Nicole Perlroth Profile picture
cyber sleuth | author "This Is How They Tell Me The World Ends" | prev: digital espionage/sabotage @nytimes | now: putting all those words to work
Barb Profile picture Jim Hanna Profile picture Kok Koon Profile picture Sue Strong @strong_sue@mastodon.sdf.org 🇺🇦 Profile picture Martin Smith Profile picture 7 subscribed
Mar 17, 2023 10 tweets 3 min read
SVB’s crisis was precipitated by poor investment decisions, but the postmortems of the run itself show the very prominent role played by social media, a few VCs and amplification from suspicious accounts. Alethea Group: Associates of Peter Thiel [including David Sacks] were at least partially responsible for the initial online panic related to SVB: Image
Dec 16, 2022 9 tweets 3 min read
Once again, Elon’s scribes are connecting dots to sell you a salacious tale with zero context.

The FBI and DHS role in flagging social media content and accounts has been well documented. Here are examples of the kinds of content they were flagging for companies like Twitter… nytimes.com/2019/10/30/tec…
Nov 6, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
Twitter does not even enforce MFA. Last stats were that >3% of verified accounts have MFA switched on (@sriramk please correct me with updated stats). As long as this is the case, everything in this thread falls apart. Now, if Twitter’s new verification system forces verified users into MFA by default, it will be a welcome improvement.
Nov 6, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
Agree. Would add: Putin’s strategy has always been to tie the US up in our own culture wars and drag out US wars in the Middle East. So long as US was distracted, he could maneuver as he wished.

By supporting Ukraine, we are sucking up Putin’s bandwidth to maneuver elsewhere. See:
1. Moscow pulling its air defense system out of Syria. nytimes.com/2022/10/19/wor…

2. Russia’s unraveling in Central Asia + Caucasus. nytimes.com/2022/10/08/wor…

3.
Oct 26, 2022 8 tweets 3 min read
If you saw a blondish woman in a dark suit violently ill on 280 near the El Monte exit the other day, that was me.

Consider this my pregnancy announcement. If you’ve noticed I’ve been more outspoken here, it’s because I’ve never been so angry at the hypocrisy of “pro-lifers.” 1. ICYMI: Covid, even mild cases, is causing stillborns for unvaccinated mothers. propublica.org/article/covid-… And yet, see @Jim_Jordan today blasting the “government mandated vaccine.” He isn’t for the “unborn.” He is for the “stillborn” and it’s sickening.
Oct 23, 2022 6 tweets 2 min read
I have not, and will not, download TikTok. Why? Because the Snowden leaks made crystal clear that the CCP has (in many cases without the company’s direct knowledge) used Chinese tech platforms as staging grounds for espionage/surveillance. (1/6) This story I did ages ago detailed how China, disliking content on GitHub, took incoming traffic to Baidu, turned it into a “Great Cannon” and fired it at internet content the CCP did not approve of, essentially the largest DDOS attack of its kind. nytimes.com/2015/04/11/tec…
Apr 13, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
Here we go. New unnamed state 🤔 hackers are infecting U.S. critical infrastructure—like grid operators—with custom tools capable of worst-case scenario attacks.

There’s no soft peddling it. This is very serious. Read @CISAgov’s advisory in full. And do everything they say. Now Among the capabilities outlined:
-“Packet of death” attacks that can crash the computers than run power, etc.
-“Full system access” to critical infrastructure.
-Taking control of the Schneider Electric industrial computers that are used by the grid, manufacturing, automation.
Apr 12, 2022 4 tweets 2 min read
New: A significant escalation in Russia’s cyber aggression against Ukraine. Russia’s GRU hacking unit, Sandworm, infected a Ukrainian energy company with destructive malware. The attack was scheduled for last Friday but was caught in time. Bravo @ESET and Ukraine CERT 💪 This was a new version of “Industroyer” malware, which does exactly what it sounds like, and was used to cut power in Ukraine in 2016.
Mar 24, 2022 5 tweets 2 min read
MUST READ: These charges publicly reveal the extent of Russia’s hacking of the energy sector, infecting 17,000+ devices, in one case planting malware that crippled the safety locks at Saudi Petro Rabigh, the last thing preventing a shutdown, or even explosion. Many of these incidents have been publicly reported or the subject of previous sanctions (See: nytimes.com/2020/10/23/us/…) but revealing it now, and tying it to specific Russian agencies, reveals the critical nature of the cyber threat the US is up against.
Dec 23, 2021 6 tweets 2 min read
My ‘22 cyber wish list:
1. MFA FOR EVERYONE. Idiotic we’re not mandating this for critical infrastructure.
2 DISCLOSURE. We only know about SolarWinds because @Mandiant did the right thing. What Americans don’t understand but enemies do: USG lacks visibility into critical systems 3 RIP OUT LEGACY SOFTWARE. Organizations should be fined for using Windows XP the same way Americans are fined for driving without updated registration. Madness.
4 PATCHING. “.
5 SECURE CODING BY DESIGN. I spent thousands to move my toilet plumbing 2” to bring it to code. Why…
Jul 19, 2021 5 tweets 3 min read
A few call outs from this morning’s blitz on Chinese cyber espionage. 1.We’ve known China’s Ministry of State Security contracts out some of its sensitive operations to a satellite network of hackers, now USG is calling them out by name (Yes!) and detailing the connections. 2. It’s not just front companies, USG is accusing Chinese universities of playing a critical role in MSS’ recruitment. We’ve reported on these connections before, but China is particularly sensitive about coverage that outs its universities.