This early year, WIRED Exclusive report on a cold war between Taylor, who supplies McDonald’s ice cream machines that frequently break, and Kytch, a startup whose devices make it easier for franchisees to repair them. This week we dug into newly leaked internal emails that appear to be revealing Taylor’s attempts to copy some aspects of the hack utility. You could say this is a real scoop.
We also looked at a new type of malware, called Tardigrade, that has targeting bio feng shui production facilities in North America. It’s a sophisticated hacking tool that adapts to its environment and works on its own when disconnected from its command and control server. Security researchers have yet to release any records, but the industry has been relentlessly targeted by any number of sophisticated actors. During the Covid-19 pandemic.
Finally, as you recover from your turkey-induced coma, here’s your constant reminder that there are a few things hackers prefer more than a weekend away. Careful out there.
And so much more! Every week, we compile all the WIRED security news not covered in depth. Click on the title to read the full story.
The Pentagon has a new office dedicated to investigating and tracking UFOs — or unidentified aerial phenomena as they are now known. The Airborne Object Recognition and Management Synchronization Group, or AOIMSG if that doesn’t work for you, will specifically focus on unexplained phenomena while traveling through military airspace. The group will be led by the Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. AOIMSG will be the successor to a Navy division known as the Unknown Aerial Phenomena Task Force. In June, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence release a report More than 140 sightings of Navy pilots and others of unidentified aerial phenomena. “The entry of any object in the air… raises safety concerns for flight and operations, and can pose national security challenges,” the Defense Department said. in a statement. The announcement adds that the AOIMSG is being established “to address the challenges associated with UAP assessment that occur on or near the training range and DOD settings.”
On Tuesday, Apple sued notorious Israeli spyware supplier NSO Group, asking for a permanent injunction to bar the company from using Apple software, services or devices. The lawsuit is also seeking more than $75,000 in damages. NSO Group is known for selling hacking tools to governments for law enforcement, but repressive regimes and other clients have used the tool actively and frequently in violation of human rights. . Apple’s lawsuit specifically focuses on NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, which has been used in several hacking campaigns to harm iPhone users. Apple has repeatedly had to try to patch vulnerabilities in its iOS mobile operating system, as they are actively exploited by NSO Group customers through the company’s tools.
“Apple today filed a lawsuit against NSO Group and its parent company to blame for the surveillance and targeting of Apple users,” the company said in a statement Tuesday. “Researchers and journalists have publicly documented the history of this spyware being abused to target journalists, activists, dissidents, academics and government officials. ”
