Government Agencies, Washington Post Targeted in Cyberattack
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 11:04 PM PDT
A widespread and coordinated cyberattack during the past few
days has targeted Web sites operated by major government agencies,
including the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, the Federal
Aviation Administration and the Federal Trade Commission, according to
several computer security researchers.
The attacks involved thousands of computers around the globe
infected with rogue software that told them to repeatedly attempt to
access the targeted sites, a tactic aimed at driving up traffic beyond the
sites’ normal capacity and denying access to legitimate users, according
to the researchers, many of whom spoke on condition of anonymity because
they are helping with the investigation.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Amy Kudwa said that
the agency was aware of ongoing attacks and that the government’s Computer
Emergency Response Team had issued guidance to public and private sector
Web sites to stem the attacks.
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Cyber Attack Hits South Korean Web Sites
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 10:55 PM PDT
A number of South Korean government Web sites were inaccessible
on Wednesday, apparently taken offline by a large cyber-attack that had
earlier hit U.S. government sites.
The Web site for South Korea’s president, the Blue House, and
those for the National Assembly and Ministry of National Defense were all
offline at Wednesday lunchtime. Also inaccessible was the home page of the
Grand National Party and the Chosun Ilbo national newspaper
The Korea Internet Security Center’s security index was set at
“substantial,” which is the middle of its five levels and signifies
regional Internet security problems and advises all Internet users to take
urgent security measures.
Local press reports said around 25 sites had been hit since
late Tuesday including those of major banks including Shinhan Bank and
Korea Exchange Bank and major portal Naver. All three appeared to be
operating normally at Wednesday lunchtime but a prompt on the page of
Shinhan Bank referenced a distributed denial of service (DDOS) attack and
advised users to download security software.
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GAO: Major Security Flaws at Federal Buildings
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 05:06 PM PDT
The police agency in charge of protecting thousands of federal
buildings nationwide has failed to keep bomb-making materials out of
several high-security facilities in the past year, according to a
Government Accountability Office report released today. In the past year,
investigators successfully smuggled bomb-making materials into ten
high-security federal buildings, constructed bombs and walked around the
buildings undetected, exposing weaknesses in security provided by the
Federal Protective Service.
[...]
Investigators carried liquid explosives and low-yield
detonators — materials investigators note are not normally carried into
federal buildings. The GAO said security concerns prevent it from
revealing the exact locations or cities of the affected facilities, but
that eight of them were government owned, while two were leased. They
included offices of a U.S. senator and House member, as well as offices
for the departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State, the GAO
reported. In one instance, the GAO obtained a building security tape
showing an investigator walking through a security checkpoint with bomb
making materials.
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Military Chief Mullen Says Clock Ticking On Iran Nuke
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 05:00 PM PDT
The top U.S. military officer warned on Tuesday that time is
running out for dialogue with Tehran to avoid either a nuclear-armed Iran
or a possible military strike against the Islamic Republic.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of
Staff, said it is critical for diplomatic efforts to reach a solution
before Iran develops a nuclear weapon or faces an Israeli or U.S. strike
to turn back its nuclear program.
“That window is a very narrow window,” Mullen told an audience
at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think
tank.
“There’s a great deal that certainly depends on the dialogue
and the engagement,” he said. “I’m hopeful that that dialogue is
productive. I worry about it a great deal if it’s not.”
Mullen noted that some forecasters believe Iran could be as
little as a year away from developing a nuclear bomb, adding: “The clock
has continued to tick.”
Source
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al Qaeda Plotting Multiple Attacks on US-Israel-bound Airliners
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 12:58 PM PDT
Western anti-terror agencies have warned that a large group of
15-20 al Qaeda terrorists, trained in Pakistan and Algeria to hijack and
blow up airliners, deployed secretly in at least six European and Middle
East countries in early July. They are reported to be standing ready to
carry out multiple terrorist attacks.
DEBKAfile’s counter-terror sources report the first specific
red alert on Saturday, July 4, referred to the possible hijack of Turkish
Airways planes taking of from Turkish airports for US destinations or Tel
Aviv.
More from WTOP
Last week, German authorities discovered that groups of
terrorists may have been dispatched from training bases in Pakistan to
launch crippling attacks.
In April, U.S. intelligence officials warned Germany about
possible terror attacks. Since that time German security officials have
reportedly been preparing for massive, multi-layered attacks for which
al-Qaida has become known.
Shortly after the April warning, German Ambassador Klaus
Scharioth said in an unrelated interview, “You will understand that I
can’t go into the details of the terrorist threat, but I can only tell
you that we all know that we have to be vigilant and that we have to
continue to work very hard on that, but I do not want to go into
details.”
Intelligence suggests al-Qaida operatives are planning to
plant multiple explosive devices in several locations and detonate them
either in a simultaneous or sequential fashion.
U.S. and German intelligence sources say that strategy is
designed to emulate the ones employed Bali in 2002 and Madrid in 2004.
The idea is to draw in first responders to the scene after the first
explosion, and then the subsequent explosions are set off in the same
location to inflict maximum casualties.
A U.S. intelligence source with knowledge about the
situation says “it is a credible threat, which also includes Germans in
North Africa.
Source
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Pak Report – 25 Vehicles Fitted With Explosives Enter Major
Cities
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 10:55 AM PDT
Lahore Pakistan – Twenty-five explosive-laden vehicles
have reportedly entered various major cities of the country, as the
intelligence services launched search operations across all four
provinces, a private TV channel reported on Monday.
According to the channel, the vehicles could target sensitive
government installments and other important buildings.
The channel cited a notification issued by the Interior
Ministry stating that suicide bombers along with the vehicles had entered
Peshawar, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Quetta and Karachi.
The ministry ordered provincial authorities to immediately
conduct search operations and impound the vehicles before any terrorist
incident took place. The channel said the explosive-laden vehicles
included a Shehzore pick-up van, an ambulance, a blue Pajero and seven
Toyota Corollas.
This report has not been confirmed by Pakistan
authorities.
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PA. – Police Uniform Discovered In Bomb Suspects Home
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 10:28 AM PDT
The man arrested for carrying a bomb in a backpack on Saturday
had a police badge and a police uniform with a Hudson Falls patch in his
western Pennsylvania home when it was searched after his arrest, officials
said.
Hudson Falls Police were trying Monday to determine from where
the uniform came, said Police Chief Randy Diamond. The uniform was being
sent to Hudson Falls by police in Washington Township, Pa., who found it
in a home rented by Jason A. Babson.
The metal police badge apparently was not from the Hudson Falls
Police Department, Diamond said. It’s possible Babson acquired a Hudson
Falls Police uniform patch (patch collecting and trading is common) and
affixed it to a uniform he acquired elsewhere, Diamond said.
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Everett Couple Injured In Pipe Bomb Blast
Posted: 07 Jul 2009 10:23 AM PDT
An Everett man and his wife were injured on the Fourth of July
when someone hurled a pipe bomb at them, according to our news partners at
KING-TV. The couple was walking along 124th Street Southwest to view
fireworks when the pipe bomb exploded.
“One of the doctors who operated on my daughter said it was the
equivalent of a hand grenade,” the injured woman’s mother told KING-TV.
“It just blew her basically through the air and she hit the ground and
tore up her arm and the shrapnel went into her right foot.”
The wife suffered injuries and her arms and legs and her
husband also sustained leg injuries. There have been no arrests.
Source
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