RISKS-LIST: Risks-Forum Digest Saturday 5 March 2022 Volume 33 : Issue 08

ACM FORUM ON RISKS TO THE PUBLIC IN COMPUTERS AND RELATED SYSTEMS (comp.risks) Peter G. Neumann, founder and still moderator

***** See last item for further information, disclaimers, caveats, etc. ***** This issue is archived at <http://www.risks.org> as
<http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Risks/33.08>
The current issue can also be found at
<http://www.csl.sri.com/users/risko/risks.txt>

Contents:
Massive satellite disruption affecting almost 6000 wind turbines in Europe
(Market Screener)
Surprisingly many risky infusion pumps? Are you part of the IoT? (PGN)
Small cyberphysical watermarks could prevent huge headaches caused by fake
meds (phys.org)
Sophisticated new Chinese hacking tool found, spurring U.S. warning to
allies (SCMP)
DHS calls out firmware and open source as the biggest software risks (DHS) Researchers Can Steal Data During Homomorphic Encryption (NCState)
Flaws Discovered in Cisco's Network Operating System for Switches
(The Hacker News)
Robust Radar: AI Sensor Technology for Autonomous Driving (Christoph Pelzl) Computer Security Researchers Aim to Prevent Tech Abuse (Cornell Chronicle) Stolen certificates (The Register)
Ban from China Made Bitcoin Less Friendly to Climate (NYTimes)
Surgeon General Demands Data on COVID-19 Misinformation From Major Tech
Firms (The Hill)
Humans Will Live In Metaverse Soon, Claims Mark Zuckerberg. What About
Reality? (Washable)
The metaverse will steal your identity (Unherd)
Proctorio subpoenas digital rights group in legal spat with student
(The Verge)
Here Comes the Full Amazonification of Whole Foods (Cecilia Kang)
Move Over Candy Bars, New York Vending Machine Now Sells NFT Art
(Daniel Fasterberg)
Relevant bumper crop in today's NYTimes (PGN)
More on Ukraine-related risks (PGN-collected)
Cyberwarfare likely to hit U.S., allies, say experts (Carolyn Said)
As Tanks Rolled Into Ukraine, So Did Malware. Then Microsoft Entered the War
(David E. Sanger et al.)
The Impossible Suddenly Became Possible (Anne Applebaum)
Ukraine's Vital Tech Industry Carries on Amid Russian Invasion
(Sam Schechner)
Google temporarily disables Google Maps live traffic data in Ukraine
(Reuters)
Conti Ransomware Source Code Leaked by Ukrainian Researcher
(Bleeping Computer)
Russia's War in Ukraine Could Spur Another Global Chip Shortage (WiReD)
The Internet and Putin's War (Lauren Weinstein)
Re: New Bill Would Bring Mobile Voting To WashDC (Jay Libowe)
Re: Some Mazda cars stuck on a Seattle Station (Martin Ward)
Abridged info on RISKS (comp.risks)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 18:48:35 -0800
From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>
Subject: Massive satellite disruption affecting almost 6000 wind turbines in
Europe (Market Screener)

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/VIASAT-INC-11323/news/Satellite-outage-knocks-out-thousands-of-Enercon-s-wind-turbines-39612504/

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 11:53:40 PST
From: Peter Neumann <neumann@csl.sri.com>
Subject: Surprisingly many risky infusion pumps? Are you part of the IoT?

Three out of four infusion pumps used to deliver medications and fluids to patients have cybersecurity flaws, putting them at increased risk of being compromised by hackers, according to a new study by Palo Alto Networks' Unit
42 threat research service.

https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/infusion-pump-vulnerabilities/

An analysis of more than 200,000 infusion pumps from seven medical device
manufacturers, using crowd-sourced data supplied by healthcare
organizations, found more than half of the devices were susceptible to
"critical" and "high" severity cybersecurity vulnerabilities. "Security
lapses in these devices have the potential to put lives at risk or expose
sensitive patient data," states the report, noting that infusion pumps can
number in the thousands in a large hospital or clinic.

