France's Hollande calls for specific measures against campaign cyberattacks

France's president on Wednesday called for specific security measures to be set in place to protect the country's upcoming presidential election campaign from cyberattacks.

François Hollande ordered his ministers in the Defense and National Security councils to prepare a plan to counter any outside influence that could affect the integrity of the campaign.

Source: EFE

Senators accuse Yahoo of 'unacceptable' delay in hack discovery

Six senators on Tuesday demanded that Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) explain why hackers' theft of user information for 500 million accounts two years ago came to light only last week and called the company's handling of the breach "unacceptable."

The lawmakers, all Democrats, said they were "disturbed" that the 2014 intrusion, which was disclosed by the company on Thursday, was detected so long after it occurred.

"That means millions of Americans’ data may have been compromised for two years," the senators wrote in a letter to Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer. "This is unacceptable."

A Yahoo spokesman said the company would respond in a "timely and appropriate manner" to the letter, which was signed by Senators Patrick Leahy, Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Ron Wyden and Edward Markey.

The top U.S. stock market regulator said separately that prompt disclosure by companies of "cyber events" is a priority. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White, asked about Yahoo, said she could not comment specifically on it.

She earlier said at a conference that SEC examiners in recent months have been checking that companies comply with 2011 agency guidance stressing the need to disclose hacks.

Yahoo has faced mounting questions about exactly when it knew about the 2014 cyber attack that exposed the email credentials of users, a critical issue for the company as it seeks to prevent the breach from affecting a pending takeover of its core business by Verizon Inc (VZ.N).

The internet firm has said it detected the breach this summer after conducting a security review prompted by an unrelated hacking claim that turned out to be meritless. Yahoo has not given a precise timeline explaining when it was made aware of the 2014 attack, or if it knew of the breach before announcing the deal with Verizon in late July.

In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said her agency supported quick disclosures although she declined to say if the FTC was investigating Yahoo.

"In our view, approximately 30 to 60 days (after a breach is discovered) might be appropriate," she told the Senate Commerce Committee. "It is necessary for consumers to be notified so they can take appropriate steps to protect themselves."

In their letter, the senators requested Yahoo brief them on the company's investigation, cooperation with authorities and plans to protect affected users.

The senators asked Mayer for a timeline of the hack and discovery as well as Yahoo's steps to prevent another breach.

Yahoo's shares closed up 2.5 percent at $43.37 each in a broadly bullish market on Tuesday.

The letter came a day after Democratic Senator Mark Warner asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Yahoo and its senior executives fulfilled obligations to inform investors and the public about the hacking attack, which Yahoo has blamed on a "state-sponsored actor."

Source: Reuters

At your service: cyber criminals for hire to militants, EU says

Cybercriminals offering contract services for hire offer militant groups the means to attack Europe but such groups have yet to employ such techniques in major attacks, EU police agency Europol said on Wednesday.

"There is currently little evidence to suggest that their cyber-attack capability extends beyond common website defacement," it said in its annual cybercrime threat assessment in a year marked by Islamic State violence in Europe.

But the internet's criminal shadow the Darknet had potential to be exploited by militants taking advantage of computer experts offering "crime as a service", Europol added: "The availability of cybercrime tools and services, and illicit commodities (including firearms) on the Darknet, provide ample opportunities for this situation to change."

Overall, the report found, existing trends in cybercrime continued to grow, with some of the European Union's member states reporting more cyber crimes than the traditional variety.

"Europol is concerned about how an expanding cybercriminal community has been able to further exploit our increasing dependence on technology and the internet," its director, Rob Wainwright, said in a statement. "We have also seen a marked shift in cyber-facilitated activities relating to trafficking in human beings, terrorism and other threats."

"Ransomware" - programs which break into databases and demand payment for unlocking codes via virtual currencies such as Bitcoin - continued to expand as a problem, as did highly targeted "phishing" attacks to extract security data from senior figures - "CEO fraud" - and video streaming of child abuse.

Attacks on bank cash-machine networks were also increasing, the report found, as were frauds exploiting new contactless payment card transactions, while traditional scams involving the physical presence of a card had been successfully reduced.

Source: Reuters