Author: HackWatchit

The State of Tennessee and FEMA have awarded $9.6 million to the Tennessee Department of Transportation for clearing 457,381 cubic yards of debris left when Tropical Storm Helene swept across Eastern Tennessee in late September. Funding for debris removal is authorized under FEMA’s Public Assistance program. Debris collection began Oct. 1 across roads and public property in Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties. It is expected to be completed by Feb. 28. FEMA’s initial estimated share for this project is $7,231,839; the estimated nonfederal share is $2,410,613. The expedited operation includes 90,749 cubic yards of vegetative debris; 164,357 cubic yards of construction and demolition debris; and 202,274 cubic yards of sand, soil and…

It is said that in order for a machine learning model to be successful, you need to have good data. While this is true (and pretty much obvious), it is extremely difficult to define, build, and sustain good data. Let me share with you the unique processes that I have learned over several years building an ever-growing image classification system and how you can apply these techniques to your own application. With persistence and diligence, you can avoid the classic “garbage in, garbage out”, maximize your model accuracy, and demonstrate real business value. In this series of articles, I will…

By Erik Goldoff, Ray Van Hoose, and Max Boehner || Guest Authors This post is comprised of 3 articles that were originally published in the second edition of the InfoSec Survival Guide. Find it free online HERE or order your $1 physical copy on the Spearphish General Store. Blue Team – Defend, Detect, Protect by Erik Goldoff || CISSP, @ErikG “Blue team” is a high-level term covering defensive security, whose goals are to reduce attack surface, as well as detect and respond to threats. Here are some, but not all, of the sub-topics under the umbrella of blue team operations:…

While you can’t delete your personal info from the internet entirely, you can take strong steps to remove it from risky places. Several where others could tap into it for profit or harm.  Why is it so important to take control of our personal info? It has street value, and it has for some time now. Because so much of business, finance, healthcare, and life in general runs on it, your personal info has a dollar sign to it. Plenty of people want to get a hold of it.  Personal info fuels targeted advertising and marketing campaigns, just as it…

With the changing threat environment, industrial and operational environments are under greater pressure than ever to reconcile operational effectiveness with effective cybersecurity. OT (operational technology) asset owners are increasingly looking to cyber risk quantification to address the challenges of keeping their critical infrastructure safe without sacrificing productivity. With the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, conventional risk assessment methods are no longer adequate.  Industrial companies are now embracing new methods to assess risks, giving top priority to consequence-based engineering to understand the possible effects of cyber attacks on operations, safety, and revenues. The price of underestimating or incorrectly valuing cyber risk…

The Taliban government of Afghanistan is reeling after unidentified hackers successfully carried out a massive cyber attack against its computer systems and published over 50GB of stolen documents and files online.A group calling itself TabiLeaks publicised on social media links to the haul of information it had exfiltrated from 21 Taliban ministries and government agencies.The leaked records included claims that the Taliban has imprisoned over 1400 women, and 16,000 men. Approximately 80 foreign nationals (including six women) are also said to be being held in Taliban prisons.According to the leaked data, travel restrictions have been placed on over 8,000 former…

When it comes to identity theft, trust your gut when something doesn’t feel right. Follow up. What you’re seeing could be a problem.   A missing bill or a mysterious charge on your credit card could be the tip of an identity theft iceberg, one that can run deep if left unaddressed. Here, we’ll look at several signs of identity theft that likely need some investigation and the steps you can take to take charge of the situation.   How does identity theft happen in the first place?   Unfortunately, it can happen in several ways.    In the physical world, it can happen simply because you lost your wallet or debit card. However, there are also cases where someone gets your information by going through your mail or trash for bills…

A free-to-play game named PirateFi in the Steam store has been distributing the Vidar infostealing malware to unsuspecting users. The title was present in the Steam catalog for almost a week, between February 6th and February 12th, and was downloaded by up to 1,500 users. The distribution service is sending notices to potentially impacted users, advising them to reinstall Windows out of an abundance of caution. Malware on Steam PirateFi was released on Steam last week by Seaworth Interactive, and received positive reviews. It is described as a survival game set in a low-poly world involving base building, weapon crafting…

A subgroup of Russia’s Sandworm APT has been working to achieve initial and persistent access to the IT networks of organizations working in economic sectors Russia is interested in. “In 2022, its primary focus was Ukraine, specifically targeting the energy, retail, education, consulting, and agriculture sectors. In 2023, it globalized the scope of its compromises, leading to persistent access within numerous sectors in the United States, Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East,” Microsoft’s researchers have shared on Wednesday. “In 2024, while the exposure of multiple vulnerabilities likely offered the subgroup more access than ever, it appeared to have honed…