A group of what appears to be Chinese hackers infiltrated a U. S. trade-focused lobbying group as the two countries wrestle with how they treat imports of each other’s goods and services.
A group of what appears to be Chinese hackers infiltrated a U. S. trade-focused lobbying group as the two countries wrestle with how they treat imports of each other’s goods and services.
The APT10 Chinese hacking group appears to be behind a «strategic web compromise» in late February and early March at the National Foreign Trade Council, according to security vendor Fidelis Cybersecurity.
The lobbying group discovered the attack almost immediately and took steps to remove the malware and protect website visitors, a source close to the group said.
It is «highly probable» that the web attack targeted key private-sector organizations focused on U. S. trade policy, Fidelis Cybersecurity said in a blog post. The company’s research has found a similar operation targeting government officials in Japan, it said.
«The connections we can draw from the Japanese campaign lead us to estimate that it is highly probable that the actors involved are known as APT10,» a well-known Chinese hacking group.
The attack on the lobbying group, dubbed Operation TradeSecret by Fidelis, targeted visitors to some of the organization’s web pages, including one used to register for meetings. The attacks served reconnaissance malware known as Scanbox, Fidelis said.
Scanbox is typically used by hackers associated with or sponsored by the Chinese government, the company said. It gives hackers multiple capabilities, including JavaScript keyloggers installed on target PCs. The information gathered with this reconnaissance can be used in phishing campaigns directed toward targeted individuals. These campaigns can then exploit specific vulnerabilities known to exist within the user’s applications.
The information gathered can then be used in phishing campaigns targeting specific computer users, Fidelis said.
«The benefit of such a watering-hole attack is that it enables the adversary to target key individuals as they go about their business,» said Hardik Modi, vice president for threat research at Fidelis. «Big business plays a key role in the formulation of trade policy in the U. S., and our expectation is that this campaign was about gathering intelligence in advance of the negotiations that accompany the [U. S.-China] summit. »
Lobbying groups are particularly attractive targets, Modi added by email. They are «in a difficult position because they often have a sensitive membership and can be an easy conduit for the adversary to target the specific interest group they’re interested in,» he said. «This has been part of cyber tradecraft for a long time now. »
This type of espionage is «an age-old tradition for governments,» he added.

© Source: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3188231/security/us-trade-lobbying-group-attacked-by-suspected-chinese-hackers.html
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Featuring speeds of up to 515MBps, WD’s new palm-sized My Passport drive is by far the company’s fastest portable drive
Western Digital today introduced its first portable SSD, the My Passport SSD.
The new palm-sized SSD claims read/write speeds that rival those of internal SATA-attached SSDs — up to 515MBps. The new drive uses a USB Type-C (reversible) connector and the USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) standard; it also comes with an adapter to use with the more traditional USB Type-A ports found on many computers.
The drive is 0.39-in x 3.5-in x 1.8-in in size and comes with a three-year limited warranty. It has a suggested retail price of $399.99 for the 1TB model, $199.99 for the 512GB model and $99.99 for the 256GB drive.
The SSD also comes with WD Backup software, which can schedule automatic backups to the drive or to a Dropbox cloud service account. The drive is also compatible with Apple Time Machine, but must be reformatted before it can be used with the service.
My Passport SSD also comes with 256-bit AES hardware encryption and password protection, and has been tested using a 6.5-foot drop tested for shock-resistance to withstand 1500G of force.

© Source: http://www.itworld.com/article/3188145/data-storage/wd-unveils-its-first-portable-ssd-with-internal-drive-speeds.html
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Up in the US for $149.99
One of the most interesting new features of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is arguably the ability to use it like a desktop PC, but to do that you need to buy a Samsung DeX Station which has just gone up for pre-order in the US, revealing a $149.99 (roughly £120/AU$200) price in the process.
The DeX Station is listed on both Amazon and Samsung’s own website at that price, though Samsung claims it won’t be shipping until early May, while Amazon reckons it will be releasing the DeX Station by April 20 – just about in time to get it alongside your Galaxy S8 or Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus on their April 21 release date.
It’s a pricey bit of kit, especially since you’ll already have spent a lot on a compatible handset, but it could be worth the money.
The DeX Station lets you connect the S8 to an external monitor and use it with a mouse and keyboard, running apps in multiple windows on a big screen. You can also use it to remotely access your home desktop, and a fan built in to the DeX Station itself will help keep your phone cool throughout.
The DeX Station isn’t yet officially up for pre-order in the UK or Australia, but with the Galaxy S8 itself launching a week later on April 28 in those countries we might see it soon.
And prices could be similar to the conversions above, as some small stores, such as MobileFun in the UK, already have it listed at around £130.

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