A subsidiary of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/advisor/health-insurance/largest-health-insurance-companies/">one of the largest</a> health insurance agencies in the U.S. was hit by a cyberattack earlier this week from what it believes is a foreign “nation-state” actor, crippling many pharmacies’ ability to process prescriptions across the country.
UnitedHealth Group, a Minnesota-based company, said its subsidiary Change Healthcare’s system was compromised when a “suspected nation-state associated cyber security threat actor” gained access on Wednesday, Bloomberg <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/unitedhealth-blamed-nation-state-threat-214720756.html">reported</a>. Change Healthcare was the only network affected by the cyberattack, according to UnitedHealth.
“UnitedHealth Group identified a suspected nation-state associated cyber security threat actor had gained access to some of the Change Healthcare information technology systems,” the company <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/22/tech/us-pharmacies-face-delays-filling-prescriptions-because-of-cyberattack/index.html">said</a>. “Immediately upon detection of this outside threat, the company proactively isolated the impacted systems from other connecting systems in the interest of protecting our partners and patients, to contain, assess and remediate the incident.”
The multi-billion-dollar health insurance company is unsure when the service for its subsidiary will be restored and is working with law enforcement and security experts on the issue.
“Change Healthcare is experiencing a cybersecurity issue, and our experts are working to address the matter,” UnitedHealth said in a statement. “Once we became aware of the outside threat, in the interest of protecting our partners and patients, we took immediate action to disconnect our systems to prevent further impact.”
Following the cyberattack, some pharmacies could not process prescriptions for insurance companies to receive payment, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/22/tech/us-pharmacies-face-delays-filling-prescriptions-because-of-cyberattack/index.html">reported</a>. Hospitals such as the Naval Hospital in Camp Pendleton, California, and Evans Army Community Hospital in Colorado released statements saying they were either unable to process prescription claims or were experiencing delays.
“Due to an ongoing enterprise-wide issue, all Camp Pendleton and associated pharmacies are unable to process any prescription claims. We are only able to assist patients with emergency and urgent prescriptions from hospital providers at this time. Please visit our website for info,” the Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton, <a href="https://twitter.com/NavHospCampPen/status/1760733389186085116">said</a>.
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On Thursday, the American Hospital Association <a href="https://www.aha.org/advisory/2024-02-22-unitedhealth-groups-change-healthcare-experiencing-cyberattack-could-impact-health-care-providers-and">warned</a> its roughly 5,000 member hospitals and other health care providers of the cyberattack against Change Healthcare and said it believes “all other systems across UnitedHealth Group are operational.”

Cyberattack

U.S. Health Insurance Company Hit With Cyberattack From ‘Suspected Nation-State’ Actor, Crippling Pharmacies’ Ability To Process Prescriptions

U.S. Health Insurance Company Hit With Cyberattack From 'Suspected Nation-State' Actor, Crippling Pharmacies' Ability To Process Prescriptions

Crime

Cybersecurity

Health Care

U.S.

Genetic testing firm 23andMe confirmed Monday that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cyberattack" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hackers</a> were able to access the data of 6.9 million users, about half the company&#8217;s customer base.
The California-based company said hackers accessed 5.5 million profiles that were using a feature called DNA Relatives, which allows people to find genetic relatives. Hackers were also able to access family tree information from another 1.4 million DNA Relatives profiles.
In some cases, the hackers gained access to users&#8217; ancestry reports, zip codes, and birth years, 23andMe said.
“23andMe has completed its investigation, assisted by third-party forensics experts. We are in the process of notifying affected customers, as required by law,” the company <a href="https://blog.23andme.com/articles/addressing-data-security-concerns" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement posted Saturday evening to 23andMe&#8217;s website.
“We have taken steps to further protect customer data, including requiring all existing customers to reset their password and requiring two-step verification for all new and existing customers,” the company said.
Last week, 23andMe said hackers had accessed data from about 14,000 users or 0.1% of its customers.
In order to pull off the data breach, the hackers reused old usernames and passwords from other websites that had already been compromised, a tactic known as credential stuffing.
&#8220;We have taken steps to further protect customer data, including requiring all existing customers to reset their password and requiring two-step verification for all new and existing customers,&#8221; a company spokesperson <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/fox-news-tech/23andme-confirms-hackers-accessed-data-6-9-million-users" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Fox Business.
The company also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/us/23andme-hack-data.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on Monday that it has not learned of “any reports of inappropriate use of the data after the leak.”
In October, profile information from 23andMe customers reportedly started showing up on a dark web forum used by hackers.
The company is currently <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/us/23andme-hack-data.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">working</a> on notifying all customers who were affected by the breach, as required by law, although the timeline for when everyone will have been notified is not clear.
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Critics have warned against providing such personal information to companies, saying it can always be stolen.
“Should we be providing data that is so personal and so intimate to an organization that, largely speaking, only has a strong allegiance to their investors and their boards?” Ramesh Srinivasan, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles department of information studies, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/04/us/23andme-hack-data.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">remarked</a> to The New York Times.
23andMe is not the first firm to have a major data breach.
Last month, Okta, an identity management firm, admitted that a data breach was worse than expected. Hackers likely stole data from all recent users of Okta&#8217;s Help Center service, the company <a href="https://www.cpomagazine.com/cyber-security/okta-customer-support-security-breach-update-all-clients-using-help-center-impacted-contact-info-for-all-certified-users-stolen/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.