The Palo Alto Networks study mirrors results from a January research report <https://www.cynerio.com/landing-pages/the-state-of-healthcare-iot-device-security-2022>
by security firm Cynerio, which found that IV infusion pumps make up 38% of
a hospital's typical Internet of Things (IoT) footprint, with 73% of those devices having a vulnerability "that would jeopardize patient safety, data confidentiality, or service availability if it were to be exploited by an adversary."

Infusion pumps are the most common connected medical devices in hospitals
and "possess the lion's share" of cybersecurity risk, concluded Cynerio's January report. The Palo Alto Networks study, released on 2 Mar 2022
identified more than 40 different vulnerabilities and over 70 different security alerts among infusion pumps, with one or more affecting 75% of the 200,000 devices analyzed on the networks of mostly U.S. healthcare organizations.

"One of the most striking findings was that 52% of all infusion pumps
scanned were susceptible to two known vulnerabilities that were disclosed in 2019 -- one with 'critical' severity, the other with 'high' severity, respectively:
<https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-12255> <https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-12264>

The study also points out that the average infusion pump has a life of eight
to 10 years, resulting in the widespread use of legacy devices that have hampered efforts to improve cybersecurity.

Becton Dickinson's Alaris System vulnerabilities listed in the Palo Alto Networks report were disclosed by the company in 2017, 2019 and 2020. BD
made software updates available to fix these vulnerabilities and encouraged customers to update to BD Alaris PCU version 12.1.2, which became available
in July 2021, according to the report's researchers.

Still, despite the availability of a patch last year, the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) in the BD pumps "still had a 50.39% and 39.54% representation in the hospitals," according to Chris Gates, director
of product security at medical device engineering firm Velentium.

"While BD has been a responsible manufacturer, the hospitals have not been updating their pumps," which is "magnified by the long service life of these pumps in the hospital," Gates said.

Other cybersecurity experts such as Harbor Labs' Director of Medical
Security Mike Rushanan, who has worked with a wide variety of infusion
systems, are not impressed with the security practices of much of the
infusion pump industry.

"Some infusion pump manufacturers do cybersecurity right, and you don't see them on this list. Others, like BD, you'll see over and over," Rushanan
said. At the same time, Gates is critical of Baxter's response to known vulnerabilities in their infusion pumps. "The Baxter pumps have a raft of
high scoring vulnerabilities," Gates said. "These types of vulnerabilities display a complete disregard for cybersecurity by the manufacturer, this
isn't some advanced attack by a nation-state or newly discovered
vulnerability in a third-party component. No, this is just not meeting their responsibility as a medical device manufacturer."

In an emailed statement, Baxter said that the company "self-identified, investigated and disclosed" vulnerabilities related to its devices that were noted in the study.

"Securing medical devices, including infusion pumps, is not a one-time
event. It requires ongoing vigilance throughout the lifecycle and operation
of the pump," it said. "Baxter's product security team is continuously monitoring for potential vulnerabilities in our medical devices."

A spokesperson at BD said the company planned to issue a statement about the matter today. It wasn't made available at the time of publication.

Baxter's recent infusion pump safety notification, which regards improper device use, adds to the cybersecurity concerns with the machines. BD has similarly had recent problems with its pumps, issuing multiple recalls over
the last several years due to machine malfunctions. <https://www.medtechdive.com/news/baxter-warns-of-missed-alarms-with-some-of-its-infusion-pumps/619215/>

"Recalls, whether due to mechanical failure or cybersecurity vulnerability,
can be a source of anxiety for supply chain managers, clinical engineers and
IT security teams," Palo Alto Networks said in the study. "The at-risk
devices must be identified, found and retired or repaired per the
instruction of a given recall. An oversight or a miss in any of these areas
– whether the devices need repair, maintenance, software patches or updates – can put patient lives or sensitive information at risk."

