Daily Beast

January 8, 2017

DNI: Putin Led Cyber, Propaganda Effort to Elect Trump, Denigrate Clinton

This post was originally published on this siteRussian President Vladimir Putin directed a massive propaganda and cyber operation aimed at discrediting Hillary Clinton and getting Donald Trump elected, the top U.S. intelligence agencies said in a remarkable yet unshocking report released on Friday. Russian President Vladimir Putin tours RT facilities. Image: DNI The 25-page dossier from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence stopped short of saying the Russians succeeded at influencing the outcome of the election, noting that the report did not attempt to make an assessment on that front. But it makes the case that “Russia’s intelligence […]
August 30, 2017

Twitter Bots Use Likes, RTs for Intimidation

This post was originally published on this siteI awoke this morning to find my account on Twitter (@briankrebs) had attracted almost 12,000 new followers overnight. Then I noticed I’d gained almost as many followers as the number of re-tweets (RTs) earned for a tweet I published on Tuesday. The tweet stated how every time I tweet something related to Russian President Vladimir Putin I get a predictable stream of replies that are in support of President Trump — even in cases when neither Trump nor the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign were even mentioned. This tweet about Putin generated more than 12,000 retweets and […]
September 2, 2018

Alleged ‘Satori’ IoT Botnet Operator Sought Media Spotlight, Got Indicted

This post was originally published on this siteA 20-year-old from Vancouver, Washington was indicted last week on federal hacking charges and for allegedly operating the “Satori” botnet, a malware strain unleashed last year that infected hundreds of thousands of wireless routers and other “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices. This outcome is hardly surprising given that the accused’s alleged alter ego has been relentless in seeking media attention for this global crime machine. Schuchman, in an undated photo posted online and referenced in a “dox,” which alleged in Feb. 2018 that Schuchman was Nexus Zeta. The Daily Beast‘s Kevin Poulsen broke […]