber-Spying

Kevin Spak — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:29:05 CST

The White House and the National Security Agency have repeatedly clashed over the NSA's efforts to fight cyberattacks, with the Obama administration arguing that they would impinge on Americans' privacy, the Washington Post reports. The most dramatic confrontation was over legislation proposed last year that would have forced Internet companies...

Anonymous Could Shutter Power Grid: NSA Honcho

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:39:51 CST

Hacking collective Anonymous has taken on the FBI and the CIA , among others—and soon the group could be making its presence known in your living room. The National Security Agency director warns that within the next one to two years, Anonymous could launch a cyberattack that results in a...

FBI Probes Cyberattack in Illinois

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:02:24 CST

It's an unlikely story, but we appear to have the first successful case of foreign hackers attacking a US industrial facility, and it involves the shutdown of a water pump in Illinois. FBI and Homeland Security are investigating the recent shutdown, the Guardian reports, which has been blamed on Russian...

Facebook Stems Flow of Porn

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 12:01:25 CST

You can go back on Facebook: The social networking site says it has “eliminated most of the spam”—otherwise known as graphic, disturbing images —caused by a recent attack, a spokesperson tells CNN . "We are now working to improve our systems to better defend against similar attacks in the future,...

Facebook Slammed by Massive Porn Attack

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:26:05 CST

Forbes has a warning for you: "You may not want to check Facebook at work today." Why? Because, as numerous outlets are reporting , your news feed may have been inundated with porn and disturbing images thanks to a huge spam attack. One tweet sums it up: "I saw a dead...

Report: China Likely Hacked US Satellites

Mark Russell — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:13:46 CDT

Hackers who hit two US satellites four times in 2007 and 2008 may have been tied to the Chinese military, reports Bloomberg . “Such interference poses numerous potential threats, particularly if achieved against satellites with more sensitive functions,” says a draft of the annual report by the US-China Economic and Security...