The recent cyberattacks against the Albanian government in July and September are described in detail in this joint cybersecurity alert from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

The timeline of the observed behavior is provided in this warning, commencing with the initial access and concluding with the encryption and wiper actions. Appendices A and B can find additional details on the files that the offenders used to target and harm the victim organization online.

The Government of Albania was the target of a damaging cyberattack in July 2022 by Iranian state actors operating online under the name “Homeland Justice,” which rendered websites and services inaccessible. According to an FBI investigation, Iranian state-sponsored cyber criminals first gained access to the victim’s network around 14 months before unleashing the catastrophic cyberattack that comprised malware that erased the victim’s hard drive and ransomware-style file encryption.

The actors had constant network access for around a year, periodically accessing and stealing email information. Iranian state cyber actors conducted lateral maneuvers, network reconnaissance, and credential harvesting on the networks of the Albanian government between May and June 2022.

The attackers transmitted malware over the networks in July 2022 and placed a message on computers criticizing Mujahideen E-Khalq (MEK). The thieves unleashed a damaging variant of the ZeroCleare virus when network defenses became aware of and started responding to the ransomware activity.

To spread misinformation about the MEK, HomeLand Justice established a website and many social media accounts in June 2022. Homeland Justice claimed responsibility for the hack of the Albanian government’s infrastructure on July 18, 2022. Homeland Justice uploaded videos of the cyberattack to their website on July 23, 2022.

From the end of July to the middle of August 2022, HomeLand Justice-affiliated social media accounts consistently promoted the release of Albanian government documents, solicited respondents’ choices for which documents they wanted HomeLand Justice to release, and then released those documents—either in a.zip file or a video of a screen recording with the documents shown.

Iranian cyber attackers continued to target the Albanian government in September 2022 using malware and TTP that resembled those employed in the July operations. These undoubtedly occurred as retaliation for the severing of diplomatic ties between Albania and Iran as well as the public blaming of the July hacking.

The post FBI and CISA has released a joint statement describing the recent cyberattacks against the Albanian government appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

GTA 6 leaks were recently confirmed by Jason Schreier of Bloomberg, and now Rockstar Games has verified the same.

Rockstar has now issued a statement recognizing that their systems were compromised and saying how “extremely disappointed” they are that so many files, images, and screenshots have become public knowledge. (Interestingly, the plural form shows R* is working on more than one game and most likely relates to GTA 6 and the online feature of the future game.) Rockstar asserts that the leaks won’t hamper the advancement of its ongoing initiatives or live services.

The statement released by The Rockstar Game reads:

“We recently suffered a network intrusion in which an unauthorized third party illegally accessed and downloaded confidential information from our systems, including early development footage for the next Grand Theft Auto.

At this time, we do not anticipate any disruption to our live game services or any long-term effect on the development of our ongoing projects.

We are extremely disappointed to have any details of our next game shared with you all in this way. Our work on the next Grand Theft Auto game will continue as planned and we remain as committed as ever to delivering an experience to you, and your players, that truly exceeds your expectations. We will update everyone again soon and, of course, will properly introduce you to this game when it is ready. We want to thank everyone for their ongoing support through this situation.”

As a result, it seems like project work will continue as usual for the time being. The development teams will be the most negatively impacted here, but it may not be the end of the world.

In 2003, Half-Life 2’s source code was stolen by hackers, costing Valve an estimated $250 million in losses. The game was also delayed by almost a full year as a result of the breach.

When the game did ultimately go on sale, it garnered 39 Game of the Year Awards and more than 12 million copies were sold by 2011.

Nearly two decades later, the gaming industry and world are quite different, but the narrative should at least give those anxiously anticipating GTA 6 some optimism.

In February of this year, Rockstar made it public that GTA 6 was in the midst of development. According to reports, it won’t come for a few more years.

The post Rockstar games verified the GTA 6 hack and has released an official statement, take a look at what it says appeared first on The Tech Outlook.

Last year, the Premier League welcomed the publication of the Fan Led Review of Football Governance and thanked Tracey Crouch MP and the panel for their hard work. They will analyze the extensive proposals and collaborate on these critical issues with the government, fans, the FA, EFL, PFA, and other football organizations. They understand the significance of supporters and the need to re-establish and maintain their faith in football’s governance.

Currently, the League has committed to cooperating with the Government during the next round of consultations on a more robust regulatory framework in football. The Premier League understands and embraces the need for change and a more robust regulatory framework in sport. They applaud the government’s clarity on their position and pledge to collaborate with them throughout the next phase of consultation, however, they will continue to argue that a statutory-backed regulator is unnecessary.

Since the release of the Fan-Led Review, the Premier League and our clubs have been working hard to understand the full impact of the Review’s recommendations and to establish and implement rules in response to the Review’s goals, notably by revisiting our Owners’ and Directors’ Test. They both think that fans are crucial to the game and that their voices should be heard more often across the League. They plan to introduce a variety of measures to improve this area before the start of the 2022/23 season and will make a thorough announcement before then.

They are encouraged that the government recognizes the Premier League’s success and the significance of implementing reform while also safeguarding the League’s place as one of the country’s most successful worldwide exports. This is what allows them to continue to promote football at all levels by buying back a historic £1.6 billion outside of the Premier League over the next three seasons, resulting in the great football we watch every week on grounds throughout the country.

The post The Premier League has put out a statement regarding the proposals, stating that they oppose the creation of an independent regulator appeared first on The Tech Outlook.