US National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien cut short his trip to Europe this week and returned to Washington on Tuesday to hold meetings on the alleged Russian hack of government agencies.
Mr O'Brien was due to visit the UK, Italy and Germany this week but returned to Washington four days early, a spokesman for the US National Security Council confirmed to The National.
“Ambassador O’Brien is returning to address the hacking incident,” said John Ullyot, the deputy assistant to the president.
The council already held two high-level meetings on the cyber breach on Saturday and Monday, and Mr O'Brien will be convening another meeting tonight and tomorrow.
The return of the senior US official was another indication of the seriousness of the hack that hit at least six US agencies. The attack is suspected to have been carried out by the Russian government.
The departments of state, defence, homeland security, justice, treasury and commerce are investigating the degree of the breach that may have happened over several months. Nearly 18,000 private and government users downloaded the tainted software update, according to The New York Times.
The huge operation was carried out after the hackers infiltrated and installed malware in a software product from SolarWinds, which supplies hundreds of government agencies and top companies.
By compromising its platform, the hackers were able to gain access to government agencies and possibly secret material that SolarWinds was supposed to protect, Reuters reported on Sunday.
The company sent an advisory to its clients informing them of an attack. “We have been advised that this incident was likely the result of a highly sophisticated, targeted and manual supply chain attack by an outside nation-state," the Texas-based company said. It then launched an upgrade to the software containing the malicious code.
Russia denied responsibility for the attack but US officials and cyber experts say the high level of sophistication of the operation and the agencies affected point to Russian intelligence. US officials said the Russian hacking group Cozy Bear, associated with the Russian foreign intelligence service, was behind the attack.
Government agencies are still investigating the degree of the damage to determine a response.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency was also attacked. It issued a rare directive on Sunday instructing all federal agencies to disconnect affected devices.
Teri Radichel, CEO of 2nd Sight Lab, saw in the attack further evidence on the lethality of the NotPetya malware that Russia has employed in the past.
"This attack has many factors, but one thing companies really need to look at closely is the security of their deployment systems," Ms Radichel told The National. "The NotPetya malware used the same vector and caused a massive amount of damage."
Implementing secure architecture is needed to limit the damage that malware can cause when it gets into systems such as Solarwinds, explained Ms Radichel, also the author of Cybersecurity for Executives in the Age of the Cloud.
“Networks should be designed to spot the C2 [command and control] traffic and any internal network scans as quickly as possible, as well as use defence in depth and avoid reliance on only one monitoring system for critical data,” the expert added.
In October, the US Department of Justice charged six Russian military officers and accused them of carrying out some of the world’s largest cyberattacks over the last decade using the malware NotPetya.
The US government was made aware of the attack only after the private cybersecurity company FireEye detected the infiltration. On Tuesday, Microsoft announced it would quarantine and isolate versions of the SolarWinds Orion app that contain the malware. It also recommended that companies with Orion apps do the same.
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Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
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More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
Super Bowl LIII schedule
What Super Bowl LIII
Who is playing New England Patriots v Los Angeles Rams
Where Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, United States
When Sunday (start time is 3.30am on Monday UAE time)
NBA Finals so far
(Toronto lead 3-1 in best-of-seven series_
Game 1 Raptors 118 Warriors 109
Game 2 Raptors 104 Warriors 109
Game 3 Warriors 109 Raptors 123
Game 4 Warriors 92 Raptors 105
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ADCC AFC Women’s Champions League Group A fixtures
October 3: v Wuhan Jiangda Women’s FC
October 6: v Hyundai Steel Red Angels Women’s FC
October 9: v Sabah FA
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
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