Tag: hacker
Mike Waltz

Massive Hack Attack Topples Trump's Tower Of Arrogance

Well, that didn’t take long. An enterprising hacker has already penetrated whatever security supposedly protected the third-party communications app used by Mike Waltz to send text messages on Signal to the Secretary of State, the Vice President and the Director of National Intelligence during the White House cabinet meeting last week. The hack was reported earlier today by 404 Media, the new journalism website covering cybersecurity, the intelligence and surveillance business, and other topics involving the rapidly changing terrain of the tech industry.

The hacker apparently read the coverage of the loose use of the Signal app and its cousin TeleMessage, which sells its app to government agencies and corporations which require the archiving of messages sent via communications apps such as Signal, WhatsApp, WeChat, and Telegram. The TeleMessage app is supposed to piggy-back on the other communications apps to provide secure storage of the messages on the other communications platforms, several of which can be set to delete messages after a set period of time.

The hacker, whose identity is not known to 404 Media, sent the tech website screen captures and data that “includes apparent message contents; the names and contact information for government officials; usernames and passwords for TeleMessage’s backend panel; and indications of what agencies and companies might be TeleMessage customers. One screenshot of the hacker’s access to a TeleMessage panel lists the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of CBP officials.”

“CBP” refers to Customs and Border Protection, one of the agencies in charge of protecting, among other borders, our border with Mexico, which according to the Trump administration, has been regularly breached by human traffickers and drug cartels shipping the dangerous drug Fentanyl into this country where it is sold on the street and has been responsible for tens of thousands of deaths of addicts.

Apparently, the hacker set out to penetrate the TeleMessage security just to see if it could be done. “I would say the whole process took about 15-20 minutes,” the hacker told 404 Media. “It wasn’t much effort at all.”

So, what we have here, folks, is a random computer hacker, whose identity and location is not known, meaning he or she could be living in a foreign country and working for its intelligence agency or tech firm in Russia or China, casually surfing into the communications channel Signal that the Trump administration itself admits is permitted to be installed on government-issued computers and cell phones used by high level administration officials even at cabinet meetings inside the White House.

What does this mean? It means that security throughout the U.S. government, including in the Departments of State and Defense and Homeland Security, as well as the intelligence agencies overseen by the Director of National Intelligence, has been so wide open that an apparent independent civilian hacker was able to download names, phone numbers, and email addresses of government officials as well as some of the contents of text messages, including links to tweets containing video and sound clips.

The data accessed by the hacker also included information relating to crypto firms such as Coinbase and Galaxy, meaning that communications within those firms and perhaps between the firms and their clients, who have invested real dollars in the firms’ stores and trading systems of cryptocurrencies, has been breached.

Based on the reporting of information provided by the hacker to 404 Media, communications within and between U.S. government agencies, as well as members of Congress and offices and officers within the White House, should be assumed to be compromised. Trump came into office promising to use Elon Musk and his cybernauts to save taxpayer dollars as well as modernize and increase the security of U.S. government data systems. Based on this reporting, it’s going to cost at least as much as Musk claims to have saved from so-called “waste and abuse” to take back and wipe clean every government computer, data storage facility, and cell phone that has been in use since January 20.

We have known since Trump’s first administration that he refused to use an official secure government cell phone and instead through his first term in office and this term so far has used his private cell phone to communicate with everyone from golfing buddies to foreign leaders. He has been compromised for years.

Now we know that everyone who works for him has been compromised due to their use of highly insecure communications apps. The 404 Media story even identifies the Northern Virginia location of the servers and storage facilities, owned by Amazon, through which and into which TeleMessage has sent data accumulated through its piggy-backing on communications apps such as Signal, WhatsApp, and Telegram. In the intelligence business, this sort of information is known as “gold.” The hacker “was able to login to the TeleMessage backend panel using the usernames and passwords” found during the penetration of the communications systems.

When you start to see words like “usernames” and “passwords” and “login” in a story about the official communications of the United States government, you know we’re in trouble.

And the trouble we’re in is rooted in the two north-stars of everything Donald Trump has ever done in his life: a complete absence of consequences and the overwhelming presence of arrogance. That combination is the yellow brick road foreign adversaries look for when they are trying to penetrate U.S. information stores, intentions, and methods of tactical and intelligence operations.

