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Cybercrime, or computer oriented crime, is crime that involves a computer and a network.[1] The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target.[2] Cybercrimes can be defined as: "Offences that are committed against individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the victim or cause physical or mental harm, or loss, to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern telecommunication networks such as Internet (networks including but not limited to Chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile phones (Bluetooth/SMS/MMS)".[3] Cybercrime may threaten a person or a nation's security and financial health.[4] Issues surrounding these types of crimes have become high-profile, particularly those surrounding hacking, copyright infringement, unwarranted mass-surveillance, sextortion, child pornography, and child grooming
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybercrime


-- 2016 --

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September 27: Trump’s Incoherent Ideas About ‘the Cyber’

... we had to get very, very tough on cyber and cyber warfare. It is a huge problem. I have a son—he’s 10 years old. He has computers. He is so good with these computers. It’s unbelievable. The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe, it's hardly doable. But I will say, we are not doing the job we should be doing. But that’s true throughout our whole governmental society. We have so many things that we have to do better ... And certainly cyber is one of them.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/09/trumps-incoherent-ideas-about-the-cyber/501839/

December 12: The Kremlin Gloats Over Trump’s CIA Tantrum

Nobody in Moscow is admitting Putin or his minions ordered attacks on the U.S. elections, but the Kremlin is pleased as punch with the result.

The news that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called CIA claims about Russia’s involvement in the election process “ridiculous” was cause for celebration in Russia.

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“Finally, the U.S. president does not trust CIA!” exclaimed one of Trump’s many Russian fans.

Authorities, who just a few weeks ago were busy training people to hide in bunkers in case the Americans dropped nuclear bombs, now applauded the U.S. president-elect and welcomed his incoming administration’s “dream team.”

To Moscow officials every step Trump takes, including his harsh criticism of the Central Intelligence Agency, sounds like a victory for President Vladimir Putin.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-kremlin-gloats-over-trumps-cia-tantrum

-- 2017 --

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January 18:
How Trump talks about tech ... Much hacking,” our “cyber world,” and “the computer that picks up a phone”

Sometimes it’s funny to watch our elders try to navigate the technological world. But when that person is Donald Trump, the man who will soon be responsible for making sure the United States is on the forefront of cybersecurity, it doesn’t feel like a laughing matter.
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/3kp3q3/how-donald-trump-talks-about-tech

February 9: Trump's Cybersecurity Chief Could Be a 'Voice of Reason'

"He understands the tensions and tradeoffs between security and not stifling innovation, not attacking civil liberties," says [Atlantic Council cybersecurity policy expert Josh Corman]. "His questions showed someone who understands the complexities."
https://www.wired.com/2017/02/tom-bossert-trump-cybersecurity/

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March 30: Trump extends Obama executive order on cyberattacks

The ability to sanction cybercriminals will last for at least one more year
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3186585/cybercrime-hacking/trump-extends-obama-executive-order-on-cyberattacks.html

June 22: Experts Suspect Russia Is Using Ukraine As A Cyberwar Testing Ground ... Ukraine has been the victim of a "cyber-assault unlike any the world has ever seen." Cybersecurity experts think Russia is perfecting attacks that could be used on the U.S.
https://www.npr.org/2017/06/22/533951389/experts-suspect-russia-is-using-ukraine-as-a-cyberwar-testing-ground

June 27: Huge 'Petya' ransomware attack hits Europe, sparks mass disruption

Company and government officials reported serious intrusions at the Ukrainian power grid, banks and government offices, where one senior official posted a photo of a darkened computer screen and the words, “the whole network is down.” Flights were also disrupted as systems in Kiev’s Boryspil Airport were affected by the 'Petya' ransomware.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/06/27/huge-ransomware-attack-hits-europe-sparks-mass-disruption.html

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July 9:
Trump's cyber tweets cause dismay, confusion

Twelve hours apart, two tweets about Russia get everyone talking.

President Donald Trump floated, then seemingly disavowed, a deal for greater cybersecurity cooperation with Russia -- an idea that drew dismay and mockery from lawmakers of both parties, and which numerous cyber analysts warned could even make the U.S. less secure.

Trump cryptically declared on Twitter early Sunday that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin had “discussed forming an impenetrable Cyber Security unit so that election hacking, & many other negative things, will be guarded … and safe.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/09/trump-russia-cyber-experts-240340

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July 10: The life and death of Trump's 'cyber security unit' plan with Putin ... Donald Trump's plan to work with Russia's Vladimir Putin on cybersecurity died an unceremonious death, ending in under 140 characters roughly 12 hours after the US President last defended it.

The abrupt move signaled once again that Trump has no qualms about changing his mind when a policy position brings the White House critical coverage, and in the process undermining some of his top staff and Cabinet members.
https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/10/politics/trump-ends-cyber-security-plan-putin/index.html

August 18: Statement by President Donald J. Trump on the Elevation of Cyber Command ... I have directed that United States Cyber Command be elevated to the status of a Unified Combatant Command focused on cyberspace operations.

