π Global Undersea Cables at Risk of Espionage, AT&T Breach, Musk's HQ Sublease
Good morning. Itβs Friday, July 12. Today we are covering:
How China and Russia could hobble the internet
AT&T says criminals stole phone records of 'nearly all' customers in new data breach
Elon Musk's X to sublease entire S.F. headquarters, tech company's future in city unclear
Signal downplays encryption key flaw, fixes it after X drama
Tesla Delays Robotaxi Event in Blow to Musk's Autonomy Drive
Letβs dive in
How China and Russia could hobble the internet
The Economist
RAND Europe, a think-tank, conducted research on undersea critical infrastructure for the British government, uncovering sensitive details potentially exploitable by adversaries like Russia.
The security of undersea cables, which transmit most of the world's internet traffic, has become a heightened concern due to attacks and incidents stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Red Sea.
Undersea communications are seen as potential targets for disruption or espionage in crises or peacetime, especially as America and China vie for influence in Asia.
π: I wrote a piece this week on the security of undersea cables, reflecting both on sabotage fears in Europe and espionage ones in Asia. An area where attribution remains fiendishly hard, and where the impact of sabotage is very hard to know in advance. - Shashank Joshi (@shashj)
AT&T says criminals stole phone records of 'nearly all' customers in new data breach
By Zack Whittaker via TechCrunchΒ
AT&T has confirmed a major data breach where cybercriminals accessed the phone records of nearly all its customers, involving data from a six-month period in 2022 and additional records from early 2023.
The breach was traced to a security lapse at Snowflake, where AT&T stored customer data; other companies have also reported data thefts from the same platform.
AT&T is collaborating with law enforcement, including the FBI, to address the breach, and has set up a customer information website while working to apprehend those responsible.
π: Breaking: hackers stole call and text records for "nearly all" AT&T customers. Shows which phone numbers a customer called or texted. A staggering and unprecedented data breach. Data usually only available to authorities; now hackers got it - Joseph Cox (@josephfcox)
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Elon Musk's X to sublease entire S.F. headquarters, tech company's future in city unclear
By Laura Waxmann via San Francisco Chronicle
X Corp. is subleasing its entire San Francisco headquarters at Market Square, signaling uncertain future plans for the company in the city.
The space available for sublease includes a combined total of approximately 790,000 square feet across two connected buildings.
This move contributes to a record high in the cityβs sublease availability and reflects broader trends of increasing office vacancies and a shift towards remote work.
π: Twitter/X to sublease entire S.F. headquarters. WOW. Is Twitter/X leaving San Francisco? - Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation)
Signal downplays encryption key flaw, fixes it after X drama
By Lawrence Abrams via BleepingComputerΒ
Signal is updating its desktop client's security by enhancing how it stores encryption keys, addressing a flaw first reported in 2018 that allowed keys to be stored in plain text.
Public attention to the flaw was reignited by a tweet from Elon Musk, leading to a response from Signal's President Meredith Whittaker, who defended the app's security practices.
Signal plans to implement Electron's safeStorage API to secure encryption keys using system cryptography on supported platforms, an update prompted by recent public scrutiny.
π: TL;DR: Don't install @signalapp for macOS, it is not secure. I carried out this small experiment: - I wrote a simple Python script that copies the directory of Signal's local storage to another location (to mimic a malicious script or app) - I ran the script in the Terminal and got a copy of my Signal data on my Macβ¦ - Mysk (@mysk_co)
Tesla Delays Robotaxi Event in Blow to Musk's Autonomy Drive
By Dana Hull via Bloomberg
Tesla Inc. is postponing the unveiling of its anticipated robotaxi from August 8 to October, citing the need for additional prototype development and design revisions.
The delay has been communicated internally, with the design team instructed to rework specific elements of the vehicle.
This postponement follows an 11-day stock gain fueled by anticipation of the robotaxi event, marking a significant moment in Musk's push for automotive autonomy.
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