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LONDON – Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) is facing 101 phone-hacking lawsuits from public figures including actors Kate Winslet, Sean Bean and Gillian Anderson and the estate of late Australian cricketer Shane Warne, London’s High Court heard on Nov 20.
The publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People tabloids – which is owned by Reach – has been entangled in litigation for more than a decade over alleged phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering.
MGN had accepted that some unlawful information gathering took place at its newspapers in the early 2000s, before Prince Harry and three others went to trial in 2023.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, was awarded £140,600 (around S$238,000) after London’s High Court ruled the prince had been targeted by MGN journalists – the biggest win yet in his “mission” to purge the British press.
He accepted substantial damages from MGN to settle the remainder of his lawsuit, but vowed his mission would continue and a trial of his separate case against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper arm is due to begin in January.
When Harry largely won his case in December 2023, Reach also claimed victory as two other claimants’ cases were rejected as having been brought too late.
The company said the ruling meant cases brought after October 2020 were “likely to be dismissed other than where exceptional circumstances apply”.
MGN is, however, currently facing a total of 101 lawsuits brought by a number of people, including Prince Harry’s ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, the claimants’ lawyers said at a hearing on Nov 20.
The publisher asked for a trial to be heard in late 2025 to decide whether a sample of the 101 cases were brought too late, arguing it would likely prompt a settlement of the cases.
Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled that such a trial would accelerate other cases being resolved and said it was likely to take place in November 2025. REUTERS
Australia’s ban on children under 16 using social media has sparked global conversations about online safety and youth development (Australia’s world-first social media ban for kids under 16 attracts mixed reaction, Nov 29).
While the intentions behind this policy – protecting children from cyber bullying, exploitation and harmful content – are commendable, it raises critical questions about balance, enforcement and unintended consequences.
As a 14-year-old teenager who does not use social media, I can see both sides of the argument.
On the one hand, platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Discord can be overwhelming, exposing young users to unhealthy comparisons, misinformation and even predatory behaviour.
Many parents and educators worry about the long-term effects of excessive screen time, often spent on social media platforms, on mental health and academic performance.
On the other hand, outright bans overlook the positive aspects of social media. For many teens, these platforms are a lifeline for creative expression, activism and staying connected, especially in an increasingly digital world.
Moreover, enforcing such a law could be challenging, as children are often tech-savvy enough to find workarounds.
Rather than outright bans, a better solution might involve empowering young users through digital literacy education. Teaching children how to navigate online spaces safely, recognise misinformation and manage screen time could address the root problems without cutting children off from valuable opportunities.
Singapore can learn from Australia’s debate as we navigate our own challenges with digitalisation. Instead of waiting for government intervention, schools, families and tech companies should work together to create a safer online environment while respecting the voice and agency of young people.
The internet isn’t going anywhere, and neither are we. Let us try to work together to ensure we can use it wisely.
Avishi Gurnani, 14
Secondary 2
WASHINGTON – Russian hackers are going after US government officials, defence workers and others in a new email phishing campaign targeting thousands of people, according to Microsoft Corp.
The hackers have sent “a series of highly targeted spearphishing emails” to thousands of people in more than 100 organisations since Oct 22, according to a blog post from Microsoft Threat Intelligence published on Oct 29.
The latest campaign will add to mounting concerns over US failures to outwit suspected Russian and Chinese hackers.
The FBI said on Oct 25 it is investigating unauthorised access by Chinese state-affiliated hackers targeting the commercial telecommunications sector.
In some of the emails that were part of the latest campaign, the senders impersonated Microsoft employees, according to the blog.
Spearphishing involves sending tailored emails to individuals, including links to malicious websites that can then steal information.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the attacks, if any, were successful.
Microsoft has said the attacks are perpetrated by a sophisticated Russian nation-state group it calls Midnight Blizzard, which US and UK governments have connected to the SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service.
The company said in January that the group attacked its corporate systems, getting into a “small number” of email accounts, including senior leadership and employees who work in cybersecurity and legal.
In April, US federal agencies were ordered to analyse emails, reset compromised credentials and work to secure Microsoft accounts.
At the time, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) said the incident represented a “grave and unacceptable risk” to agencies, according to the April directive.
Cisa and US State Department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Russian Embassy in Washington didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. BLOOMBERG
An Iranian hacking group is actively scouting U.S. election-related websites and American media outlets as election day nears, according to a new Microsoft blog published on Wednesday. Researchers say the activity suggests “preparations for more direct influence operations.”
The hackers – dubbed Cotton Sandstorm by Microsoft and linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – performed reconnaissance and limited probing of multiple “election-related websites” in several unnamed swing states, the report notes. In May, they also scanned an unidentified U.S. news outlet to understand its vulnerabilities.
“Cotton Sandstorm will increase its activity as the election nears given the group’s operational tempo and history of election interference,” researchers wrote. The development is particularly concerning because of the group’s past efforts.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In recent past comments, they denied any involvement in 2024 election-related hacking activity.