In this photo illustration, the 23andMe logo is displayed on

23andMe Says Hackers Accessed Data Of Nearly 7 Million Users

23andMe Says Hackers Stole Data Of Nearly 7 Million Users

Business

California

Genes

New emails obtained by a law group allege the top cybersecurity defense agency in the U.S. immediately worked to discredit the infamous <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hunter-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hunter Biden</a> laptop story on the same day the New York Post published the article.
America First Legal, a non-profit law group led by former senior members of the Trump administration, said on social media Wednesday that two weeks before the 2020 presidential election, the Department of Homeland Security&#8217;s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) linked Biden&#8217;s laptop story to the likes of &#8220;QAnon&#8221; and the 2016 &#8220;Pizzagate&#8221; child-sex trafficking theory.
In the heavily redacted documents, a CISA analyst on the Countering Foreign Influence Task Force flagged &#8220;colleagues&#8221; in an email with an Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2020/10/21/qanon-grows-2020-election" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> titled &#8220;QAnon Conspiracy Theory Explodes Ahead of the Election.&#8221;
The report ties the conspiracy theories to &#8220;[r]ecent reports about what was purported to be Hunter Biden&#8217;s computer hard drive,&#8221; sparking &#8220;renewed activity from Q&#8221; with a least 16 new &#8220;Q drops&#8221; the same day of the Post article, according to the unearthed emails.
The legal group said, at best, the DHS sub-agency may have been &#8220;in the dark&#8221; about Biden&#8217;s laptop despite the FBI confirming its authenticity in November 2019.
&#8220;CISA still reported the story as a QAnon and Pizzagate child-sex trafficking conspiracy theory on Oct 22, 2020,&#8221; the legal group said on X.
CISA Executive Director Brandon Wales told The Daily Wire in a statement the cybersecurity defense agency &#8220;does not and has never censored speech or facilitated censorship.&#8221;
&#8220;Every day, the men and women of CISA execute the agency’s mission of reducing risk to U.S. critical infrastructure in a way that protects Americans’ freedom of speech, civil rights, civil liberties, and privacy,&#8221; Wales said. &#8220;In response to concerns from election officials of all parties regarding foreign influence operations and disinformation that may impact the security of election infrastructure, CISA mitigates the risk of disinformation by sharing information on election literacy and election security with the public and by amplifying the trusted voices of election officials across the nation.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
/1🚨EXPLOSIVE DOCS — new docs obtained from our lawsuit against DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) indicate the federal gov’t immediately participated in an effort to discredit the Hunter Biden laptop story the same day of the <a href="https://twitter.com/nypost?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nypost</a>’s reporting: <a href="https://t.co/L9bcuWbu5z">pic.twitter.com/L9bcuWbu5z</a>
&mdash; America First Legal (@America1stLegal) <a href="https://twitter.com/America1stLegal/status/1717179236220289132?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2023</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Earlier this month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals expanded a previous injunction to include CISA, which ruled that the agency &#8220;likely violated the First Amendment&#8221; for allegedly lobbying Silicon Valley companies to censor online content involving elections.
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&#8220;CISA was the &#8216;primary facilitator&#8217; of the FBI&#8217;s interactions with the social-media platforms and worked in close coordination with the FBI to push the platforms to change their moderation policies to cover &#8216;hack-and-leak&#8217; content,&#8221; the court ruled, according to the legal group.
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, one of the Republican attorneys general who brought the case, called CISA the &#8220;nerve center&#8221; in censoring speech online.
&#8220;CISA is the &#8216;nerve center&#8217; of the vast censorship enterprise, the very entity that worked with the FBI to silence the Hunter Biden laptop story,&#8221; Bailey <a href="https://twitter.com/AGAndrewBailey/status/1709316391948439647?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1709316394871894455%7Ctwgr%5E8c0378016d2d54724ba0a4d5c14aa95f1472df2e%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fstory%2Fmoney%2F2023%2F10%2F03%2Ffifth-circuit-cisa-ruling-biden-first-amendment%2F71051110007%2F" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> on social media on October 3.
But the conservative legal group said the latest documents on Wednesday alleging CISA participated in downplaying the Biden laptop story come as part of a broader effort from various alphabet agencies&#8217; Orwellian attempt to stop disfavored ideas before they spread.
The group <a href="https://aflegal.org/america-first-legal-petitions-the-federal-election-commission-to-investigate-the-biden-campaign-and-dnc-for-failing-to-disclose-its-coordination-of-the-intelligence-communitys-debunked/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed</a> a complaint at the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, seeking an immediate investigation into the Democratic National Committee and President Joe Biden&#8217;s campaigns, including Biden For President, the Biden Victory Fund, and the Biden Action Fund over alleged attempts to whitewash the Hunter Biden laptop story.
The legal group alleged that the Biden committees failed to disclose the campaign&#8217;s role in coordinating a letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials that suggested the Biden laptop story could be part of a Russian disinformation operation just weeks before the 2020 election. The letter also came days before CISA allegedly became involved in the censorship.
&#8220;In 2016, high ranking federal intelligence officials interfered in a Presidential election, lying about Russia collusion in a failed effort to elect Hilary Clinton,&#8221; Reed D. Rubinstein, senior counselor and director of oversight and investigations for the legal group, said in a news release. &#8220;In 2020, many of these same officials again interfered in a Presidential election, lying about Hunter Biden.&#8221;
&#8220;The Federal Election Commission&#8217;s charge includes election integrity — Americans have the right to know who is coordinating with federal candidates,&#8221; Rubenstein added. &#8220;But this right is only as effective as the agency that enforces it. The FEC must act here.&#8221;
Representatives for the DNC and Biden&#8217;s campaign have not yet issued a response.

President Biden Arrives To Washington After Camp David Travel

U.S. Cybersecurity Defense Agency ‘Immediately’ Worked To Discredit Hunter Biden Laptop Story, Legal Group Says

U.S. Cybersecurity Defense Agency 'Immediately' Worked To Discredit Hunter Biden Laptop Story, Legal Group Says

2020 Election

Department of Homeland Security

Executive

Hunter Biden

Politics

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/communist-china" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/russia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russia</a> are prepared to launch destructive cyber attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure to &#8220;sow chaos and hinder military mobilization&#8221; in the event of war breaking out, according to a new Pentagon cyber strategy released on Tuesday.
&#8220;The United States is challenged by malicious cyber actors who seek to exploit our technological vulnerabilities and undermine our military&#8217;s competitive edge,&#8221; the <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/Sep/12/2003299076/-1/-1/1/2023_DOD_Cyber_Strategy_Summary.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2023 Department of Defense Cyber Strategy</a> introduction reads. &#8220;They target our critical infrastructure and endanger the American people. Defending against and defeating these cyber threats is a Department of Defense imperative.&#8221;
While China poses a more serious and long-term threat, Pentagon officials are more immediately concerned with Russia.
Eastern Europe saw such attacks amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, where Russian military and intelligence units used a range of cyber attacks to disrupt Ukrainian military logistics, sabotage civilian infrastructure, and erode political will, the report reads.
POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2023/01/11/russias-cyberattacks-aim-to-terrorize-ukrainians-00077561" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> earlier this year that Russia launched 300 attacks against Ukraine&#8217;s security and defense sector, another 400 on various organizations ranging from commercial and financial to telecommunications and software, and 500 other attacks against government groups.
Although the efforts from Russian forces yielded limited results, the Pentagon report reads, it could make the U.S. and allied partners vulnerable to similar cyber attacks if Russia faces &#8220;a moment of crisis.&#8221;
DefenseNews <a href="https://www.defensenews.com/cyber/2023/09/12/china-russia-will-use-cyber-to-sow-chaos-if-war-starts-pentagon-says/?utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=tw_at" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that both countries have an arsenal of serious cyber threats toward national security. But a 2021 International Institute for Strategic Studies report placed China and Russia behind the U.S. in its cyber powerhouse rankings.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy Mieke Eoyang <a href="https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3523824/pentagon-press-secretary-brigadier-general-pat-ryder-and-deputy-assistant-secre/#:~:text=First%2C%20it%20identifies%20the%20People's,that%20Russia%20poses%20in%20cyberspace." target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters that authorities identify China as the department&#8217;s &#8220;pacing challenge in the cyber domain and recognizes the significant threat that Russia poses in cyberspace,&#8221; but continues to monitor recent activities in Ukraine.
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&#8220;I think prior to this conflict, there was a sense that cyber would have a much more decisive impact in warfare than what we experienced,&#8221; she said. &#8220;What this conflict has shown us is the importance of integrated cyber capabilities in and alongside other warfighting capabilities. And that is consistent with the approach in the [National Defense Strategy] on integrated deterrence and is an important lesson for us to think about &#8212; that cyber is a capability that is best used in concert with those others and may be of limited utility when used all by itself.&#8221;
The Chinese Communist Party sees superiority in cyberspace as core to its theories of victory, the report reads, adding that it has engaged in espionage and theft that compromised key defense networks and broader U.S. critical infrastructure.
In July, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinese-hackers-spied-on-state-department-13a09f03" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and senior officials at the State Department were victims of a Chinese hacking campaign that gained access to email accounts from roughly two dozen organizations that began on May 15 and went undetected until June 16.
During a conference in National Harbor in Maryland on September 11, retired Air Force brigadier general and former federal chief information security officer Gregory Touhill reportedly said that cyber and critical infrastructure issues everywhere — domestic and abroad — remain at the front and center of the minds of key senior leaders.
&#8220;We continue to see critical infrastructure as a target for cyber-enabled attacks, including things like denial-of-service, malicious software, ransomware, theft of intellectual property,&#8221; Touhill said. &#8220;We&#8217;re very concerned about that.&#8221;

Department of Defense and Pentagon

Pentagon Says China, Russia Prepared To Launch Cyber Attacks Against U.S. To Sow Chaos If War Erupts

Communist China

Department of Defense

Global Politics

Pentagon

Russia

Ukraine-Russia War

World

President Joe Biden’s spin doctors continually try to put a good face on America’s ongoing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-ticking-time-bomb-china-infects-american-infrastructure-with-malware-to-disrupt-u-s-military" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cyber crisis</a>, like when they had first lady, Dr. Jill Biden, kick-off the White House’s <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/08/03/white-house-school-cybersecurity-summit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">back-to-school cyber safety summit</a> and tout a new “formal, ongoing collaboration” between all levels of government and school districts. But the truth is, cybersecurity is just another major issue where America is lagging under the stewardship of Biden.
As of the end of 2022, way past the point where Biden could blame this crisis on former President Donald Trump, there was a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/12/06/fixing-the-cybersecurity-staff-shortage/?sh=1eea76c55b4a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">labor shortage</a> of cyber personnel to the tune of approximately 700,000 unfilled positions throughout the job market. 
America’s understaffing in the cyber profession poses significant dangers in both the public and private sectors. In today&#8217;s interconnected climate, cyber threats and the demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals has never been higher. A shortage of proficient cybersecurity personnel poses dire consequences for national security and privacy protection.
In the public sector, under the unthinkably incompetent leadership of Alejandro Mayorkas at the top of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), federal and state level government agencies and critical infrastructure assets face countless cyber threats from <a href="https://www.cyclonis.com/state-sponsored-hacking-attacks-advanced-persistent-threats-target-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">state-sponsored threat actors</a> and cybercriminals.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a sub-agency under DHS, has put out far more than enough taxpayer dollars over the past 2-plus years to have made major strides in the cybersphere, but positive results have eluded them two-thirds of the way through Joe Biden’s current term. 
Just weeks ago, there was a <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2023-07/aa23-187a-increased-truebot-activity-infects-us-and-canada-based-networks.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joint cybersecurity advisory</a> from CISA, the FBI, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), regarding a spike in <a href="https://www.enigmasoftware.com/truebotmalware-removal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Truebot malware</a>, a botnet that is often utilized by <a href="https://www.cyclonis.com/cisa-us-government-hit-russian-cyberattacks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Russia-backed cyber gangs like CLOP</a>.
Chinese threat actors were also just reported to be behind <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/20/politics/chinese-hackers-us-ambassador/index.html?utm_term=16898853324058b08694b5a02&amp;utm_source=cnn_Breaking+News&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;bt_ee=GdpZFzDHMEWp%2FSO0uXhyC6eVVOYxoYtvugx7hipXjPOpxvaij481g%2Fgvv3SgzDme&amp;bt_ts=1689885332408" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an attack</a> that led to the breach of an email account linked to the U.S. Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, as part of a larger targeted intelligence-gathering initiative.
Without adequate cyber personnel, government entities will always struggle in responding to hacks effectively. This will lead to more data breaches, disruptions of essential services, and other dangers to national security. Additionally, losing or compromising any sensitive government data may disrupt diplomatic relations or ongoing intelligence operations.
In the private sector, businesses across various industries continue to be targeted by threat actors seeking to steal valuable intellectual property, consumer information, and financial data. These kinds of breaches are regularly executed by countries like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/chinese-cybercriminal-hacker-group-stole-20-million-in-covid-relief-funds-secret-service-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a>, Iran, North Korea, and Russia. 
Maintaining an understaffed private sector will slow incident response times, leaving entities exposed to prolonged hacks. The results of which will likely be larger financial losses, reputational damage, and legal liabilities.
Moreover, interconnectedness between the private and public sectors makes them interdependent. So cyber-attacks that target private companies increasingly have ripple effects on critical infrastructure and public services, including energy, transportation, and healthcare.
This only emphasizes the importance of having a deep cybersecurity workforce in both the public and private sectors, as it can more effectively collaborate to defend against threats effectively.
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To address these challenges, America needs to invest in robust cybersecurity education, training, and recruitment efforts. <a href="https://www.miragenews.com/white-house-applauds-fius-cybersecurity-1057311/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One program</a> that hopes to achieve this is Florida International University&#8217;s (FIU) cybersecurity workforce training program. This program provides free cyber training to veterans and first responders.
We must also encourage younger students to pursue careers in cyber fields and launch a consistent plan for doing so year-round, and not just trotting out Jill Biden types one week out of the year for awareness. This, in addition to offering better salaries and benefits packages, should attract the talent needed to fill critical cybersecurity roles.
This extended years’ long understaffing epidemic in the cybersecurity sector continues to pose significant risks for the United States, leaving it vulnerable to hacks on multiple fronts. At this point, a substantially larger commitment must be made towards building the well-equipped cybersecurity workforce of the future.
If we do so, it strengthens our cyber defenses, protects sensitive data, safeguards national interests, and establishes a resilient and secure cybersphere. Whether or not the 46th President and his cabinet are up to the task remains to be seen.
Julio Rivera is a business and political strategist, cybersecurity researcher, Editorial Director for <a href="https://www.reactionarytimes.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reactionary Times</a>, and a political commentator and columnist. His writing, which is focused on cybersecurity and politics, has been published by many of the most respected news organizations in the world.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Digital security concept

