Cybersecurity

FBI probes Russian-linked postcard sent to FireEye CEO

The FBI is investigating a mysterious postcard sent to the home of cybersecurity firm FireEye’s chief executive days after it found initial evidence of a suspected Russian hacking operation on dozens of US government agencies and private American companies.

Trump bars US transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (5 January) signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, the White House said, escalating tensions with Beijing two weeks before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Ericsson worried about Chinese retaliation after Huawei ban

The head of Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson, Bjorn Ekholm, is worried about Chinese reprisals after Sweden banned Huawei from taking part in the rollout of 5G networks, he said Monday (4 January).

Moscow expands list of German officials banned from Russia

Moscow on Tuesday (29 December) expanded a list of German officials who are banned from entering Russia in response to EU sanctions that the bloc imposed over Russian cyber-attacks on the German parliament.

Trump must blame Russia for cyber-attack on US, Biden says

President-elect Joe Biden said on Tuesday (22 December) he had seen no evidence that a massive cyber-attack against the United States is under control and warned that the breach will not go unanswered once he takes office on 20 January.

‘We are a prime target,’ Schinas says, as Commission strives to bolster cyber resilience

The EU has been identified as a "prime target" by malicious global cyber attackers and the bloc needs to reinforce its capabilities to defend itself amid this new threat landscape, the European Commission has said.

Suspected Russian hackers spied on US Treasury emails

Hackers believed to be working for Russia have been monitoring internal email traffic at the US Treasury and Commerce departments, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bucharest to host EU’s new cybersecurity centre

Bucharest was selected by EU governments on Wednesday (9 December) to host the EU's new cyber-centre, beating six other candidate cities. It will be the first EU agency based in Romania.

Vaccine documents hacked at EU medicines agency

Two pharmaceutical companies in line for first conditional approval for their Covid-19 vaccine by the EU's medicine regulator said Wednesday (9 December) their documents were "unlawfully accessed" during a cyberattack on a European Medicines Agency server.

Leading US cybersecurity firm hacked, likely by a government

FireEye, one of the largest cybersecurity companies in the United States, said that it had been hacked, likely by a government, and that an arsenal of hacking tools used to test the defenses of its clients had been stolen.

Commission reveals details on bolstered cybersecurity rules

The European Commission will attempt to bolster the bloc's cybersecurity rules as part of an upcoming review of the network and information security (NIS) directive, it has been revealed.

5G security a priority in our EU cyber centre bid, Spain says

Spain has begun jockeying for its candidacy to host the new European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Centre (ECCC), noting that the country’s track record in 5G and connectivity as reasons why it should be considered a frontrunner. A...

Poland makes case for new EU cyber centre seat

Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki has been attempting to make the case for his country to host the new European Cybersecurity Industrial, Technology and Research Competence Center (ECCC), in a letter sent to EU leaders seen by EURACTIV. In 2018, the...

German EU presidency pushes for cybersecurity ‘by design’ in connected devices

Laptops, smart phones and other connected devices in Europe should be subject to new cybersecurity standards throughout the "entire life cycle" of products, according to draft EU Council conclusions on the subject, obtained by EURACTIV.

‘Five Eyes’ alliance demands ways to access encrypted apps

The "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance demanded Sunday that tech companies insert "backdoors" in encrypted apps to allow law enforcement agencies the access they say they need to police online criminality.

NSA, FBI expose Russian intelligence hacking tool

The US National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation have exposed a sophisticated Russian hacking tool, they said on Thursday (13 August) in a rare public report offering new insight on Russia’s arsenal of digital weapons.

Suspected Russian hackers stole contents of ex-UK trade minister’s email account

Suspected state-backed Russian hackers are believed to have stolen the entire contents of a personal email account used by former British trade minister Liam Fox as part of an attempt to sway the 2019 UK election, two sources told Reuters.

Commission presents security strategy to tackle Europe’s evolving threat landscape

Better cybersecurity standards for critical infrastructure, doubling down on tackling terrorism and organized crime, and preparing the bloc for emerging threats in “real and digital” environments, dominated the European Commission’s new EU Security Union strategy, presented on Friday (24 July)....

Commission presses member states to take action on high-risk 5G vendors

EU nations must make urgent progress on mitigating the risks to 5G telecommunications networks posed by certain high-risk suppliers, the European Commission said in a progress report published on Friday (24 July).

Digital politics and the COVID crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has forced us to move more of our lives online faster. But is this for the better? What should we take with us from our lockdown experiences, asks Dita Charanzová.

UK, US and Canada accuse Russia of vaccine research hacking

Britain, the United States and Canada on Thursday (16 July) risked worsening fraught diplomatic ties with Russia by accusing Moscow-linked hackers of targeting labs in their countries conducting coronavirus vaccine research.