Cyberattacks

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promises action against Chinese cyber attacks. Beijing-linked hackers are expected to be accused of recent security breaches. Electoral commission breach saw personal details of about 40 million UK voters compromised. Four MPs who have called for tougher action against China were also called in for security briefing.

UK accuses China of targeting democratic institutions in cyber campaign. UK detailed attacks in 2021 and 2022 that targeted the Electoral Commission and UK parliamentary accounts. UK deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said the cyberattacks were the latest in a pattern of hostile activity originating in China.

Fire Rescue Victoria was hit by a cyber attack on its IT systems in December 2022. A briefing document has cast doubt on its claim that community safety was not compromised. Response times were 6.87 per cent lower in April, May and June of 2023 compared to the same quarter 12 months earlier. The Fire Services Implementation Monitor reported response times were 4.3 per cent below the annual average for 2021/2022.

Lawmaker calls for speedy passage of cyber attack bills in light of increased cyber attacks. Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan said House Bill 8199 that he co-authored provides the starting point for the Department of Information and Communications Technology to effectively implement its National Cyber Security Plan.

At least three websites or services connected to the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) were defaced on Tuesday, April 2. The affected links were https://helpdesk.dost.gov.ph, http://hta.gdost.ph and http://sfu.dst.ph. Aside from the DOSTs help desk, its Health Technology Assessment division and its S&T Foundation Unit were the other defaced websites within the roster.

Vietnam's third-largest securities firm was suspended after it was targeted over the weekend. VNDirect, Vietnams third largest broker in terms of transactions handled, has been disconnected from the trading system since Monday. Brokerage suspended pending corrective measures but regulators see no contagion risk.

Cyberint, an Israel-based leader in global threat intelligence which has clients in the Philippines, said they were able to trace cyberattacks from China increasing. The attackers come from Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups which Cyberint believes are state-sponsored and whose systems are very sophisticated. For five days in August 2023, the Mustang Panda was able to successfully infiltrate a government agency.

U.S. and allies have accused China of being responsible for a series of hackings over the last decade. US Justice Department announced charges against seven hackers who it claims are living in China. UK government imposed sanctions on a company and two individuals connected to breach in country's cyber defenses. China firmly opposes, and fights against, all forms of cyberattacks.

When Russian cyber operations targeted the West, Russia began expanding its targeting of Western states, especially following Putins first invasion of Ukraine in 2014. Russia wanted to promote instability in Western democracies and undermine the credibility of the democratic processes, according to former US ambassador to Russia Mike McFaul. Russia has been implicated in a series of cyberattacks against the UK, targeting various sectors.

Google's Gemini 1.5 Pro is now available in over 180 countries, and Ola's Krutim also gets an update. The improved AI models come with new capabilities, making them some of the most advanced large language models in the world. Apple warns about a possible cyber attack on several high-profile iPhone users, who work in the public domain such as politics and journalism.