One independent hacker, in what he or she admitted was “15 to 20 minutes,” has stripped the façade from the Trump administration’s pretense of governing and put all our military services, including 1.4 million men and women and trillions of dollars’ worth of military equipment and facilities at risk. It’s going to cost lives.

Lucian K. Truscott IV, a graduate of West Point, has had a 50-year career as a journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. He has covered Watergate, the Stonewall riots, and wars in Lebanon, Iraq, and Afghanistan. He is also the author of five bestselling novels. He writes every day at luciantruscott.substack.com and you can follow him on Bluesky @lktiv.bsky.social and on Facebook at Lucian K. Truscott IV. Please consider subscribing to his Substack.

Reprinted with permission from Lucian Truscott Newsletter.

Five Smart Ways To Become An Ethical Hacking Pro—All At Over 90% Off

Five Smart Ways To Become An Ethical Hacking Pro—All At Over 90% Off

Professional penetration testers (better known as ethical hackers) usually come from one of two ranks: those who learned the ways of hacking on their own; and those who took classes to amass those talents. While there’s a world of knowledge to be gained from self-taught skills, it’s often those with formal education — and certification to prove it — that are more ready to bag a high-paying job with a reputable, security-minded company.

As the U.S.-Russia scandal and other headline-grabbing stories can attest, ethical hacking is a career that’s never been more vital. Take a look at this collection of ethical hacking instruction courses (all at over 90 percent off) from The National Memo Store and get in the game. Plus, you can take an extra 50% off all e-learning bundles with code BUNDLE50 (valid thru 10/22).

Ethical Hacking A to Z Bundle

Over eight classes and more than 20 hours of content, this ethical hacking bootcamp examines both the theories and tools a working hacker uses to be an accomplished pen tester. If you want to know what the day-to-day responsibilities of a pro hacker entail, this is the course to find out.

Buy now: Valued at nearly $1,300, get this all-in-one learning bundle at a fraction of that price — just $39.

The Super-Sized Ethical Hacking Bundle

Another great way to get all your hacker training covered in one extensive package. From learning how to use powerful hacking tools like Kali Linux to CompTIA certification training to monetizing your hacking skills, this nine-course bundle takes your learning beyond the theoretical into reality.

Buy now: These classes, which usually cost over $1,000, are discounted by more than 90 percent, down to just $43 while the deal lasts.

2017 IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training

Prove you’ve got the hacking chops needed to get employed with this top-flight IT security training. As you secure networks, manage risk factors and spot and fix vulnerabilities, you’ll be learning the critical skills needed to pass some of the IT industry’s top certification exams.

Buy now: For less than $30 — just $29.99 — you’ll get training materials that normally retail for $1,895.

IT Security & Ethical Hacking Certification Training

Do you want CompTIA Security+ certification? Done. Cisco CCNA Security exam credentials? You got it. This package including over 50 hours of advanced training and more than 48 hours of coursework will put you in position to earn the most valuable IT certifications available. Just study up for 2 to 3 hours a week and you’ll be set to pass all the exams you’ll need in up to six weeks.

Buy now: $29.99 gets you all this training at a price hundreds of dollars less than its regular price.

Become an Ethical Hacker Bonus Bundle

One of the best-selling hacker training bundles around will get you employed as an IT security pro in no time. In nine courses, you’ll learn pen testing, mobile security, Linux, cross site scripting…the works. There’s even a course to put you on track for an annual salary of $120,000 a year.

Buy now:  This course package, worth almost $700, can be yours at the limited time price of just $49.99.

This sponsored post is brought to you by StackCommerce. 

5 Reasons You Need A VPN When You Travel — and Why You Should Use Disconnect

5 Reasons You Need A VPN When You Travel — and Why You Should Use Disconnect

The message has become so battle-worn that you can probably nearly recite it in your sleep — a virtual private network (VPN) is essential to your security on the web. But after hearing the constant drumbeat of advocates for so many years now, there may be plenty of relatively novice web users who don’t fully understand what a VPN does or how it can serve as a vital line of defense for you, your digital systems, and your precious information.

For those in the know, you can cut right to the chase and get a year of protection from one of the most highly-regarded VPN services on the market — Disconnect — for a ridiculously low $19 (over 60 percent off) from The National Memo Store.

However, for those a bit fuzzier on exactly what a VPN offers and how, we’ve broken down five very simple ways a VPN is an essential travel partner literally anywhere you go.