In 2020, Cotton Sandstorm launched a different cyber-enabled influence operation shortly before the last presidential election. Posing as the right-wing “Proud Boys,” the hackers sent thousands of emails to Florida residents, threatening them to “vote for Trump or else!”.
The group also released a video on social media, purporting to come from hacktivists, where they showed them probing an election system. While that operation never affected individual voting systems, the goal was to cause chaos, confusion and doubt, senior U.S. officials said at the time.
Following the 2020 election, Cotton Sandstorm also ran a separate operation that encouraged violence against U.S. election officials who had denied claims of widespread voter fraud, Microsoft said.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which is coordinating the federal effort to defend the election from foreign influence, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. REUTERS
WASHINGTON – The mastermind behind one of the biggest-ever Bitcoin heists was ordered to serve five years in prison for conspiring with his social-media rapper wife to launder money he stole by hacking into the Bitfinex exchange and grabbing cryptoassets now worth billions of dollars.
Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein was sentenced in Washington on Nov 14, after he and his wife, Heather Morgan, pleaded guilty last year in a scheme to hide proceeds from the 2016 hack. Morgan, known as “Razzlekhan” in her rap videos, will be sentenced Nov 18. The government recommended an 18-month sentence for her.
Lichtenstein, 37, faced as long as 20 years behind bars. But the government cited his substantial assistance that “has benefited numerous investigations.” The Bitfinex hack resulted in the theft of 119,754 Bitcoin worth about US$71 million (S$23 million) at the time. But since then, the token has surged from US$580 in 2016 to more than US$90,000 this week, boosting the value of the assets to billions.
“This is so massive, it is not comparable to other crypto crimes” based on its scale and complexity, US District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said before sentencing. Lichtenstein carried out his scheme over several years, which undermines defense claims that his actions were “impulsive,” the judge said.
Lichtenstein, a “highly skilled computer expert,” used several hacking techniques to gain access to the Bitfinex network, and then, in August 2016, fraudulently authorised more than 2,000 transactions to move Bitcoin to a cryptocurrency wallet he controlled, the government said.
He and his wife used sophisticated and meticulous money-laundering techniques to hide the stolen proceeds, including setting up accounts under fictitious identities, moving funds in small amounts, and breaking up the trail of transactions by depositing and withdrawing funds from crypto exchanges and darknet markets. They bought nonfungible tokens, gold and Walmart gift cards, according to the government.
Lichtenstein “became one of the greatest money launderers that the government has encountered in the cryptocurrency space,” prosecutors wrote in an October sentencing memo. “If the defendant were to take what he has learned from this prosecution and incorporate it into a future money laundering scheme, he would be even better-equipped to conceal his activity while monetizing his crimes,” they wrote.
Since his plea last year, Lichtenstein has assisted the government in other criminal cases, including as a government witness in a money-laundering trial involving a mixing service called Bitcoin Fog.
Other hacks
While Lichtenstein had no official criminal history before his arrest in 2022, the Bitfinex hack wasn’t his first, the government said. As a juvenile, he experimented with hacking and financial fraud, and around 2015, he illegally transferred a small amount of PayCoin, an alternative form of virtual currency, prosecutors said. The following year, he stole about US$200,000 from a virtual currency exchange, the government said.
But he also worked in legitimate businesses. While in college, Lichtenstein ran a digital marketing agency from his dorm, and after graduation, a software company he co-founded grew to 30 employees, the government said.
“His decision to use his skills for criminal ends is thus particularly disappointing, but it gives hope for continued successful rehabilitation,” prosecutors said in the sentencing memo.
Morgan attended her husband’s sentencing, along with Lichtenstein’s family. Lichtenstein expressed remorse to the judge and pledged that he would use his skills to help with cybersecurity. “I can make a real difference in the fight against cybercrime,” he said.
He asked that his wife avoid prison time. “Heather is only involved in this case because of me,” he said. BLOOMBERG
PETALING JAYA – The National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) says it is currently investigating reports alleging that the MyKad, or Malaysian identity card, data of 17 million Malaysians has been leaked and is being sold on the dark web.
“We understand this is a concerning issue for the public and want to assure you that we are taking it very seriously,” said a spokesperson in a statement issued Dec 4 to LifestyleTech.
“Our experts are investigating the situation thoroughly to verify the authenticity of these claims and assess the extent of any potential compromise.
“Nacsa is committed to safeguarding personal data and will take necessary action based on our findings.”
Dark web threat intelligence firm StealthMole first highlighted the issue on Dec 3 on X, stating that threat actors claim to be in possession of MyKad data belonging to 17 million Malaysians and are offering it up for sale on the dark web.
“As proof, they have publicly shared samples of Malaysian ID cards on the dark web,” the company wrote in the post.
“This massive data breach raises concerns as it could lead to serious crimes like identity theft and financial fraud.”
Nacsa said it will provide updates as more information becomes available while also urging the public to “avoid spreading unconfirmed reports and only refer to verified information from the authorities”.
It further advises monitoring bank accounts and credit reports for suspicious activity, remaining cautious of unsolicited communications, refraining from clicking on links or opening attachments from unknown senders, using strong passwords, keeping software up to date, and practising good cyber hygiene. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK