Proprietary Software Leftovers

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Apr 11, 2023

• Microsoft: Iranian Gov Hackers Caught in Azure Wiper Attacks

  Also tracked as Mercury, Seedworm, and Static Kitten, and known to be launching espionage campaigns against targets in the Middle East since at least 2017, MuddyWater was officially linked by the U.S. government to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

  DEV-1084, which claims to be a financially motivated cybercriminal group operating under the DarkBit persona, is connected to MuddyWater, if not a subgroup of the APT, Microsoft says (the tech giant uses the DEV designation for emerging, developing, or unknown clusters of activity).

• New Jersey county police department confirms ransomware attack, unrelated to attack on prosecutor’s office [iophk: Windows TCO]

  The county prosecutor’s office was also hit in March, but according to statements made to New Jersey 101.5, there was no connection between the attacks. Police Spokesman Dan Keashen told New Jersey 101.5 that the two departments do not share servers or networks.

• New Jersey county police department confirms ransomware attack [iophk: Windows TCO]

  A spokesperson for the department — which serves the county’s 523,000 residents — told Recorded Future News that the ransomware attack took place on March 13. Camden County borders Philadelphia to its northwest.

• Data breach at Elmbrook School District exposed personal information about former and current employees

• US searches for source of intelligence leak of Ukraine war plans

  US officials are searching for the source of a security breach as highly classified documents were allegedly leaked over the past few weeks on social media platforms. Showing war-sensitive details on Ukraine's military defences as the embattled nation prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces, the documents drew international scrutiny while alarming the Pentagon.

• DOJ, Pentagon Open Investigation After Ukraine War Docs Leak Online

  It’s tough to be considered a trusted partner in the resistance against the Russian invasion of Ukraine if you can’t keep your most secret documents secret. No source for the embarrassing (and possibly harmful) leak has been identified, but that’s presumably what the US government hopes to find out ASAP.

• Leaked Documents On Ukraine War A 'Very Serious' Risk To Security, Pentagon Admits

  [...] Meagher told reporters that U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin first became aware of the leaks on April 6. [...]

• Google, Amazon offer severance packages to encourage voluntary resignations in Europe

  Google and Amazon have announced thousands of layoffs in recent months but now the tech giants are going to new lengths to reduce their headcounts.

  European divisions of the tech giants are offering generous severance packages - even up to a year's pay - to get employees to voluntarily resign instead of following the lengthy labour law processes, Bloomberg reports.

  In January, Google's parent company Alphabet cut 12,000 jobs - or 6 per cent of its workforce - and Amazon culled another 9000 in March bringing the total layoffs to 27,000.

• After laying off 19000 employees, Accenture hiring for multiple job roles [Ed: Talk about spin. IndiaToday: Accenture fires about 20,000 people, but we saw a couple of openings in Microsoft's LinkedIn, so Accenture must be doing alright. IndiaToday: we saw 4 job openings for Accenture ("services marketing executive partner, media relations – capital markets, analyst relations writer specialist"), so those 4 roles cancel out about 20,000. Recovery is here! If 150,000 tech workers losing their jobs in 3 months in just a few companies means "slowing growth", then what constitutes no growth? If the media keeps gaslighting the population, this media will have no audience left and then it'll blame "Big Tech" or some other factor.]

• ‘It was super cold’: Tech worker shares how he was laid off remotely

  'That's why I keep telling my friends never put your heart and soul into a company.'

  [...] He said that Human Resources (HR) also told him his laptop would immediately stop working and that he would have to turn it in. When he asked about a severance package, he said his boss quickly signed off and left the discussion in the hands of HR.