Adrian Johnson
TLDR:
- A leaked document exposed the secret placement of gunshot-detection sensors in the US.
- 15 years of messages from the US Congress were leaked, revealing warnings related to Russian military research.
In a mysterious leak, hundreds of documents linked to a Chinese hacking-for-hire firm, i-Soon, were dumped online, offering insight into the secretive world of China’s state-backed hacking industry. The leak includes details of Chinese hacking operations, lists of victims and potential targets, and the day-to-day complaints of i-Soon staff. The leaked files have been confirmed as real by cybersecurity analysts, revealing the company’s close relationship with China’s state-backed hackers.
Security researchers have analyzed the leaked documents, which include references to software for disinformation campaigns, efforts to access communications data across Asia, and targets within governments in various countries. The documents also shed light on how i-Soon supported the development of the ShadowPad malware and worked for China’s Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army. Privacy wins this week include the Signal Foundation introducing usernames for its encrypted messaging app and Apple launching PQ3 encryption for iMessage to resist decryption from quantum computers.
In other news, antivirus firm Avast was fined for selling people’s browsing data, scammers tried to dupe Apple with fake iPhones, and security researchers developed a new side-channel attack that can reconstruct fingerprints from the sounds they make on phone screens.