The Palo Alto Networks study called on the healthcare industry to "redouble efforts to protect against known vulnerabilities" in infusion pumps. Still, Velentium's Gates is skeptical that both hospitals and medical device manufacturers are up to the task, despite the continuing risks to patient safety. "I would love to see these studies repeated in a year to see how
many are still unpatched and still in use in the hospitals. Sadly, I would suspect they would find very similar numbers," Gates said.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2022 12:26:23 +0800
From: "Richard Stein" <rmstein@ieee.org>
Subject: Small cyberphysical watermarks could prevent huge headaches caused
by fake meds (phys.org)

https://phys.org/news/2022-03-small-cyberphysical-watermarks-huge-headaches.html

"Counterfeit medications and pharmaceutical products are just a click
away from being purchased from online pharmacies via smartphone."

The Pharmaceutical Security Institute summarizes grim statistics about
arrests, drug categories, and the global geographic distribution for counterfeit medicines for incidents greater than US$ 100K in product
value. No aggregated revenue information about the crimes are disclosed.
See https://www.psi-inc.org/therapeutic-categories retrieved on 02MAR2022.

The AARP, via https://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-2016/counterfeit-prescription-drugs-rx.html
(retrieved on 02MAR2022), estimates the phony drug market size @ ~US$ 200B
in 2014.

To deter incentives to forge and sell into the marketplace, a silk-based watermark will be imprinted on each pill or tablet to establish the manufactured medicine's bona fides. Human digestive processes gracefully degrade silk and the marking ink.

A cellphone app can be used to examine the watermark and confirm or
refute authenticity.

Risk: False negative/positive app outcome.

[Unclear how consumers can apply the app via pre-sale sample and buy.
Law enforcement can benefit by not having to subject the suspected goods
to rigorous chemical authenticity testing. Wonder if law enforcement use
of the app might be subject to illegal search and seizure challenges.]

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 21:17:07 -1000
From: geoff goodfellow <geoff@iconia.com>
Subject: Sophisticated new Chinese hacking tool found, spurring U.S. warning
to allies (SCMP)

- Cybersecurity firm Symantec says the malware, which it calls Daxin,
has been used to target high level, non-Western government agencies in Asia
and Africa
- Researchers say the discovery is noteworthy because of the scale of
the intrusions and the advanced nature of the tool

Security researchers with US cybersecurity firm Symantec said they have discovered a highly sophisticated Chinese hacking tool that has been able to escape public attention for more than a decade.

The discovery was shared with the US government in recent months, who have shared the information with foreign partners, said a US official. Symantec,
a division of chip maker Broadcom, published its research about the tool,
which it calls Daxin, on Monday.

``It's something we haven't seen before,'' said Clayton Romans, associate director with the US Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). ``This is the exact type of information we’re hoping to receive.''

CISA highlighted Symantec's membership in a joint public-private
cybersecurity information sharing partnership, known as the JCDC, alongside
the new research paper. [...]

https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3168740/sophisticated-new-chinese-hacking-tool-found

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2022 10:31:49 PST
From: Peter G Neumann <neumann@csl.sri.com>
Subject: DHS calls out firmware and open source as the biggest software risks
(DHS)

https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/ICT%20Supply%20Chain%20Report_0.pdf

Assessment of the Critical Supply Chains Supporting the U.S. Information
and Communications Technology Industry

23 February 2022

"In summary, open-source software and firmware are integral to the ICT industrial base, enabling the development and functionality of nearly all
types of ICT software and hardware products. However, the nature of these products in addition to the software supply chain itself present several
risks. First, the dynamic nature of software development exposes the supply chain to countless sources of both known and unknown vulnerabilities, from insecure open-source software to zero-day exploits. Second, the growing reliance on open-source software increases the risk and potential impact of software supply chain attacks through methods such as package typo squatting and malicious injects. Finally, firmware presents a large and ever-expanding attack surface as the number of electronic devices grows and the ICT supply chain increases in complexity. Product integrity assurance throughout the
ICT industry is important to ensure secure and reliable products."