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This new Unified Combatant Command will strengthen our cyberspace operations and create more opportunities to improve our Nation’s defense.  The elevation of United States Cyber Command demonstrates our increased resolve against cyberspace threats and will help reassure our allies and partners and deter our adversaries.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-president-donald-j-trump-elevation-cyber-command/

August 18: Trump approves Obama-era plan for a more independent US Cyber Command
https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/18/trump-approves-obama-era-plan-for-a-more-independent-us-cyber-command/

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August 26: Trump Cybersecurity Advisors Resign, Citing His 'Insufficient Attention' to Threats

A quarter of the members of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, whose purview includes national cybersecurity, have resigned. In a group resignation letter, they cited both specific shortfalls in the administration’s approach to cybersecurity, and broader concerns that Trump and his administration have undermined the “moral infrastructure” of the U.S.
http://fortune.com/2017/08/26/trump-cybersecurity-advisors-resign/

September 7:
Equifax Says Cyberattack May Have Affected 143 Million in the U.S. ...

The attack on the company represents one of the largest risks to personally sensitive information in recent years, and is the third major cybersecurity threat for the agency since 2015. Equifax, based in Atlanta, is a particularly tempting target for hackers.
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/business/equifax-cyberattack.html


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October 4: Donald Trump 'ordered hackers to launch cyber-warfare' against North Korea ... Hackers working for US Cyber Command targeted North Korea’s military spy agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, according to the Washington Post.

It has been claimed the US bombarded the spy agency's computer servers with so much traffic it eventually blocked their Internet access.

The Cyber Command operation was part of the overall campaign set in motion many months ago and the effects were temporary and not destructive.

A senior administration official said: “What I can tell you is that North Korea has itself been guilty of cyber attacks and we are going to take appropriate measures to defend our networks and systems.”
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/862289/world-war-3-donald-trump-ordered-cyber-attacks-against-north-korea-spy-agency

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October 17: The Trump team has failed to address the nation’s mounting cybersecurity threats
https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/17/the-trump-team-has-failed-to-address-the-nations-mounting-cybersecurity-threats/

October 19: Frustrated senators demand cyber war strategy from Trump ... Lawmakers are growing impatient with the Trump administration on the issue of cyber war, saying the United States lacks a clear policy for responding to attacks.
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/356269-frustrated-senators-demand-cyber-war-strategy-from-trump

November 2: Trump signs cybercrime bill ... “I’d like to thank President Trump for his strong support of my bill to ensure our state and local law enforcement officials are properly equipped to address and prosecute crimes in the 21st century – because we’re now in an era where almost every case involves some sort of digital evidence,” said Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), who introduced the bill earlier this year. 

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“At the end of the day, gaining the upper hand against cyber criminals will make our nation safer, and I’m glad that this critical piece of legislation has been signed into law to do just that," he continued.
http://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/358511-trump-signs-cyber-crime-bill

November 14: Trump Jr. May Have Violated Computer Fraud Law, Cyber Crime Expert Says

A report in The Atlantic Monday night featured Twitter exchanges between Donald Trump Jr. and WikiLeaks during President Donald Trump‘s campaign. The private messages were turned over to a congressional investigation by the younger Trump’s lawyers, and then posted online by Don Jr. himself. Now, a respected law professor believes they could be evidence that he broke the law.
https://lawandcrime.com/legal-analysis/trump-jr-may-have-violated-computer-fraud-law-cyber-crime-expert-says/

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November 14: Trump administration releases rules on disclosing cyber flaws
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyber-rules/trump-administration-releases-rules-on-disclosing-cyber-flaws-idUSKBN1DF0A0

November 21: Hacker targets Sacramento Regional Transit, deletes 30 million files in ransomware attack

The first sign of trouble came at about 6 p.m. local time on Saturday when the organization’s website was defaced. Visitors to the site were taken to a Google page displaying a note from the attacker. “I’m sorry to modify the home page, i’m good hacker, i I just want to help you fix these vulnerability. This is one of the loopholes, modify the home page ..,” it said, according to the Sacramento Bee.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/11/21/hacker-targets-sacramento-regional-transit-deletes-30-million-files-in-ransomware-attack.html

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December 6: Scary ransomware attacks famous North Carolina county

A major ransomware attack has forced the shutdown of a host of IT systems at Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Officials confirmed late Wednesday that they will not pay the ransom to unlock many of the county's applications that have been frozen since Monday. 
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/12/06/scary-ransomware-attacks-famous-north-carolina-county.html

December 18: Trump: Cybersecurity is a national defense priority ... In a strategy document, the White House calls for stronger defenses against hackers from criminal enterprises and places like Russia, China and Iran.
https://www.cnet.com/news/donald-trump-national-security-cybersecurity-hacking-russia-china-iran/

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December 19: President Donald Trump’s administration is publicly blaming North Korea for a ransomware attack that infected hundreds of thousands of computers worldwide in May and crippled parts of Britain’s National Health Service.