Cyber Personnel Shortage Is A Major National Security Fail For Biden

Alejandro Mayorkas

China

Hackers

Joe Biden

Readers Pass

U.S. officials are aggressively searching for malware that they say hackers from China have implanted into American infrastructure to disrupt U.S. military operations in the event that the communist nation launches an attack on Taiwan.
Officials said that the malicious computer code, which penetrated U.S. systems well over a year ago but was only detected by Microsoft in May, was especially troubling because its purpose was not traditional spying, i.e., information gathering. Microsoft and the U.S. government both said the malware came from China.
The malware was hidden &#8220;deep inside the networks controlling power grids, communications systems and water supplies that feed military bases in the United States and around the world,&#8221; The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/us/politics/china-malware-us-military-bases-taiwan.html">reported</a>. It infected systems that impact not only the U.S. military but also U.S. citizens and the economy.
Officials said that while the effort to destroy the malware has been underway for months, they still don&#8217;t know how widespread it is.
Officials say there were two possible goals when China infected utility infrastructure that &#8220;serve both civilian populations and nearby military bases,&#8221; the Times reported. The malware has not been detected in classified systems.
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One motivation could be to delay a U.S. response to an invasion of Taiwan, noting that a slowed response time of even a couple of days due to logistical issues could be the difference between China winning or losing. A second possible goal is to cause such chaos in the U.S. during their invasion that Americans would not care about what is happening in Taiwan.
Officials told the Times that the malware was &#8220;a ticking time bomb&#8221; and that it “raises the question of what, exactly, they are preparing for.”
Officials have reportedly exercised caution in determining how to remove the malware because any action from the U.S. could tip off China as to what the U.S. is able to detect and not able to detect. Doing so, the report said, could lead Chinese hackers to alter their cyberattacks targeting U.S. systems with more sophisticated software that could be harder to find.

SKOREA-US-MILITARY

‘A Ticking Time Bomb’: China Infects American Infrastructure With Malware To Disrupt U.S. Military

Infrastructure

Technology

U.S. Military

Microsoft officials on Wednesday issued an advisory saying a Chinese hacking group compromised “critical” U.S. cyber infrastructure focused on gathering intelligence – and urged customers to close or change credentials for exposed accounts.
“Microsoft has uncovered stealthy and targeted malicious activity focused on post-compromise credential access and network system discovery aimed at critical infrastructure organizations in the United States,” the company said in a <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2023/05/24/volt-typhoon-targets-us-critical-infrastructure-with-living-off-the-land-techniques/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">blog post</a>.
According to Microsoft, the Chinese state-sponsored hacking group Volt Typhoon, which typically focuses its efforts on espionage, allegedly compromised U.S. national cyber infrastructure across numerous industries to disrupt “critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia” to obstruct efforts during “future crises.”
Such industries in the ongoing attack include communications, manufacturing, utility, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education sectors.
“The threat actor intends to perform espionage and maintain access without being detected for as long as possible” rather than creating an immediate disruption.
Volt Typhoon infiltrates organizations by identifying unknown vulnerabilities in a cybersecurity suite called Fortiguard, according to Microsoft. After the group gains access to a system, the hackers steal user credentials and then try to gain access to other corporate systems.
The National Security Agency detailed how threat actors use techniques called living off the land to avoid detection, which uses primary tactics, techniques, and procedures from built-in network administration tools to perform their objectives. The agency further instructed cybersecurity teams on how they should respond to the hack in the <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2023/May/24/2003229517/-1/-1/0/CSA_Living_off_the_Land.PDF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bulletin</a> on Wednesday.
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency officials warned in a joint <a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/us-and-international-partners-release-advisory-warning-prc-state-sponsored-cyber-activity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> with international and domestic intelligence services that China poses a risk to American intellectual property.
“For years, China has conducted aggressive cyber operations to steal intellectual property and sensitive data from organizations around the globe,” CISA director Jen Easterly said in a statement.
American intelligence agencies and Microsoft detected the Chinese hacking group had installed a mysterious computer code in telecommunications systems in Guam and other parts of the U.S. in February, around the time military authorities shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/24/us/politics/china-guam-malware-cyber-microsoft.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
U.S. companies with classified information have been targeted by Chinese government-backed hackers, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/03/01/covington-burling-was-hacked-sec-is-now-suing-the-dc-law-firm.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. Suspected Chinese state-sponsored hackers compromised Covington and Burling law firm in 2020.

Daily Life And Economy In Hungary

Microsoft Says Chinese Government-Backed Hackers Compromised ‘Critical’ U.S. Cyber Infrastructure

Microsoft Says Chinese Government-Backed Hackers Compromised 'Critical' U.S. Cyber Infrastructure

Microsoft

Suburban pro-life moms spreading &#8220;conspiracy theories&#8221; and so-called anti-government suspects were two examples used in proposed training videos on &#8220;radicalization&#8221; allegedly drafted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) days after the Biden administration took office.
According to <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/643766515/DHS-Domestic-Terrorism-Scenarios#">documents</a> obtained by America First Legal Foundation through a Freedom of Information Act request, the department&#8217;s Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention outlined training videos that would train bystanders how to report &#8220;radicalization suspects&#8221; in a Choose Your Own Advenutre-style video series.
The document characterized a religiously devout, middle-aged suburban mom &#8220;concerned about the welfare of other children including the unborn&#8221; and an anti-government dad as potential extremists. Other examples used in the document include a white teenage male who hurls &#8220;racial epithets&#8221; and flashes a gun at his girlfriend and a young environmental activist.
Reed D. Rubinstein, senior counselor and director of investigations for America First Legal, accused the agency of transforming into a &#8220;Stasi-like Deep State internal security apparatus.&#8221;
&#8220;It is a very long way from &#8216;see something, say something&#8217; regarding an unattended suitcase at the airport to profiling patriotic and politically conservative Americans as abusive parents and domestic terrorists because they oppose abortion on demand and voted for former President Trump,&#8221; Rubinstein said in a <a href="https://aflegal.org/america-first-legal-releases-new-internal-dhs-documents-revealing-the-government-is-funding-trainings-intended-to-target-conservative-americans/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">news release</a>. &#8220;The agency is out of control.&#8221;
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Mike Benz, executive director of Foundation For Online Freedom, said in a <a href="https://foundationforfreedomonline.com/dhs-video-series-to-target-peer-beliefs/">report</a> that the so-called radicalized suspects targeted in the planning documents are typical American citizens rather than &#8220;violent terrorists or extremists.&#8221;
Benz, who formerly worked as a deputy assistant for internal communications and information policy for the U.S. State Department, argued that DHS officials planned on creating the videos to encourage citizens to police one another&#8217;s personal beliefs and report family members spreading so-called disinformation about COVID or expressing skepticism toward the U.S. government on social media.
&#8220;In other words, what DHS is doing is the epitome of weaponization of the federal government,&#8221; Benz said. &#8220;Teaching everyday American citizens to police the opinions and behavior of their peers via these online training products represents just one segment of a synchronized &#8216;whole-of-society&#8217; censorship effort composed of private firms, universities, and the government that has been spearheaded by DHS to target emerging narratives being popularized among the public.&#8221;
The Biden Administration&#8217;s National Strategy For Countering Domestic Terrorism <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/National-Strategy-for-Countering-Domestic-Terrorism.pdf">report</a> in June 2021 noted DHS and others were &#8220;funding and implementing or planning evidence-based digital programming, including, enhancing media literacy and critical thinking skills, as a mechanism for strengthening user resilience to disinformation and misinformation online for domestic audiences.&#8221;
Last year, Biden officials launched the Disinformation Governance Board, which Mayorkas terminated over the summer after claiming it wouldn&#8217;t police opinions while facing backlash from lawmakers and the public.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) faced scrutiny earlier this year for allegedly turning a social media censorship division designed to monitor foreign accounts on the American people. According to the Twitter Files, big tech companies and the federal authorities coordinated tactics to monitor and censor Americans from spreading &#8220;mis-, dis-, and malinformation (MDM).&#8221;
&#8220;CISA officials knew they lacked the legal authorization to do what they did,&#8221; Benz told <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dhs-agency-appears-burying-evidence-involvement-domestic-censorship-activities-expert">Fox News</a>. &#8220;Now, CISA appears to be burying the evidence of its domestic censorship activities, right as oversight of potential malfeasance is heating up.&#8221;
Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC) accused President Biden and DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of prioritizing censoring and suppressing free speech over national security.
&#8220;The dystopian &#8216;Disinformation Governance Board&#8217; wasn&#8217;t an aberration — it was the tip of the iceberg of their censorship laundering schemes,&#8221; Bishop said in a <a href="https://homeland.house.gov/media-advisory-bishop-announces-subcommittee-hearing-on-dhs-mis-dis-malinformation-monitoring-program/">news release</a>.