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 12:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: Researchers Can Steal Data During Homomorphic Encryption (NCState)

Matt Shipman, NC State University News, 2 Mar 2022,
via ACM TechNews; 4 Mar 2022

Researchers at North Carolina State University (NC State) and Turkey's Dokuz Eylul University have cracked next-generation homomorphic encryption via side-channel attacks. Homomorphic encryption renders data unreadable to
third parties, while still permitting third parties and third-party technologies to perform operations using the data. NC State's Aydin Aysu
said the process consumes much computing power, and the researchers were
able to read data during encryption by monitoring power consumption in the
data encoder using Microsoft's SEAL Homomorphic Encryption Library. "We were able to do this with a single power measurement," Aysu noted, and the team confirmed the flaw in the library up through least version 3.6.

https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=3Dznwrbbrs9_6-2e294x23200ex072994&

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 12:04:13 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: Flaws Discovered in Cisco's Network Operating System for Switches
(The Hacker News)

Ravie Lakshmanan, *The Hacker News* 24 Feb 2022,
via ACM TechNews, 28 Feb 2022

Technology conglomerate Cisco has issued software patches to correct four security flaws that hackers could exploit to commandeer affected systems.
The most critical patch fixes a command injection flaw in the NX-API feature
of Cisco NX-OS software, stemming from insufficient input validation of user-supplied data. Cisco warned, "A successful exploit could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary commands with root privileges on the
underlying operating system." Other bugs the patches target include two high-severity denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerabilities in NX-OS in the Cisco Fabric Services Over IP and Bidirectional Forwarding Detection traffic functions. The fourth patch corrects a DoS flaw in the Cisco Discovery
Protocol service of Cisco FXOS Software and Cisco NX-OS Software, which
could "allow an unauthenticated, adjacent attacker to cause the service to restart, resulting in a denial of service condition."

https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=znwrbbrs9_6-2e204x231cfcx074336&

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 12:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: Robust Radar: AI Sensor Technology for Autonomous Driving
(Christoph Pelzl)

Christoph Pelzl, Graz University of Technology (Austria), 23 Feb 2022,
via ACM TechNews; 4 Mar 2022

An artificial intelligence (AI) system for automotive radar sensors
developed by researchers at Austria's Graz University of Technology (TU
Graz) filters out interfering signals from other radar sensors to improve object detection. The researchers built model architectures for automatic
noise suppression based on convolutional neural networks (CNNs). To make
them more efficient, the researchers trained the neural networks with noisy data and desired output values, then compressed the most efficient models further by reducing bit widths, resulting in an AI model with high filter performance and low energy consumption. Said TU Graz's Franz Pernkopf, "We
want to make CNNs' behavior a bit more explainable. We are not only
interested in the output result, but also in its range of variation. The smaller the variance, the more certain the network is." https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=3Dznwrbbrs9_6-2e294x232009x072994&

------------------------------

Date: Mon, 28 Feb 2022 12:04:13 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: Computer Security Researchers Aim to Prevent Tech Abuse
(Cornell Chronicle)

Adam Conner-Simons, Cornell University Chronicle, 24 Feb 2022,
via ACM TechNews, 28 Feb 2022

76A model developed by Cornell University researchers aims to help domestic abuse survivors prevent assailants from hacking into their devices and
social media. With a focus on "continuity of care," the model matches
survivors of such abuse with a volunteer consultant who understands their
needs and provides a seamless relationship over time, giving them multiple
ways to communicate with their consultant safely, and securely storing their tech abuse history and concerns. Cornell's Emily Tseng said, "In an ideal world, the people on the 'Geek Squad' would be able to treat tech abuse with the sensitivity of a social worker."

https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=znwrbbrs9_6-2e204x231d04x074336&

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 05 Mar 2022 01:49:19 -0500
From: "Arthur T." <risks202203.6.atsjbt@xoxy.net>
Subject: Stolen certificates (The Register)

Extortionists started leaking data they stole from Nvidia. It includes a code-signing certificate. There is already malware in the wild signed by it.

https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/05/nvidia_stolen_certificate/

There is an important question I have that this article doesn't mention:
Other software companies have had data stolen. Has any of their stolen data included signing certificates? If they aren't leaked (as was Nvidia's) we
might never know that criminals have those certificates in their possession, since those who pay ransoms generally don't publicize what kind of data was taken (if they even know).

