U.S. Trade Group Hacked by Chinese Hackers ahead of Trump-Xi Trade Summit

Thursday, April 06, 2017 Swati Khandelwal


Researchers have uncovered a Chinese cyber-espionage against the United States ahead of the trade summit on Thursday between US President Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping.

According to a new report published today by Fidelis Cybersecurity firm, the Chinese APT10 hacking group implanted a piece of malware on the "Events" page of the US National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) website in February.

Dubbed 'Operation TradeSecret,' the attack against the NFTC site is seen as an attempt to conduct surveillance on the main industry players and lobbyists closely associated with U.S trade policy activities.



Researchers say hackers placed a malicious link on the NFTC website, inviting the organization's board of directors to register for a meeting in Washington DC on March 7. But clicking on the link deployed a spying tool called "Scanbox."

Dates back to 2014, Scanbox – previously used by nation-state threat actors associated with the Chinese government – has the ability to record the type and versions of software a victim is running and run keyloggers on compromised computers, said Fidelis researcher John Bambenek.

"This attack was really at its core a reconnaissance attack. Anyone who visited this calendar entry would expose their software versions and use a JavaScript keylogger that could expose their identity," said Bambenek.
"Traditionally these attacks are used to precisely identify targets and help them craft targeted phishing attacks using exploits they know the victim is vulnerable to."The malicious link was active on the NFTC website between February 27 and March 1. The malware was already removed from the site by the time Fidelis contacted NFTC.



The NFTC's staff and board represent many influential people and companies -- from President Rufus Yerxa, the U.S. Ambassador to GATT to executives from major companies including Google, Amazon, eBay, IBM, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, KPMG, Pfizer, Visa, Ford, Halliburton, and Walmart.

Although Fidelis detected no further attacks on NFTC board members, the security firm believed the hackers were after a full range of entities relevant to the trade negotiations due to take place Thursday between US and China.

This is the second time in a week when APT10 cyber espionage campaign has come to light. A report released this week by BAE Systems, and PwC also claimed that APT10 was targeting managed IT services providers (MSPs) and their customers across the globe to steal sensitive data.

Ford recalls about 650,000 vehicles to fix seat belt part

Ford recalls

03 Dec 2016 , 08:42


Ford Motor Co said on Friday it was recalling about 650,000 vehicles in North America to fix issues that could prevent seat belts from functioning properly in a crash.

The recall includes certain 2013-16 Ford Fusion, 2015-16 Ford Mondeo and 2013-15 Lincoln MKZ cars, Ford said. In the affected vehicles, increased temperatures generated during deployment of the seat belt anchor pretensioner cables could cause them to separate, potentially reducing the seat belt’s ability to adequately restrain an occupant in a crash, Ford said.

Meanwhile, a recent report said that Bill Ford told Donald Trump that the company is not moving Lincoln SUV production to Mexico. Ford has repeatedly said it has no plans to close any U.S. plants and likely could not do so under the terms of the current United Auto Workers contract that expires in 2019. Ford spokeswoman Christin Baker said late on Thursday the automaker “confirmed with the President-elect that our small Lincoln utility vehicle made at the Louisville Assembly plant will stay in Kentucky.”

With input from Reuters

Google, Ford and Honda among automakers against proposed self-driving car regulations in California

  20 Oct 2016 , 11:01

Alphabet Inc’s Google unit and automakers objected on Wednesday to California proposals to set new, mandatory rules for testing self-driving cars in the state, which industry officials said could hobble their efforts in the home to much of self-driving vehicle testing and development. Automakers and Google raised a litany of concerns about California’s proposal at a hearing in Sacramento on Wednesday. They expressed opposition to the state proposal to require compliance with guidelines that federal regulators issued last month, but made voluntary.

They questioned why California would require a new autonomous vehicle data recorder and what data they would be required to test, and they objected to a proposal they said would force a 12-month delay between testing a vehicle and deploying it on public roads. Automakers also questioned whether police should be able to get any self-driving data within 24 hours without seeking a warrant or subpoena.

California regulatory policy is important to automakers and technology companies because of its impact on operations in the state, and because the policies enacted in the most populous U.S. state often influence what other states and other countries do. The proposed requirement that manufacturers generate a year of driverless testing data before applying for an operating permit drew objections from General Motors Co, Volkswagen AG, Honda Motor Co, Ford Motor Co, and Google.

The state’s approach “could greatly delay the benefits that self-driving vehicles can bring to safety and mobility for individuals,” said David Strickland, who heads the Self-Driving Coalition for Safer Streets that includes Google, Ford, Lyft, Uber Technologies Inc and Volvo Car Group. Brian Soublet, deputy director of the California DMV, said Wednesday the department wants concrete suggestions to help improve its proposal. Soublet said the department will be considering potential changes over the next several months but he did not give a timetable for finalizing the rules.

“The goal is making sure that we can get this life-saving technology out on the streets,” Soublet said. California’s proposal would allow for the absence of a human driver and a steering wheel in advanced self-driving cars. In December, California had proposed to require licensed drivers and controls in self-driving vehicles.

Ron Medford, director of safety for Google’s self-driving car project, said California’s proposal to require manufacturers to obtain local approval is “unworkable.” The rule could prevent manufacturers from testing a vehicle that can travel from one area to another. Advocacy group Consumer Watchdog urged California to prohibit autonomous vehicles without a human driver until federal regulators enact enforceable standards.

Reuters

USA auto safety authority opens probe into 6,42,000 Ford SUVs and cars

Image Credit: REUTERS

  04 Oct 2016 , 09:14

U.S. auto safety regulators said Monday they are opening two new preliminary investigations into 642,000 Ford sport utility vehicles and cars over door latch warning light and steering issues. Ford Motor Co, the second largest U.S. automaker, said last month it was reducing its adjusted full-year pre-tax profit forecast to $10.2 billion from at least $10.8 billion it predicted in July because of a $640 million charge for an expanded side-door latch recall.

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said Monday it was opening a probe into 380,000 2011-2013 Ford Edge SUVs after receiving 1,560 reports of “door ajar” lights. Owners reported they are uncertain if vehicle doors are properly latched.

In the door-latch probe, safety issues such as doors opening while driving, doors unable to be locked while driving, and interior dome lights staying on continuously were reported. One injury has been reported, but no crashes.

NHTSA also said Monday the agency is opening a separate investigation into 262,000 2010 Ford Fusion cars for steering issues. The 547 complaints about power steering included sudden failures of the system and were linked to 12 crashes and