Dominion Worker Drops Newsmax From Lawsuit After Network Apologizes for Allegations
A Dominion Voting Systems worker has dropped a lawsuit against Newsmax after the broadcaster apologized to him for allegations it said were unfounded. Newsmax apologized to Eric Coomer, Dominion’s director of product strategy and security, for covering claims by lawyers for former President Donald Trump and others that he “played a role in manipulating Dominion voting machines, Dominion voting software, and the final vote counts in the 2020 presidential election.” “Newsmax subsequently found no evidence that such allegations were true,” the company said in a statement. “Newsmax has found no evidence that Dr. Coomer interfered with Dominion voting machines or voting software in any way, nor that Dr. Coomer ever claimed to have done so. Nor has Newsmax found any evidence that Dr. Coomer ever participated in any conversation with members of ‘Antifa,’ nor that he was directly involved with any partisan political organization.” “We would like to apologize for …
Senator Marsha Blackburn Calls for New Cybersecurity Measures
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) called for increased cybersecurity measures in a recent interview with Fox News.
Senator Blackburn’s remarks come in response to the cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline, which has greatly impacted gas prices and accessibility levels across several states.
“One of the things that is disappointing to me, whether it is a hack on a federal agency, or this attack on our critical infrastructure— we still have individuals who have thought, well this doesn’t happen that often so we don’t need to be that worried about it,” Blackburn expressed in the interview.
A ransomware gang known as “Darkside” targeted the pipeline, which brings oil from Texas to northeastern locations throughout the United States. The group has carried out multiple attacks across the United States and Europe. The attack has shut down production completely. In response, gas prices have risen across the southern and eastern parts of the country. Further, officials say the attack could lead to shortages of gas in multiple states.
“Because when a cyberattack happens, what we know is you cannot lose time. Time is precious when it comes to assessing the situation, getting your arms around it, and being able to remediate that situation,” Blackburn added.
In previous proposed legislation, Blackburn has advocated for certain enhanced cybersecurity measures. Specifically, last year, as a part of the National Defense Authorization Act, a pilot program was created to expand the abilities of the National Guard to provide technical assistance in response to cyberattacks.
Additionally, Blackburn and Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced legislation last week that would create a pilot Civilian Cybersecurity Reserve program to assist the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security with cybersecurity-trained civilian personnel.
“This would ensure we’ve got the hands on deck that we are going to need to address some of these vulnerabilities,” said Blackburn.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to cooperreports@gmail.com.
The post Senator Marsha Blackburn Calls for New Cybersecurity Measures appeared first on The Georgia Star News.
Virginia, Florida Governors Declare States of Emergency Over Colonial Pipeline Hack
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared in their respective counties states of emergency in response to the recent hack of the Colonial Pipeline. Gas stations in multiple states across the country began running dry and gasoline prices rose on Tuesday, after a fifth day of shutdown of the fuel pipeline following the attack by hackers. Motorists have been panic buying since the May 7 ransomware attack, which effectively restricted access to computer systems while demanding payments to release them. The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday issued temporary waivers of certain fuel standards to increase the supply of gasoline in areas whose reformulated gasoline has been impacted by the shutdown. In particular, it waived the federal Reid vapor pressure requirements for fuel sold in Reformulated Gasoline areas of District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The waiver will continue through May 18. . .
Japan Passes Digital Law As Virus Underscores Tech Struggles
Japan’s parliament approved a law to set up a new Digital Agency as the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, including stumbles in its vaccine rollout, underscored the country’s need to catch up on technology.
The bill, which passed in the upper house Wednesday following approval in the more powerful lower house last month, establishes an agency aimed at bringing greater digitalization to ministries and administrative bodies. The Digital Agency, to be launched in September with an initial staff of 500, will also plan a nationwide shift of local government processes into the cloud and try to help facilitate digitalization in the private sector.
From delayed cash handouts at the beginning of the pandemic last year to the low uptake of remote work and problems with online booking systems for vaccination appointments, the virus has highlighted Japan’s difficulty in taking advantage of more efficient ways of working.
Many Japanese in recent days have struggled to access websites at local authorities to book appointments for coronavirus vaccinations, contributing to a slow rollout that has irked the public and ranked among the slowest in developed nations.
NASA criticizes China over handling of rocket re-entry after debris crashes in Indian Ocean
ASA is criticized China for failing to meet “responsible standards” for allowing a spent, out-of-control rocket to crash to Earth.
The debris from the rocket landed Sunday in the Indian Ocean – but not before essentially putting world on red-alert about where it might crash to Earth.
“Spacefaring nations must minimize the risks to people and property on Earth of re-entries of space objects and maximize transparency regarding those operations,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said Sunday, according to CNN. “China is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris.”