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2022 13:37:16 PST
From: Peter G Neumann <neumann@csl.sri.com>
Subject: Ban from China Made Bitcoin Less Friendly to Climate (NYTimes)

Hiroko Tabuchi, *The New York Times* Business, B8,26 Feb 2022

The exodus of bitcoin miners from China (after last year's government
crackdown on cryptocurrencies) made cryptomining even worse for the climate. Miners lost their access to cheap hydro-electric power in China, and
migrated (e,g., to Kazakhstan and the U.S.), resulting in the overall use of more fossil fuels. Researchers estimated Bitcoin mining may be responsible
for about 65 megatons of carbon dioxide annually. (PGN-ed)

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 12:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: Surgeon General Demands Data on COVID-19 Misinformation From
Major Tech Firms (The Hill)

Brad Dress, *The Hill*, 3 Mar 2022, via ACM TechNews; 4 Mar 2022

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy reportedly has asked major technology companies to disclose data on COVID-19 misinformation. He asked for
information about the prevalence and scale of the problem on the firms' Websites, and on social networks, search engines, crowdsourced and
e-commerce platforms, and instant messaging systems. Murthy specified that
the data should detail demographics impacted by misinformation,
misinformation sources, and "exactly how many users saw or may have been exposed to instances of COVID misinformation." Said Murthy, "Technology companies now have the opportunity to be open and transparent with the
American people about the misinformation on their platforms. This is about protecting the nation's health." https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=3Dznwrbbrs9_6-2e294x232005x072994&

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 08:03:48 -1000
From: geoff goodfellow <geoff@iconia.com>
Subject: Humans Will Live In Metaverse Soon, Claims Mark Zuckerberg.
What About Reality? (Washable)

*Meta intends to spend the next five to ten years creating an immersive
virtual environment that includes fragrance, touch, and sound to allow users
to lose themselves in virtual reality...* [...] https://in.mashable.com/tech/28254/humans-will-live-in-metaverse-soon-claims-mark-zuckerberg-what-about-reality

[Vot could be Verse? Those who may be lost in Metaverse may already be
lost more broadly. Smell-o-vision returns? RISKS-28.78, 30.88, 32.68.
PGN]

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 08:33:15 -1000
From: geoff goodfellow <geoff@iconia.com>
Subject: The metaverse will steal your identity (Unherd)

*Individuality will dissolve into mindless conformity*

In 1950, sociologist David Riesman declared that we were *The Lonely Crowd*.

In 2000, political scientist Robert D. Putnam told us we were *Bowling
Alone*. If the metaverse promises us one thing, it's that we will not be lonely.

Meta (formerly Facebook) and Microsoft (having recently purchased online
gaming giant Activision) are enthusiastically talking up the metaverse -- a world of virtual reality-enhanced social interactions that will be more real than reality. It will capture the nuances of offline interaction in
massively fulfilling virtual experiences and then monetise them. With
JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs declaring it a trillion-dollar market, the metaverse, if it succeeds, will be a constant presence in our lives.

If this is, as some say <https://www.ft.com/content/c60b8543-e7f0-43f1-89f8-32a57bc2b26e>, a
chilling vision of the future, it's not for the Huxleyesque reasons usually given. If the worry is that people will be drawn away from real life into an online world provided by high-tech devices, that horse has already
bolted. Meta's talk of an *immersive* metaverse belies the fact that we are already well and deeply immersed in online life. [...]

https://unherd.com/2022/03/the-metaverse-will-steal-your-identity/

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2022 19:31:46 -0500
From: "Gabe Goldberg" <gabe@gabegold.com>
Subject: Proctorio subpoenas digital rights group in legal spat with student
(The Verge)

It asks for all the organization's communications related to the proctoring software industry.