Homeland security adviser Tom Bossert wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed published Monday night that North Korea was “directly responsible” for the WannaCry ransomware attack and that Pyongyang will be held accountable for it.
https://nypost.com/2017/12/19/trump-administration-blames-north-korea-for-wannacry-cyber-attack/

-- 2018 --

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January 10:
Mueller adds DOJ cybercrime prosecutor to his team ... Ryan Dickey, a senior lawyer in the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, has been detailed to Mueller’s team since early November
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/10/russia-special-counsel-mueller-adds-cybercrime-prosecutor-276499


January 16: Pentagon Suggests Countering Devastating Cyberattacks With Nuclear Arms
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/us/politics/pentagon-nuclear-review-cyberattack-trump.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=1DEF89CDE7369BC8B3F0BCC4360C5313&gwt=pay

January 28: National security threats in year one of Trump administration: Cyber security, lone wolves ... The U.S. is now less worried about large-scale terrorist attacks than it has been since before 9/11. That fear has been increasingly supplanted by concerns about lone wolves and individuals inspired by "jihadist propaganda" on the internet, CBS News national security analyst Fran Townsend told CBSN's Elaine Quijano on "Red and Blue."

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Townsend characterized the threat of lone wolf attacks in the United States as "immediate" but said that the U.S. also needs to watch for other evolving threats like proliferation
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/state-of-the-union-national-security-year-one-trump-administration-analysis-lone-wolves-cyber-security-lone-wolves/

January 30:
Trump expected to tap Army cyber warfare chief to lead NSA
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/30/trump-nsa-cyber-warfare-379207

February 2: NORTH Korea has beaten the odds to become a giant of hacking, despite having one of the least sophisticated internet infrastructures in the world.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/913712/North-Korea-latest-Kim-Jong-un-cyber-attack-elite-hackers-trained-in-China

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February 8:
Peter Strzok, an FBI agent who led its investigation into the 2016 White House race prior to being removed for allegedly expressing animosity towards President Trump, repeatedly complained about quality of the bureau’s cyber division in newly released text messages.

Mr. Strzok referred to the FBI’s Cyber Division as dysfunctional and “broken” in a series of texts sent to FBI attorney Lisa Page and released by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on Wednesday amid the panel’s investigation into the criminal probe conducted during the 2016 race against Mr. Trump’s rival, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, over her use of a private email server while secretary of state.

“CyD is WILDLY disfunctional [sic]. I mean really bad. They can do individual investigations but there is NO coherent program management,” Mr. Strzok wrote in text dated Dec. 5, 2015.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/feb/8/peter-strzok-fbi-agent-complained-bureaus-broken-c/

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February 8: International cyber crime ring smashed after more than $530 million stolen ... US authorities have indicted 36 people for stealing more than $530 million from victims across the world in one of the "largest cyberfraud enterprises ever prosecuted."

In a statement, US investigators claimed the accused were taking part in a massive operation known as the Infraud Organization, which stole and then sold other people's personal information, including credit card and banking information.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/08/world/us-cyber-crime-ring-arrests-intl/index.html

February 27: The deputy attorney general of the U.S. said Tuesday that the government is working on a "comprehensive strategy" around cryptocurrencies.
https://www.coindesk.com/trump-justice-department-rosenstein-crypto-strategy/

March 15:
The Trump administration accused Russia on Thursday of engineering a series of cyberattacks that targeted American and European nuclear power plants and water and electric systems, and could have sabotaged or shut power plants off at will.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/15/us/politics/russia-cyberattacks.html

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March 16: US accuses Russia of cyber attacks on power grid

Russia has attempted to attack targets that include "energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing sectors" since March 2016, DHS said.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/15/politics/dhs-fbi-russia-power-grid/index.html

March 21: Teenager Who Hacked Ledger Hardware Wallet Says Devices Still Vulnerable

Cryptocurrency hardware wallet manufacturer Ledger continues to refute claims its devices can be hacked after a teenager compromised them, Ars Technica reports today, March 21.

After British 15-year-old Saleem Rashid created code to ‘backdoor’ Ledger’s wallets in November 2017, the company released posts describing the events as “NOT critical” and said possible attacks “cannot extract the private keys or the seed.”

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Rashid then refuted the claims on social media and a post on his personal blog entitled “Breaking the Ledger Security Model” March 20, stating he could still “autonomously extract the root private key once the user unlocks the device” and use to it instigate manipulation of destination addresses for transactions.