In this photo illustration the United States Department of

Biden Administration Proposed Training Citizens To Monitor Pro-Life Suburban Moms, Other ‘Radicalization Suspects’: Report

Biden's Homeland Security Department Proposed Training Citizens To Police Pro-Life Suburban Moms, Other 'Radicalization Suspects' Online: Report

Biden Administration

A former employee of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/consumer-financial-protection-bureau" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Consumer Financial Protection Bureau</a>, also known as the CFPB, sent personal <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cybersecurity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">data</a> for hundreds of thousands of people to a personal email account, the agency confirmed this week.
The since-dismissed staffer for the agency, which is responsible for protecting consumers in the financial sector, made an unauthorized transfer of records for 256,000 customers of an unnamed financial institution, as well as confidential information for 45 other institutions, an agency spokesperson <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-major-incident-cfpb-says-staffer-sent-250-000-consumers-data-to-personal-account-fdc0a540" target="_blank" rel="noopener">confirmed</a> with The Wall Street Journal. The spokesperson clarified that most of the records were linked to consumers at one institution, although personal data from consumers from seven other unnamed firms were implicated.
CFPB officials informed the House Financial Services Committee about the “major incident” on March 21, according to a <a href="https://financialservices.house.gov/uploadedfiles/2023-04-18_huizenga_to_chopra_re_breach.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> that Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (R-MI) sent the agency. The lawmaker said the transfer, which occurred through 65 emails, contained attachments, names, and account numbers for the 256,000 individuals.
The spokesperson for the CFPB said the breach was limited to two spreadsheets and lacked information that could be used to access the customers’ accounts, according to the report from The Wall Street Journal, which was the first outlet to publicize the news. The former employee nevertheless did not comply with a request from the agency to delete the emails from the personal account, as well as “certify” and “provide attestation” that each message was deleted.
Senate Banking Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-SC) added in a separate <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/cfpb_letter_data_breach.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> on Wednesday that the CFPB finalized a rule on data collection from small businesses in the time since the discovery of the breach, a move which the lawmaker considers worrisome since the agency “has provided limited insight” on its data management practices.
“Why should the CFPB be trusted to collect more data, burdening financial institutions and potentially limiting services for consumers, when they themselves have demonstrated an irresponsible handling of consumer’s financial information?” Scott asked in a <a href="https://www.banking.senate.gov/newsroom/minority/scott-seeks-answers-on-cfpb-data-breach" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “Our regulators and agencies need to take responsibility for their failures and must be held accountable.”
The Wall Street Journal noted that the breach at the CFPB seems to be less severe than other incidents which constituted federal data breaches, such as the hack of more than 20 million individuals’ records from the Office of Personnel Management in 2014.
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One recent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-jeopardized-security-of-1m-americans-online-accounts-citing-equity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation</a> from The Daily Wire found that the General Services Administration was required to create a system that federal agencies could use to protect sensitive data in accordance with the National Institute for Standards and Technology’s Identity Assurance Level 2. Officials charged with building the system neglected to use biometrics such as facial recognition, eye scans, or fingerprints to verify those seeking access to sensitive data, even though the standards were required for compliance. Officials opted to ignore the rules because they believed facial recognition technology might discriminate based on skin color.
A subsequent <a href="https://www.oversight.gov/sites/default/files/oig-reports/GSA/GSA-Misled-Customers-Logingovs-Compliance-Digital-Identity-Standards-JE23-003Redacted.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">audit</a> from the General Services Administration Inspector General found that senior officials ignored insiders who noted that the product was not truly secure and that the officials misled agencies into believing they were withdrawing a webcam security feature because of a new policy on equity.

Hands of teenage boy breaching data from computer on desk

Consumer Protection Bureau Staffer Sent 256,000 People’s Data To Personal Account

Consumer Protection Bureau Staffer Forwarded 256,000 People's Data To His Personal Account