The controversial proctoring platform Proctorio has filed a broad
subpoena against the prominent digital rights nonprofit Fight for the
Future as part of its legal battle with Miami University student Erik
Johnson, in what the group describes as an effort to silence critics
through legal maneuvering.

The fight between Johnson and the company began in September of 2020
when the student published a lengthy Twitter thread criticizing
Proctorio's practices, including excerpts of the platform's source code
that he’d posted on PasteBin. Proctorio filed a copyright takedown
notice. Three of the tweets were removed but later reinstated. The
Electronic Frontier Foundation then sued Proctorio on Johnson's behalf,
arguing that the takedown had ``interfered with Johnson’s First Amendment right.''

Proctorio is one of the most prominent software platforms that schools use
to watch for cheating on remote tests. It records students through their webcams as they work, monitoring their head positioning, and flags possible signs of cheating to professors.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/22/22945634/proctorio-fight-for-the-future-twitter-copyright-lawsuit-subpoena-remote-proctoring

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 12:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: Here Comes the Full Amazonification of Whole Foods (Cecilia Kang)

Cecilia Kang, *The New York Times*, 28 Feb 2022
via ACM TechNews; 4 Mar 2022

Amazon has almost completely automated a Whole Foods store in Washington,
DC's Glover Park neighborhood. The store incorporates Just Walk Out
technology, a network of cameras, sensors, and deep learning software that analyzes shopping habits. Shoppers can activate virtual shopping by scanning their palms at kiosks or by scanning quick response codes in the Amazon
phone app. Just Walk Out detects when shoppers lift sensor-affixed products, itemizes their picks, and charges their Amazon account when they exit the store, skipping checkout lines. Amazon, which has tested such automation for over four years, plans to open a second prototype automated Whole Foods
store in Los Angeles this year. https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=3Dznwrbbrs9_6-2e294x232004x072994&

------------------------------

Date: Fri, 4 Mar 2022 12:00:30 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: Move Over Candy Bars, New York Vending Machine Now Sells NFT Art
(Daniel Fasterberg)

Daniel Fastenberg, Reuters 2 Mar 2022
via ACM TechNews; 4 Mar 2022

The first in-person non-fungible token (NFT) vending machine has been
installed in New York City by digital art collecting platform Neon. The "NFT ATM," located in a small storefront in Lower Manhattan's financial district, sells QR codes connected to pieces of online art ranging in price from $5.99
to $420.49. Customers do not know which piece of digital art they have purchased until they scan the QR code, which allows them to display the art
on any smartphone, laptop, or tablet. Neon's Kyle Zappitell said the target customer is "the crypto curious, the people who tried to buy cryptocurrency
or they were interested in buying an NFT, but they just hit too many
barriers." https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=3Dznwrbbrs9_6-2e294x232007x072994&

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 5 Mar 2022 13:23:43 PST
From: "Peter G, Neumann" <neumann@csl.sri.com>
Subject: Relevant bumper crop in today's NYTimes

Main op-ed in the editorial slot:
* Farhad Manjoo -- No Longer a Master of Disinformation;
The Ukraine War Is Showing the Limits of Putin's Propaganda
Lead right-hand page Op-Ed:
* Glenn S. Gerstall -- America Isn't Ready for the Cyberattacks That
are Coming
Business Section front page:
* Li Yuan -- Speaking as One Propaganda Voice
* Ron Lieber -- How to Prepare for Digital Disaster
* Patricia Cohen -- Why Trade Didn't Keep the Peace

The risks are enormous all around. PGN

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2022 09:12:15 -0800
From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com>
Subject: More on Ukraine-related risks (PGN-collected)

* CISA Releases Advisory on Destructive Malware Targeting Organizations in
Ukraine

https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/current-activity/2022/02/26/cisa-releases-advisory-destructive-malware-targeting-organizations

* Russia Could Use Cryptocurrency to Blunt the Force of U.S. Sanctions

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/23/business/russia-sanctions-cryptocurrency.html

* Russian artillery fire has struck Kyiv's children's cancer hospital
Okhmadyt, killing one child and wounding two, along with two adults. (no
URL given)

* Official Kremlin website apparently brought down by cyberattacks

The official website of the Kremlin, office of Putin (kremlin.ru) is
reported to be down. And indeed this appears to be the case, after massive
cyberattacks on various Russian government and state media websites.

