Cyberwarfare and Defense
After Israel’s Spies Hit Iran Hard, an Intelligence Official Loses His Job
For more than a decade, he was a feared presence in Iran, presiding over a vast intelligence apparatus. He crushed domestic dissent and political rivals, and expanded covert operations beyond Iran’s borders to target dissidents and enemies abroad. Hossein Taeb, a 59-year-old cleric and chief of intelligence for the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, seemed […]
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Many Russian Cyberattacks Failed in First Months of Ukraine War, Study Says
WASHINGTON — A new examination of how Russia used its cybercapabilities in the first months of the war in Ukraine contains a number of surprises: Moscow conducted more cyberattacks than was realized at the time to bolster its invasion, but more than two-thirds of them failed, echoing its poor performance on the physical battlefield. However, […]
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Fears Grow Over Iran’s Nuclear Program as Tehran Digs a New Tunnel Network
The deal, which President Donald J. Trump abandoned in 2018, limited Tehran’s ability to install new centrifuges and forced it to ship 97 percent of its nuclear fuel out of the country. Mr. Biden’s refusal of Iran’s demand to remove the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps from the list of terrorist organizations, along with a flow […]
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Michael Sussmann Is Acquitted in Case Brought by Trump-Era Prosecutor
WASHINGTON — Michael Sussmann, a prominent cybersecurity lawyer with ties to Democrats, was acquitted on Tuesday of a felony charge that he lied to the F.B.I. about having no client in 2016 when he shared a tip about possible connections between Donald J. Trump and Russia. The verdict was a blow to the special counsel, […]
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F.B.I. Told Israel It Wanted Pegasus Hacking Tool for Investigations
WASHINGTON — The F.B.I. informed the Israeli government in a 2018 letter that it had purchased Pegasus, the notorious hacking tool, to collect data from mobile phones to aid ongoing investigations, the clearest documentary evidence to date that the bureau weighed using the spyware as a tool of law enforcement. The F.B.I.’s description of its […]
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Russia’s War Has Been Brutal, but Putin Has Shown Some Restraint. Why?
Russia’s war against Ukraine has leveled cities, killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions of others from their homes. But quietly, some military analysts and Western officials are asking why the onslaught has not been even worse. Russia could be going after Ukrainian railways, roads and bridges more aggressively to try to stanch […]
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In Homeland Security, Partisan Fight Breaks Out Over Disinformation Board
Nina Jankowicz’s new book, “How to Be a Woman Online,” chronicles the vitriol she and other women have faced from trolls and other malign actors. She’s now at the center of a new firestorm of criticism, this time over her appointment to lead an advisory board at the Department of Homeland Security on the threat […]
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Russia Uses Cyberattacks in Ukraine to Support Military Strikes, Report Finds
WASHINGTON — For weeks after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, American officials wondered about the weapon that seemed to be missing: Russia’s mighty cyberarsenal, which most experts expected would be used in the opening hours of an invasion to bring down Ukraine’s power grid, fry its cellphone system and cut off President Volodymyr […]
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Hackers Claim to Target Russia With Cyberattacks and Leaks
Some of the online combatants have shifted away from tactics used earlier in the conflict. In the first phase of the war, Ukrainian hackers focused on attacks intended to knock Russian websites offline. Russian hackers targeted Ukrainian government websites in January, ahead of the invasion, installing “wiper” malware that permanently clears data from computer networks. […]
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