Trump Administration's Shift in Approach

The Trump administration has made several moves that suggest a deprioritization of the Russia threat. US State Department deputy assistant secretary for international cybersecurity Liesyl Franz did not mention Russia in a speech at a United Nations working group, instead focusing on digital attacks from China and Iran. A recent memo from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also omitted Russia from its list of priorities, instead focusing on China and defense of US systems.

Furthermore, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered US Cyber Command to stop all cyber operational planning against Russia, including offensive digital campaigns. This move has raised concerns that the US may be putting itself at risk by downplaying the threat posed by Russian hackers.

ByBit Hack and Crypto Bounty Hunters

In other news, cryptocurrency exchange ByBit has launched a website to track and recover $1.4 billion worth of Ethereum-based assets stolen from the company. The hack is believed to be the biggest theft of crypto in history, and ByBit is offering $140 million in bounties to crypto sleuths who can help track and recover the stolen funds.

The FBI has also identified the hackers behind the ByBit hack as TraderTraitor, a group of state-sponsored cybercriminals working on behalf of the North Korean government. The bureau has asked the crypto industry not to launder the funds of these hackers, and has released a list of Ethereum addresses associated with the stolen funds to help the industry identify and seize any part of the $1.4 billion.

Disney Staffer Opens Door for Slack Hack

A Disney employee inadvertently downloaded malware onto his personal computer, which collected his login credentials for a number of services, including his password to his 1Password credential vault. The breach resulted in the theft of sensitive customer information, employee information, and revenue numbers.

Italian Priest Close to the Pope Had His Phone Hacked

Mattia Ferrari, an Italian priest who works with a migrant-rescue group and has a close relationship with the Pope, had his phone hacked with sophisticated spyware from Israeli-based Paragon. The news follows revelations that other Italian activists and a journalist also had their phones compromised by spyware, raising questions about who might be carrying out the hacking operations.