The argument puts pressure on both Ledger and its millions of users, who had until now broadly accepted the company’s claims its wallets were 100% secure.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/teenager-who-hacked-ledger-hardware-wallet-says-devices-still-vulnerable-devs-deny

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March 22: City of Atlanta hit by ransomware attack

“The City of Atlanta is currently experiencing outages on various internal and customer facing applications, including some applications that customers use to pay bills or access court-related information,” a spokesperson for the city explained, in a statement emailed to Fox News.

Atlanta’s Information Management team is working with Microsoft to resolve the issue, according to the city. “We are confident that our team of technology professionals will be able to restore applications soon,” it added. “Our City website, Atlantaga.gov, remains accessible and we will provide updates as we receive them.”
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/03/22/city-atlanta-hit-by-ransomware-attack.html

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April 3: Money laundering and corruption scandals haunt Latvia as its president meets Trump at the White House

When President Donald Trump hosts the leaders of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia at the White House on Tuesday, the principal topic will be the growing spectre of Russian aggression against NATO allies in Eastern Europe.

Another national security concern, however, is likely to cast a shadow over U.S. relations with one of the visiting countries: Latvia's apparent failure to curtail widespread money laundering and corruption in the nation's banking sector.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/03/trump-news-latvia-history-of-money-laundering-corruption.html

April 8: Hackers hit Iran with US flag and 'Don't mess with our elections' warning

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The Iranian government on Saturday said hackers attacked networks in multiple countries-- including data centers in Iran-- where they left the image of an American flag along with a warning “Don’t mess with our elections.”

It remains unclear who carried out the attack. No data was reportedly lost and the hack was defused within hours. The Iranian ministry said the hack affected Europe, India, and the United States, according to state television.

“Some 55,000 devices were affected in the United States and 14,000 in China, and Iran’s share of affected devices was 2 percent,” Iran’s IT minister was quoted as saying by state television, Reuters reported.
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2018/04/09/hackers-hit-iran-with-us-flag-and-dont-mess-with-our-elections-warning.html

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May 10: Bolton pushes to abolish White House cyber role as Dems fear foreign hackers

The Trump administration's national security team is considering eliminating the top White House cybersecurity job -- a decision that would likely rankle Democrats, many of whom fear possible foreign interference in the upcoming midterm elections.

The possible changes come as a surprise as Bolton has been considered a supporter of a more vigorous cybersecurity strategy that targets enemies of the U.S. Earlier this year, he urged the White House to do more to counter the Russian threat, saying "it is not enough, however, to file criminal charges against Russian citizens, nor are economic sanctions anywhere near sufficient to prove our displeasure."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/05/10/bolton-pushes-to-abolish-white-house-cyber-role-as-dems-fear-foreign-hackers.html

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October 27: The Russia Investigations: The U.S. Launches A Digital Offensive — Gently
https://www.npr.org/2018/10/27/661149098/the-russia-investigations-the-u-s-launches-a-digital-offensive-gently


November 22: Interpol's new chief: the 'bulldozer' with a taste for tackling cybercrime

Kim Jong-yang likely to refocus organisation and popularise South Korean police tactics known as ‘K-cop wave’

The election of South Korea’s Kim Jong-yang as president of Interpol after months of scandal will likely see the organisation return to its core mission, as delegates chose a career cop over Kremlin insider Alexander Prokopchuk.
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2018/nov/22/interpols-new-chief-the-bulldozer-with-a-taste-for-tackling-cybercrime


November 30: Marriott says breach of Starwood guest database compromised info of up to 500 million

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The breach could potentially be one of the largest in history, behind the hacking of about 3 billion Yahoo accounts.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/marriott-says-data-breach-compromised-info-500-million-guests-n942041

December 14: U.S. Tech Giant Cloudflare Provides Cybersecurity For At Least 7 Terror Groups

Among its customers are the Taliban, al-Shabab and Hamas.

In the United States, it’s a crime to knowingly provide tangible or intangible “material support” — including communications equipment — to a designated foreign terrorist organization or to provide service to an OFAC-sanctioned entity without special permission. Cloudflare, which is not authorized by the OFAC to do business with such organizations, has been informed on multiple occasions, dating back to at least 2012, that it is shielding terrorist groups behind its network, and it continues to do so.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cloudflare-cybersecurity-terrorist-groups_us_5c127778e4b0835fe3277f2f


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December 19: The US justice department has indicted two Chinese men accused of hacking into the computer networks of companies and government agencies in Western countries.

The pair are allegedly part of a "hacking group" known as Advanced Persistent Threat 10, affiliated with China's main intelligence service. ... They have not been arrested.

The US and UK have accused China of violating an agreement relating to commercial espionage.

Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong worked for a company called Huaying Haitai and in association with the Chinese Ministry of State Security, the US court filing says.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46638323


-- 2019 --

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