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fbi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI</a> warned that public charging stations with USB ports could download <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/cybersecurity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">malware</a> onto the devices of unsuspecting users.
Malicious actors can use USB ports, which are often available at locations such as airports and public transit for travelers running low on charge, as mechanisms to add malware to unsuspecting users’ phones or computers, thereby permitting criminals access to passwords or transactions.
“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers,” the FBI’s field office in Denver <a href="https://twitter.com/FBIDenver/status/1643947117650538498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1643947117650538498%7Ctwgr%5E7face632c5dfd8c4d751f23bc41dbe77747a42fe%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2023%2F04%2F10%2Ffbi-says-you-shouldnt-use-public-phone-charging-stations.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> on social media last week. “Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices. Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.”
Government officials have been cautioning against public chargers for several years. The Federal Communications Commission previously <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/juice-jacking-dangers-public-usb-charging-stations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that “juice jacking” can occur through USB ports; software used by the criminals can then “lock a device or export personal data and passwords directly to the perpetrator,” using the information to “access online accounts or sell it to other bad actors.”
Fraudsters have been known to pass out infected cables as promotional gifts or leave their cables plugged into USB outlets. The Federal Communications Commission <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/juice-jacking-dangers-public-usb-charging-stations" target="_blank" rel="noopener">recommends</a> that travelers use AC power outlets, avoid USB outlets, and bring their own charging cables or external batteries with them. Charging-only cables, which do not permit data to be transferred, can also be obtained through trusted suppliers.
Analysts from the Institute of Technical Education and Research in India likewise concluded in a <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/2/939#sec7-sustainability-14-00939" target="_blank" rel="noopener">paper</a> that the use of an external power bank is “the best approach to avoid juice jacking attacks.” Security Research Labs said on one <a href="https://www.srlabs.de/blog-post/usb-peripherals-turn" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a> that benign devices can possibly “turn malicious” from a juice jacking and infect other USB devices.
“No effective defenses from USB attacks are known. Malware scanners cannot access the firmware running on USB devices,” the cybersecurity consulting firm remarked. “Behavioral detection is difficult since behavior of an infected device may look as though a user has simply plugged in a new device. Blocking or allowing specific USB device classes and device IDs is possible, however generic lists can easily be bypassed.”
The practice of juice jacking, on the other hand, does not appear to be particularly prevalent despite the warnings from multiple agencies. When the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office published an advisory about the threat in 2019, a <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/15/los-angeles-juice-jacking-usb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> from TechCrunch confirmed that the officials had seen “no cases” of juice jacking. It said the alert was part of “an ongoing fraud education campaign.” Experts told the outlet that the threat was largely theoretical at the time.
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Malware meant to assist criminals with accessing users’ personal accounts has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/devastating-malware-for-hacking-banking-accounts-may-be-linked-to-hamas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">used</a> by terrorist groups such as Hamas, which was able to infect computers through Microsoft Office documents last year. The software permitted the anti-Israel fundamentalist Islamic group to collect GPS coordinates, monitor keystrokes, activate hidden cameras, and steal data from files.
Governments across the world have been increasing cyberspace capabilities in recent years to protect domestic businesses and conventional military operations. The United States Cyber Command, also known as CYBERCOM, was upgraded to a full and independent unified combatant command in 2017.

One senior FBI agent with protective mask in the office

FBI Warns Public Charging Stations Can Now Download Malware Onto Your Phone

FBI Warns Charging Stations Can Download Malware Onto Your Phone

The top IT official at a scandal-plagued federal agency led what one participant called “the most partisan meeting I have ever attended” as despondent bureaucrats had a collective meltdown the day after Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, internal messages obtained by The Daily Wire reveal.
David Shive, chief information officer for the General Services Administration (GSA), addressed a key technology department during a &#8220;town hall&#8221; On Nov. 9 when he made the shocking comments. The department he spoke to, the Technology Transformation Service (TTS), has since been cited for &#8220;gross misconduct&#8221; and security violations.
&#8220;That was the most partisan meeting I have ever attended in government. <a href="https://www.gsa.gov/about-us/organization/leadership-directory/chief-information-officer">David Shive</a> joking that he dressed like a Republican (because he wore a suit and tie?) and concern about the &#8216;white men&#8217; and what steps needed to be taken to protect us from the new President-elect (&#8216;having allies&#8217;),&#8221; one attendee wrote on Slack later. &#8220;I&#8217;m not even a Republican and I&#8217;m offended! The point of the meeting was to reassure the staff that everything will be all right and that certainly could have been done without the copious partisan overtones.&#8221;
The Daily Wire reported last week that GSA’s inspector general found that the TTS <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-jeopardized-security-of-1m-americans-online-accounts-citing-equity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tricked federal agencies into violating security standards</a> by omitting facial recognition from software designed to lock up highly sensitive information, privately reasoning that such software was racist. It obtained $197 million in part by falsely telling customers and funders that it was compliant with NIST standards that required biometrics. The IG separately found <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-tech-arm-had-pattern-of-gross-mismanagement-before-equity-induced-cybersecurity-fiasco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“gross mismanagement”</a> that occurred while the group was preoccupied with things like pronouns and building a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-agency-focused-on-leftist-politics-and-pronouns-as-gross-mismanagement-put-cybersecurity-at-risk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">social justice robot</a>, and faulted Shive for a lack of oversight.
