BotNet News

A new generation of digital threats are affecting journalists and news media around the world. They are raising safety concerns and psychological effects, sabotaging audience trust, and harming newsroom economic models. They are exacerbated by a lack of resources for digital security training in newsrooms, especially outside the larger national (and largely Western) publishers that can afford to provide them.

Cyberthreat News

In 2024, a Russian state group targeted diplomats using malware distributed in a fake used-car email. The attackers embedded a file that appeared to contain images of a car but actually contained backdoor malware that established persistent access and allowed attackers to engage in follow-on data theft, reconnaissance and surveillance activities.

Hackers attacked Sri Lanka’s government cloud systems, wiping four months of data and disrupting services for weeks. It is believed the attack was retaliation for critical journalism reporting on alleged corruption in the government.

Cyber attacks are continuing to target the systems of government agencies and ministries across Asia, stealing confidential information and disrupting operations. The attacks are likely a part of a long-term espionage campaign against government-affiliated organizations that includes the use of previously unknown malware, targeting networks and devices for exfiltration and translational repression.

Hackers accessed the Chivo cryptocurrency wallets of millions of Salvadorians and released 144 GB of personal information online, as well as compromising their private messages. The hacks are a sign of the growing sophistication of hacking groups in Latin America and a global trend toward mass defacement and disruption of public services by hacktivists.