MPS SecBlog: Week in Review - 21 June 2024
- Montane PS Staff
- Jun 21, 2024
- 2 min read
Is China Prepared for War?
Amid worsening U.S.-China tensions and an unrelenting Chinese military buildup, fears have grown that Beijing may be preparing for war. Distinguishing between the concepts of military preparedness and national war preparation shows that China’s military is enhancing its preparedness, but little evidence that the national leadership intends to fight a war anytime soon.
Paris Olympics: Aussies in the firing line as scammers ramp up campaigns
Scams taking advantage of the event have been in circulation since at least May this year, mostly with the simple aim of stealing either money or personal information. And Australians are a popular target for scammers, too, up there with countries like the US, Japan, Germany, and France itself.
Calls to ban WeChat grow after Canberra clashes
WeChat has censored posts mentioning clashes between Chinese Australians over Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s visit to Australia, heightening calls from cybersecurity experts for the social media platform to be banned. The calls come a day after a bizarre incident in which Chinese officials blocked cameras from getting a shot of Australian journalist Cheng Lei – who was detained in China for three years – in the press pack while Mr Li was speaking.
Bug allows threat actors to mimic legitimate Microsoft emails
A bug allowing threat actors to send a message from what appears to be a legitimate Microsoft employee email has been discovered by a security researcher. Unable to recreate the bug, the tech giant dismissed the issue despite 400m Outlook account holders being at risk.
When cyber defence involves attack: Issues for Australia
Australia's cyber defences are frequently breached, raising doubts about the Albanese government's goal of becoming a world cybersecurity leader by 2030. To protect themselves, companies need legal clarity on "active cyber defence" measures, which include deceptive tools to hinder hackers, yet the government has not properly addressed the legality or funding of these countermeasures, leaving businesses vulnerable and exposed to significant risks.
Medusa ransomware gang demands US$700k payment from Victoria Racing Club
The Victorian Racing Club confirmed late on Friday that it was the victim of a “cyber incident,” a day after the Medusa ransomware operation claimed that it was behind the attack. While the VRC is investigating the data that may have been impacted, the Medusa gang claimed to have more than 100 gigabytes of data belonging to the club. After using the club’s own boilerplate to describe the victim, the gang said “The total amount of data leakage is 128.1 GB”.
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