Now, internal chat records obtained by The Daily Wire through the Freedom of Information Act show the government’s central tech agency having a top-to-bottom psychological meltdown when Trump won the presidency, with the group seemingly believing that their work as government bureaucrats was to advance a Democratic agenda, not provide services at the direction of the government.
<blockquote>
<h1>&#8220;It&#8217;s not easy. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Pet all the pets. Squeeze all the fam and friends.&#8221;</h1>
</blockquote>
Although at least a few employees were stunned by the partisan tone struck by Shive and another thought the fears were overblown, other employees&#8217; internal messages showed the partisanship was widespread. Messages obtained by The Daily Wire included quotes from and reactions to the Zoom meeting and questions that were submitted to the speakers.
Though they worked comfortable IT jobs and many worked remotely, they said they feared for their &#8220;safety.&#8221;
&#8220;I want to know what we can do to ensure that this remains a safe working environment for everyone,&#8221; said a participant named Shawn Allen.
The Slack screen name for Allen, like several others who expressed fear for their well-being with Trump as the president-elect, listed pronouns.
&#8220;It falls to all of us in the organisation, but most of all to those of us who feel safer than others, to uphold our diversity practices, continually improve them, and spread them throughout government,&#8221; Yoz Grahame (&#8220;SFO, he/him&#8221;) wrote.
“Thank you all for making me feel safe :heart:,” Rebecca Refoy-Sidibe wrote.
Jez Humble (&#8220;SF, he&#8221;) plotted to try to get GSA, which also manages federal real estate, to block the Trump Organization from acquiring a hotel.
&#8220;Quite simply, I believe the GSA should end the contract. They should simply terminate it,&#8221; he wrote.
Noah Kunin, the infrastructure director for 18F, a major component of TTS, told them that Dennis McDonough, Barack Obama&#8217;s chief of staff, had told them not to work, apparently referring to over a three-day weekend. &#8220;Straight from Dennis: *do not work*. Engage in self care,&#8221; Kunin wrote.
Kara DeFrias added: &#8220;The emotional labor will be high all around for awhile, but especially today and this week. Take the time you need. It&#8217;s not easy. Pay attention to what your body is telling you. Pet all the pets. Squeeze all the fam and friends. Listen more than you speak. Embody empathy. Breathe.&#8221;
Some expected to continue to be paid while refusing to work on projects ordered by the Trump administration. Alan Atlas wrote that he “was told on joining that we have always had a policy of not forcing people to do work they were uncomfortable with.”
Eric Schles (&#8220;he or him&#8221;) wrote: &#8220;Question: what is your advice for speaking truth to power? How could / should we engage when we are asked to do things we don&#8217;t necessarily agree with?&#8221;
“We should have space for realignment there that doesn’t mean leaving government,” Kaitlin Devine wrote.
Some managers sought to deflate the pessimism with rhetoric about how their job was to serve America, but the government&#8217;s tech employees were not interested. &#8220;With due respect, we have not always been the beacon of rights. I don&#8217;t want to distract from the larger point, but this nation was built by enslaved people,&#8221; Annalee Flower Horne (&#8220;She/They&#8221;) wrote.
Gail Swanson chimed in: &#8220;I think it’s worth noting that some folks may not be in a place to hear optimism quite yet.&#8221;
Another employee, Patrick Bateman, pointed out that the “real or imagined” idea that they were nonpartisan was being offered as a coping mechanism simultaneously to one that contradicted it. &#8220;On one hand, lots of talk of the non-partisan aspects (real or imagined) and popularity of what we do; on the other hand hearing a lot of &#8216;we have allies&#8217; on the hill, in GSA etc&#8230; can&#8217;t square that,&#8221; he wrote.
Then-TTS Director Dave Zvenyach tried to walk a fine line, apparently first reminding employees that they were civil servants. But the employees painted Trump’s views as being so abhorrent that they went beyond partisanship and into questions of morality.
&#8220;I want to work for a government that respects us and democracy,&#8221; Jesse Taggert wrote.
&#8220;How do we comport the difference between what a president thinks and believes and our own needs (not just values but safety and care)?&#8221; Jessie Posilkin asked.
Zvenyach wrote, &#8220;I kinda want to tell folks: look, if you feel like you want to leave on political grounds, GREAT! that&#8217;s a totally acceptable reason. But don&#8217;t try and make this a moral conundrum to justify your otherwise political decision… I&#8217;m not so fine with a policy that says people can choose not to do work because they don&#8217;t like the politics.”
But Zvenyach appeared to change his tune, perhaps folding to identity politics-fused statements that suggested that a white man like him just couldn’t understand.
&#8220;There are hard questions that many people of color, will have to wrestle with moving forward. It has nothing to do with the oath we swore or our obligation to American citizens,&#8221; Erren Lester wrote.
Zvenyach eventually backtracked: &#8220;My comments on the oath of office are based on personal experiences that &#8212; based on what i&#8217;m hearing from others &#8212; must have sounded totally ridiculous.&#8221;
Though the techies claimed to be motivated by support for government “transparency” through “open data,” their leader seemed to think some facts were better kept secret. &#8220;I&#8217;m wiped out thinking about the morality of the open data APIs we&#8217;ll be asked to build in the next administration [sic],&#8221; Zvenyach wrote.
Billy Griffin wrote: “Sincere thanks to everyone for speaking your minds, and to &lt;@U03V848BQ&gt; for being vulnerable and recognizing your blind spots and being thoughtful about addressing real concerns people have.”
The GSA ignored a request for comment and for video of the meeting from The Daily Wire.
Messages showed that one experienced civil servant tried to tell her colleagues that they were being hysterical.
&#8220;I have 16 years in public service, and I have served under 2 Republican Presidents (soon to be 3), and 2 Democrats…and honestly…neither party has ever had a HUGE effect on my public service. I do not see this one being any different,&#8221; the employee wrote.
History would prove her to be correct: The TTS team continued to carry on as normal and implemented a far-left agenda under the Trump administration, one that would result in the “equity”-inspired cybersecurity vulnerability and false statements identified by the Inspector General this month.
This is the fourth installment in a series.
Part 1: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-jeopardized-security-of-1m-americans-online-accounts-citing-equity">Feds Jeopardized Security Of 1M Americans’ Online Accounts, Citing ‘Equity’</a>
Part 2: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-tech-arm-had-pattern-of-gross-mismanagement-before-equity-induced-cybersecurity-fiasco">Federal Tech Arm Had Pattern Of ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Before ‘Equity’-Induced Cybersecurity Fiasco</a>
Part 3: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-agency-focused-on-leftist-politics-and-pronouns-as-gross-mismanagement-put-cybersecurity-at-risk">Federal Agency Focused On Leftist Politics And Pronouns As ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Put Cybersecurity At Risk</a>

