National Security and Foreign Affairs
Recently, hackers managed to drain bank accounts across Germany. They did so not by hacking the banks themselves, but by exploiting a long-known flaw in a global telephony protocol known as Signaling System 7.
Cyberwarfare can knock out physical machines and the attack can come from anywhere on the planet, reports Doug Olenick.
There is no simply way to rank the nation-state or criminal entity that poses the greatest cybersecurity threat to the United States – and the world in general.
President Donald Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, prompting practically every member of Congress to weigh in. Many — including some prominent Republicans — are furious, dubbing the dismissal "Nixonian" and "a constitutional crisis."
After acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified before a Senate panel on Monday and provided troubling details about how slow the White House was to act on information its then-national security adviser may have been compromised by Russia, President Trump took to Twitter to try and tamp the who
Politicians are becoming increasing aware and concerned about cybersecurity issues. One need look no further than two recent letters written by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore), senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Representative Ted Lieu (D-Calif.). Both are leading congressional advocates for stronger cybersecurity and privacy measures.
Broadcaster Keith Olbermann praised former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates Monday as an "American hero," whose fearless testimony before a Senate committee "used to be the minimum standard for public servants." But "now, in the era of Trump, she stands out like a champion," he added.
Hackers have exploited long-known vulnerabilities in the SS7 networking protocol to drain customer bank accounts, despite years of warnings about the security holes.
Signaling System No.7 (SS7), as the protocol is known, is used by more than 800 telcos around the world, allowing customers in one country to send text messages to users in different countries.
There's a major vulnerability in the way phone networks talk to each other - and hackers have used it to drain victims' bank accounts.
What's more: The issue has been known about for years, and public demonstrations have highlighted the issue, but nothing had been done about it.
It was designed as a security measure to increase protection of internet users across the globe.
But hackers have used a well-known security vulnerability in worldwide mobile telecoms networks to steal access codes to online bank accounts.
A U.S. congressman is again calling for the FCC and telecom industry to fix a security flaw in the Signalling System No. 7 (SS7) that is allowing hackers to bypass two-factor authentication and wipe out bank accounts.