* Ukrainians announce the launch of an 'IT army' to fight off Russian
cyberattacks

https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/02/26/ukraine-war-ukrainians-announce-the-launch-of-an-it-army-to-fight-off-russian-cyberattacks

[* Paul Krugman's OpEd, Hidden Money May Be Putin's Achilles Heel, in *The
New York Times* 25 Feb 2022 suggests that advanced democracies have
another powerful financial weapon -- going after the vast overseas wealth
of the oligarchs... Krugman did suggest removing Russia from SWIFT
transactions might happen, albeit with some negative effects. Somehow he
did not mention Deutsche Bank. PGN]

* Leaders announce selected Russian banks to be cut off from SWIFT

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/02/26/joint-statement-on-further-restrictive-economic-measures/

------------------------------

Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2022 13:02:05 PST
From: Peter G Neumann <neumann@csl.sri.com>
Subject: Cyberwarfare likely to hit U.S., allies, say experts (Carolyn Said)

Carolyn Said (San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Feb 2022

Underscoring how warfare has changed in the Internet era, the aggression includes a wave of cyberattacks against Ukraine seeking to destabilize
critical infrastructure. Security experts warn that's just the beginning of the online havoc Russia will try to wreak, which is likely to target the
U.S. and its allies as well.

------------------------------

Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2022 12:18:05 -0500 (EST)
From: ACM TechNews <technews-editor@acm.org>
Subject: As Tanks Rolled Into Ukraine, So Did Malware. Then Microsoft
Entered the War (David E. Sanger et al.)

David E. Sanger, Julian E. Barnes and Kate Conger, *The New York
Times*, 01 Mar 2022, via ACM TechNews; 2 Mar 2022

U.S. technology companies are helping to defend Ukraine against cyberattacks orchestrated alongside the Russian invasion. Shortly before the military incursion began, Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center responded to
previously unseen "wiper" malware targeting Ukraine's government ministries
and financial institutions; the center dissected the malware, informed Ukraine's cyberdefense forces, and updated Microsoft's virus detection
systems to block the code within hours. Meanwhile, Meta said it had locked
down Facebook accounts of Ukrainian military officials and public figures
when hackers attempted to spread disinformation through them. Corporate-government partnerships are being tested in the effort to analyze
and counter Russia's cyberoffensive tactics, with tech companies a primary source of actionable intelligence.

https://orange.hosting.lsoft.com/trk/click?ref=znwrbbrs9_6-2e242x231eb2x072268&

------------------------------

Date: March 2, 2022 14:33:56 JST
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne@warpspeed.com>
Subject: The Impossible Suddenly Became Possible (Anne Applebaum)

[via Dave Farber's IP distribution] [Highly RISKS-relevant. PGN]

When Russia invaded Ukraine, the West's assumptions about the world
became unsustainable.

Anne Applebaum, *The Atlantic*, 1 Mar 2022 https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/putins-war-dispelled-the-worlds-illusions/623335/

History has accelerated; the impossible has become possible. Shifts that no
one imagined two weeks ago are unfolding with incredible speed.

As it turns out, nations are not pieces in a game of Risk. They do not, as
some academics have long imagined, have eternal interests or permanent geopolitical orientations, fixed motivations or predictable goals. Nor do
human beings always react the way they are supposed to react. Last week,
nobody who was analyzing the coming war in Ukraine imagined that the
personal bravery of the Ukrainian president and his emotive calls for

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