Dave Shive

Chat Records Reveal Epic Meltdown In Federal Agency After Trump Win

Big Tech

Inspector general

A federal tech agency recently caught <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-jeopardized-security-of-1m-americans-online-accounts-citing-equity/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">risking the nation’s cybersecurity</a> by violating rules and lying in the name of “equity” is dominated by a cabal of perpetually triggered leftists obsessed with politics and pronouns, a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daily Wire</a> investigation shows.
The General Services Administration’s (GSA) Technology Transformation Service (TTS) — whose employees have included a self-proclaimed Marxist organizer and a man who identifies as transgender who raised money from colleagues to “void their gender warranty” — spent its time on projects like creating a social justice robot. The efforts came as the unit lost millions of dollars, repeatedly lied, and put the security of sensitive data at risk with wanton noncompliance with basic security rules, according to watchdog reports and other records reviewed by The Daily Wire.
The Daily Wire reported last week that GSA’s inspector general found that TTS <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-jeopardized-security-of-1m-americans-online-accounts-citing-equity" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tricked federal agencies into violating security standards</a> by omitting facial recognition from software designed to lock up highly sensitive information, privately reasoning that such software was racist. It obtained $197 million in part by falsely telling customers and funders that it was compliant with NIST standards that required biometrics. The scandal affected Login.gov, a service to authenticate Americans’ identity before giving access to sensitive data, and in particular the nearly one million accounts that were sold as conforming to higher-level NIST standards which would have required facial recognition. GSA said it was &#8220;completely unacceptable&#8221; and that it is pursuing discipline.
TTS — which began as a project called 18F that still operates as one of its largest units — matters because of the importance of technology to modern government and because, like other GSA departments, its work fans out into other federal agencies.
President Joe Biden is planning an executive order that would push Login.gov to every American, <a href="https://fcw.com/digital-government/2023/02/white-house-mulls-scaling-login-dot-gov-reach-every-american/383142/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FCW</a> reported last month. The IRS plans to implement Login.gov to allow Americans to file their taxes directly to it this April, despite concerns by one of the software platform’s own former leaders that it could <a href="https://fcw.com/it-modernization/2023/03/plans-approve-use-login-dot-gov-tax-day-nears/383934/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not handle it</a>. Though the IRS originally planned to use <a href="https://fcw.com/digital-government/2022/02/irs-backs-away-facial-recognition-technology/361674/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">facial recognition</a> technology — which could cut down on billions of dollars of fraud from people filing tax returns in others&#8217; names — it ultimately decided not to.
The Login.gov cyber-vulnerability and deception disclosed this month was just one of a series of serious rule violations, financial losses, and cyber-vulnerabilities that the GSA acknowledged were the result of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-tech-arm-had-pattern-of-gross-mismanagement-before-equity-induced-cybersecurity-fiasco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“gross mismanagement.”</a> But the breakdown also occurred because the unit, which spent only half of its time working on actual billable projects, was consumed with a shocking level of partisanship.
In 2016, the agency’s inspector general <a href="https://www.gsaig.gov/sites/default/files/ipa-reports/OIG%20EVALUATION%20REPORT_Evaluation%20of%2018F_%20JE17-001_October%2024%202016.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">slammed</a> 18F for spending more than $4,000 in manpower on “bots” such as one that corrected gendered language in internal messages between employees.
<blockquote>
<h1>Users shouldn&#8217;t say &#8220;no problemo&#8221; because it &#8220;arose as a way of devaluing Spanish in favor of an &#8216;English-only&#8217; United States.&#8221;</h1>
</blockquote>
“The ‘Slackbot’ polices a user&#8217;s text for the pronouns &#8216;guys,&#8217; ‘guyz,’ and ‘dudes.’ When the bot detects these pronouns, it prompts the user to consider replacing the pronoun with an option, like ‘team,’” the IG wrote.
Staff only doubled down after being called out, prompting the creation of a far more expansive social justice robot.
“Pretty soon, we realized that we could introduce a lot more language nudges than just ‘guys,’ and we renamed ‘guys bot’ to ‘<a href="https://18f.gsa.gov/2022/11/14/improving-inclusion-continuously-how-we-iterated-on-our-bot-to-promote-more-inclusive-and-thoughtful-language/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Inclusion Bot</a>,’” 18F officials wrote in November 2022.
The new bot <a href="https://github.com/18F/charlie/blob/main/InclusionBot.md">objects</a> to calling something &#8220;nuts&#8221; and suggests replacing it with &#8220;bananas&#8221; because we &#8220;want to avoid stigmatizing mental illness.&#8221; It discourages saying something is &#8220;like crack&#8221; because &#8220;We want to avoid stigmatizing addiction. Crack cocaine usage has also been racialized, resulting in discriminatory policies that target Black people.&#8221;
<div class="image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-513306" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/bot-response.png" alt="" width="419" height="619" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/bot-response.png 419w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/bot-response-203x300.png 203w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/03/bot-response-390x576.png 390w" sizes="(max-width: 419px) 100vw, 419px" /></div>
Users shouldn&#8217;t say &#8220;no problemo&#8221; because it &#8220;arose as a way of devaluing Spanish in favor of an &#8216;English-only&#8217; United States.&#8221; And they shouldn&#8217;t &#8220;circle the wagons&#8221; because &#8220;this term arose from colonization,&#8221; nor &#8220;hold down the fort&#8221; because &#8220;this term arose as a military phrase.&#8221; They shouldn&#8217;t conduct a &#8220;postmortem&#8221; because &#8220;This term can trigger emotions related to death.&#8221;
After the 2016 election, top honchos tried to shield TTS — which has its roots in a program architected by Barack Obama — from layoffs by claiming it was nonpartisan. &#8220;We have people from different political stripes on the team … We don&#8217;t think technology is partisan,&#8221; TTS Commissioner Rob Cook told <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2016/11/16/technology/trump-innovation-white-house/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNN</a>, which also noted that Republican Kevin McCarthy supported the unit.
But records reviewed by The Daily Wire depict a team of far-Left partisans that impacted agencies across the federal government through their web and data work. Choose any name on 18F’s roster and there’s a good chance you’ll find openly far-Left sentiment and a fixation on identity politics. For example, <a href="https://meritalk.com/articles/gsa-names-ann-lewis-new-director-of-tts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ann Lewis</a>, who was hired as TTS’ director in December, was previously chief technology officer of MoveOn.org, the leftist political fundraising group.
TTS Design Director Cordelia Yu last year raised money from colleagues (including former 18F director Aaron Snow) for &#8220;gender-affirming surgery&#8221;&#8211;billed in tech-speak as &#8220;Help Cordelia <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-cordelia-void-their-gender-warranty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Void Their Gender</a> Warranty&#8221;&#8211;in a GoFundMe organized by a friend. Yu&#8217;s blog mimicked <a href="https://cordy.news/agile-broke-my-brain">&#8220;the 18F</a> project reflection template&#8221; and stated: &#8220;Goals for the last three months: Turn a penis into a p****.”
Leah Bannon, a former product lead who worked on <a href="https://ash.harvard.edu/people/leah-bannon">immigration at 18F</a>, is now an organizer for Bread and Roses Democratic Socialists of America, a self-described &#8220;national caucus of <a href="https://twitter.com/leahbannon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Marxist organizers</a>.&#8221;
<a href="https://twitter.com/apetersen/status/1625343636379512833" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anne Peterson</a>, a graphic designer for 18F, wrote this month on Twitter: &#8220;Hi: my name is Anne and my pronouns are they/them. My name or appearance should not lead to a presumption of gender. Your assumption may harm me whether or not you intend it to.&#8221; She complained about the lack of bathrooms for nonbinary people.
After Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, 18F infrastructure director Noah Kunin — who the inspector general said repeatedly plotted to circumvent rules and made false statements — wrote a blog post saying he was quitting because of his hatred of Trump.
&#8220;The people with the matches are inside the house &#8230; It’s now on fire because the people in charge want to burn it down,&#8221; he <a href="https://medium.com/@noahkunin/why-im-leaving-18f-48970131d547">wrote</a>.
He also claimed Trump had converted a position overseeing the unit from a civil servant to political appointee role in order to demand “loyalty.” In private correspondence, Kunin’s supervisor fretted that the blog was false, and an IG report showed that it was false in a deeply ironic way: In reality, Obama’s GSA head, Denise Turner Roth, had pushed for the position to be converted to a politically appointed one as she sought a way to fire a civil servant who blew the whistle on the “politicization” of 18F during the Obama years. The IG found that Roth improperly retaliated against that whistleblower.
The day after Trump’s election, TTS held a “town hall” where high-paid tech employees — many of whom worked remotely — expressed fears for their “safety” and plotted to continue getting paid while refusing to do work asked for by the Trump administration, according to records obtained by The Daily Wire under the Freedom of Information Act.
Some employees transcribed quotes from the bosses in Slack for those who could not tune in to the video meeting. Shawn Allen quoted one seemingly suggesting that they stay in government in order to resist Trump: &#8220;you guys don&#8217;t run away from a fight; you run _to_ the fight.&#8221;
The next reply came from the social justice bot the team had created, objecting to the gendered language.
“Did you mean *mates*?” it asked.
This is the third installment in a series.
Part 1: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-jeopardized-security-of-1m-americans-online-accounts-citing-equity">Feds Jeopardized Security Of 1M Americans’ Online Accounts, Citing ‘Equity’</a>
Part 2: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-tech-arm-had-pattern-of-gross-mismanagement-before-equity-induced-cybersecurity-fiasco">Federal Tech Arm Had Pattern Of ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Before ‘Equity’-Induced Cybersecurity Fiasco</a>

Federal Agency Focused On Leftist Politics And Pronouns As ‘Gross Mismanagement’ Put Cybersecurity At Risk

Federal Agency Focused On Leftist Politics And Pronouns As 'Gross Mismanagement' Put Cybersecurity At Risk

Social Justice

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