Saturday, June 21, 2025

Tech News, analysis, updates, comments, reviews

U.S. seizes domains used in USAID hack

The Department of Justice on Tuesday announced it has seized Internet domains prosecutors say Russian hackers used as part of a recent attack involving the U.S. Agency for International Development. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI

The Justice Department announced it has seized domains Russian hackers responsible for the SolarWinds attack used in a phishing scheme last month targeting governments and organizations through mimicking the United States Agency for International Development.

Prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday that they seized two domains on Friday that Russia-linked Nobelium hacker group had used as part of its wide-scale attack targeting some 3,000 individual accounts across more than 150 governments, think tanks and organizations.

The scheme, uncovered by Microsoft on Thursday, involved gaining access to the Constant Contact email service of the USAID from which the hackers sent malicious links through authentic-looking government emails to their targets.

When the links were clicked, a malicious file would download a so-called back door onto the computer offering the hackers access to its information and that of other computers on its network.

Microsoft said most of the emails distributed were blocked by email threat detention systems and marked as spam though some may have been delivered.

The Justice Department said it seized theyardservice.com and worldhomeoutlet.com through a court order with the aim to disrupt Nobelium’s activities and identify victims, though prosecutors state the hackers may have deployed other backdoors between the initial attack, which began May 25, and Friday’s seizure.

“Last week’s action is a continued demonstration of the department’s commitment to proactively disrupt hacking activity prior to the conclusion of a criminal investigation,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers of the department’s National Security Division.

Nobelium has been blamed for the attack in November that breached at least nine U.S. federal agencies and dozens of companies through the widely used SolarWinds software.

Get notified whenever we post something new!

spot_img

Migrate to the cloud

Make yourself future-proof by migrating your infrastructure and services to the cloud. Become resilient, efficient and distributed.

Continue reading

Taking Control of Your Genetic Privacy

Practical steps to delete your 23andMe genetic data and protect your biological privacy, with global considerations for data protection.

A Cybersecurity Perspective on Border Searches and Digital Privacy

Exploring the challenges of phone privacy at borders, this post reflects on cybersecurity strategies and global implications for travelers and professionals.

Why Kenya’s Cybersecurity Boom Matters More Than The Numbers Suggest

The statistics tell one story about Kenya's cybersecurity market. A 10.54% growth rate through 2029, reaching $92.64 million. The need for 10,000 new experts by 2025. Organizations scrambling to boost budgets by 34% after cyberattacks hit M-PESA and Kenya...

Enjoy exclusive discounts

Use the promo code SDBR002 to get amazing discounts to our software development services.