1. Public WiFi is sketchy… and a VPN is your bulletproof vest.

Sure, we all love public WiFi. Nobody wants to use their oh-so-precious cellular minutes while they’re strolling through the mall if that mall is kind enough to offer free public WiFi for its customers. But hold on… just because the mall wants to give you something nice and do you a solid, that attitude is not necessarily held by everyone using that public hub. In fact, crooks routinely stake out those hubs, preying on devices that log in, leaving their personal information vulnerable to theft.

Not so with a VPN. Disconnect allows you to use the WiFi to connect, yet provides encryption via its own iron-clad connection shielding in any location anywhere. Behind that level of security, hackers and cyberthieves can’t crack your defenses and attack your data and files.

2. Some countries aren’t fans of a free information exchange.

If you remember back when you could roam freely almost anywhere on the web and see it all… well, that was a long time ago. Nowadays, some countries take a very heavy-handed approach to what citizens and visitors can see on the internet, blocking many popular news sites, social media platforms, and search engines to restrict the flow of information.

With a VPN like Disconnect, those restrictions fall away. You can elect to connect to a server outside the country you’re in, instantly getting you around any particular country’s arbitrary web bans.

3. Did we mention watching whatever you want whenever you want?

Sometimes, international content providers can seem just as authoritarian as rigid governments. Many companies who own worldwide distribution rights to your favorite films, television series and music will even go so far as to control it by national boundaries, geo-locking their product around the world.  That means if you want to log into your American Netflix account and watch movies while you’re on vacation in Europe… no dice.

Instead, fire up your VPN and you can decide which of your provider’s servers to log into, meaning you can either connect locally to surf the web (and watch content) like other locals; or choose a server in another country, cloaking you to look like you’re physically located anywhere you want — and subject only to those rules.

4. If no one can see you, no one can hurt you.

Anonymity is the best defense. Remember those hackers and cyberthieves? Behind the veil of total privacy provided by VPNs like Disconnect, you can go anywhere on the web, do anything and leave no trail of those activities. Thieves can’t steal what they can’t find, and if your VPN provider makes you the equivalent of an internet ghost, malicious forces can’t target your vital financial and personal information for attack.

Foreign agencies and government watchdogs? Nope, they can’t see you either. Even nosy friends, family and other associates will never know what you’ve been doing online.

5. Speed up your web connection overnight.

You may wonder if funneling your internet connection through a VPN’s secure encryption tunnel will slow your roll online. And in some cases, it can. However, in addition to its other VPN advantages, Disconnect is also a malware and web tracking blocker. Where standard internet connections can leave you vulnerable to those cookies following you all over the web and bogging down your service, Disconnect sweeps those trackers and other unnecessary browser activities away. In fact, Disconnect will have you browsing up to 44% faster — and using almost 40% less bandwidth to do it.

In addition to Disconnect’s current 1-year deal for $19, you can also lock in their services to longer term, equally attractive rates, including a three-year plan for $29 and lifetime Disconnect protection for only $49.

This sponsored post is brought to you by StackCommerce.

Learn How To Get Employed As An Ethical Hacker — For Less Than $40

Learn How To Get Employed As An Ethical Hacker — For Less Than $40

Hacking and cyber-terrorism continue to dominate the news and may ultimately even help topple a presidency. With stakes like those, it’s not hard to see where acquiring the skills to be an ethical hacker could open up a world of job possibilities for anyone interested in stopping malicious cyber threats for a living.

You can start that training to join the front lines of the web’s most important fight with this Ethical Hacking A to Z training, which you get for only $39 (over 90 percent off) from The National Memo Store.

Across eight courses featuring more than 45 hours of instruction, you’ll learn how to break into the ethical hacking field by exploring basic to advanced skills — all the components you’ll eventually need to land a job and succeed in this high-stakes world.

Rather than focusing on the cold academics, these courses actually take a hands-on approach to teaching you the ins and outs of being a cybersecurity professional.

From a comprehensive understanding of penetration testing (as well as how to do it on your own) to spotting computer and network attacks (even automated attacks), to building your own tools for spotting system vulnerabilities and fixing them, you’ll cover the most important aspects of IT security with practical examples to help put your learning into practice.

You’ll even learn how to hack and secure Android smartphones and tablets, adding a unique and valuable skill to your resume.

This security training package would normally cost almost $1,300, so grab it now for just $39 before this offer expires.

This sponsored post is brought to you by StackCommerce.

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