FBI names pipeline cyberattackers as company promises return
Hit by a cyberattack, the operator of a major U.S. fuel pipeline said Monday it hopes to have services mostly restored by the end of the week as the FBI and administration officials identified the culprits as a gang of criminal hackers. . . In this case, the FBI moved with unusual speed to pinpoint blame, saying the criminal syndicate whose ransomware was used in the attack is named DarkSide. The group’s members are Russian speakers, and the syndicate’s malware is coded not to attack networks using Russian-language keyboards.
Facebook oversight board member rips social media giant as ‘inconsistent’ after Trump ban
Former federal judge on board says Facebook’s rules are both “arbitrary” and in “shambles.”
Apparently, We See Once Again Everyone Is Vulnerable Except Dominion Voting Systems | “Ransomware Attackers Up Ante as White House Vows Crack Down”
A series of major cyber-attacks in recent weeks has underscored the brazenness of the attackers and the challenges of tackling the problem of ransomware, just as the Biden administration announced plans to take on the issue.
In a matter of days, attacks were revealed against the police department in Washington, D.C. , where the hackers threatened to release information about police informants to criminal gangs; the Illinois Attorney General’s office, which had been warned about weak cybersecurity practices in a recent state audit; and San Diego-based Scripps Health, where medical procedures were canceled and emergency patients diverted to other hospitals.
Then on Saturday, Colonial Pipeline confirmed that it had joined the list of recent ransomware victims in an attack that threatened to upend gasoline and diesel supplies on the East Coast. While few details about the attack are yet known, Colonial shut down the biggest gasoline pipeline in the U.S. as part of an effort to contain the threat.
“The recent ransomware attacks illustrate, by their number severity and range of targets, why we need to treat this problem on the level of a real national security threat both here and around the world,” said Christopher Painter, coordinator for cyber issues at the State Department under President Barack Obama. “Fortunately, people in our government are paying attention.”
The string of attacks came as the Biden administration has vowed to take on ransomware, which Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week called “one of our most significant priorities right now.” His agency in March announced a 60-day sprint to address ransomware, and the Department of Justice has created its own ransomware task force.
Astronomers observe black hole ‘spaghettification’ of a star for the first time
Scientists recently recorded the first known direct observation of the “spaghettification” of a star by a black hole, a process by which the star is pulled apart and devoured by the massive astronomical object.
The international team of astronomers, in a paper recently published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, describe having observed “the inner regions of a cooling accretion disc” from a star’s being drawn into the immense gravity of the black hole.
Stars being pulled apart by black holes can be “spaghettified” by them, a process by which the black hole pulls in a long trail of matter from the celestial body.
The “tidal disruption event” results in an immense output of visible radiation, which the scientists record having spotted in the paper.
Feminist Author Naomi Wolf: Democrats Are ‘In An Embrace With Big Tech’ To ‘Consolidate Power’ | Video: 5 Minutes 1 Second
Feminist author Naomi Wolf criticized Democrats’ “embrace with Big Tech” to impose censorship on conservatives and others with differing opinions during a Wednesday night appearance on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
Wolf told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that she had since been suspended twice from Twitter and once from several other major platforms.
“I’ve been talking about all kinds of things for years on social media and have never had this problem until I talked to a conservative about how left and right should unite to save the Constitution,” Wolf said.
WATCH:
Below Is Foundational Information On Some Of The Issues With Big Tech
'Google’s China rapproachment has been spearheaded by Pichai, Google’s current CEO, a 46-year-old Indian-American who took the helm in October 2015. At a June 2016 conference in southern California, Pichai made his intentions clear. “I care about servicing users globally in every corner. Google is for everyone,” he said. “We want to be in China serving Chinese users.”' Google Employees have been warning us about China and Google under Pichai, for years. The censorship chickens have been coming home to roost ever since. Say hello to Dragonfly.
DRAGONFLY HAS COME TO AMERICA
Wondering Why Censorship Has Increased In America? Dragonfly, Censorship Through Algorithms and Human Surveillance, Has Landed Across All Platforms. “Many of us accepted employment at Google with the company’s values in mind, including its previous position on Chinese censorship and surveillance, and an understanding that Google was a company willing to place its values above its profits. After a year of disappointments including Project Maven, Dragonfly, and Google’s support for abusers, we no longer believe this is the case. This is why we’re taking a stand.”
FACEBOOK USERS ARE 'DUMB FUCKS'
~ Mark Zuckerberg
'In another exchange leaked to Silicon Alley Insider, Zuckerberg explained to a friend that his control of Facebook gave him access to any information he wanted on any Harvard student:
Zuck: yea so if you ever need info about anyone at harvard
Zuck: just ask
Zuck: i have over 4000 emails, pictures, addresses, sns
Friend: what!? how’d you manage that one?
Zuck: people just submitted it
Zuck: i don’t know why
Zuck: they “trust me”
Zuck: dumb fucks'
Defense Department Technology used by ex-general against a sitting U.S. President.
