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Welcome to The Cybersecurity 202! Back in the saddle. The siren call of the newsletter has beckoned me to return.

Reading this online? <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/the-cybersecurity-202/">Sign up for The Cybersecurity 202 to get scoops and sharp analysis in your inbox each morning.</a>

Below: A coalition of groups urges Congress to reform a key surveillance tool, and the White House doesn’t want partner nations paying ransomware demands. First:

Some additional perspective on the Meduza owner’s phone being hacked

Tatyana Makeyeva

Wednesday’s news that for the first time spyware had infected the phone of a prominent Russian target has generated a broad response, with most of it reflecting overwhelming concern.

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/13/pegasus-infection-meduza-founder/?itid=lk_inline_manual_7">As I first reported</a> alongside <a href="https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/09/13/the-million-dollar-reporter">Meduza</a>, researchers from Access Now and the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab confirmed that NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was sitting on the phone of Meduza owner and co-founder Galina Timchenko. The infection happened in February while she was in Germany for a meeting with other Russian journalists in exile.

“This confirms once again what we’ve been saying all along about highly invasive spyware like Pegasus,” Elina Castillo-Jiménez, digital surveillance researcher at Amnesty International, told me. “It’s an existential threat to freedom of press, freedom of expression, the right to privacy.”

Let’s look at some of the other responses.

One point of worry from the story is what it said about Germany: the spyware infection happened within its borders, Germany has its own history with Pegasus and the country’s government didn’t sign a U.S.-led March statement from governments committing to countering the proliferation of malware.

A person familiar with the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security issues, wouldn’t explain precisely why Germany didn’t sign on. Instead, they explained a bit about how the statement came together and future ambitions for commitments from other countries.

Who signed on overall was partially related to timing and location, they said.

The Biden administration was trying to pull together the statement shortly after its spyware executive order and in the lead-up to the president’s second Summit for Democracy, and the idea was to get a geographically diverse set of signatories on the joint statement., they said “It was a very short-fuse effort,” the person said.

The next consideration: “We were looking for countries that had either a demonstrated record on the issue or were prepared to take steps moving forward in this domain,” they said. France and the United Kingdom “had been vocal on the issue in a variety of ways,” which is why they, for example, were among the European signatories.

“The joint statement we released was a first step,” the person said. “We are actively looking over the course of the coming months to engage with additional partner governments around the world to see if we can have others join this joint statement.”

The Biden administration will be watching “to make sure that they will uphold these commitments,” too, the person said.

Another topic that came up in my discussions for the story is how there have been some <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/exiled-russian-journalist-describes-poisoning-ordeal-german-train-2023-08-26/#:~:text=Exiled%20Russian%20journalist%20describes%20'poisoning'%20ordeal%20on%20German%20train,-By%20Thomas%20Escritt&amp;text=Despite%20the%20murders%20of%20four,on%20a%20train%20to%20Berlin.">other security incidents</a> involving exiled Russian journalists.

“It concerns me because there’s a pattern of threats and safety issues for Russian independent media and opposition in Europe and in Germany,” said Citizen Lab’s John Scott-Railton, “and seeing spyware attacks coming into the mix makes me even more concerned and hopeful that Germany and other relevant authorities will quickly investigate in a reasonably transparent way.”

(If you only get us in your email inbox, make sure you check out a post-publication update to the online version with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/13/first-russian-journalist-hacked-with-pegasus/?itid=sf_politics-the-202-newsletters/the-cybersecurity-202">more response from Germany</a>.)

Jason Blessing, a visiting research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, had some thoughts on the mystery of who was responsible for the hack.

“While the forensics are inconclusive, I would not be shocked if Russia were behind this to some degree,” he told me via email. “And although Russian dissidents have been routinely hunted down and assassinated by Putin’s regime (or have ‘accidentally fallen out of a window’), my best guess is that the Kremlin provided tacit approval for targeting Timchenko with Pegasus.”

“We have a much bigger problem though if Latvia or Estonia are responsible for the surveillance operation,” he continued. “Democracies across Europe have come under fire in recent years for abusing spyware, and targeting journalists fleeing autocratic regimes is definitely not a good look when leaders frame international competition as democracy versus autocracy. And using Pegasus in this manner would definitely create diplomatic tension between either country, both of which are traditionally pro-U. S., and a Biden administration that has been working hard to curb the spyware market and maintain solidarity among European partners delivering aid to Ukraine.”

Spyware opponents sounded off about the meaning of the infection of Timchenko’s phone.

“We have seen time and again how the NSO Group and the commercial spyware industry more generally facilitate human rights abuses and the worst government impulses, with seeming impunity,” Human Rights Watch said in an emailed statement. “The targeting of Meduza, a journalist organization operating under increasingly precarious conditions, is particularly chilling and underscores the need for urgent global regulation of this industry.”

Here’s the special rapporteur of a European Parliament committee that investigated spyware on the continent:

And the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Eva Galperin:

“CPJ is deeply disturbed by the disclosures that attackers used Pegasus spyware to infect the phone of exiled journalist Galina Timchenko, one of the world’s most prominent Russian media figures,” said Gulnoza Said, the <a href="https://cpj.org/2023/09/investigation-finds-russian-journalist-galina-timchenko-targeted-by-pegasus-spyware/">Committee to Protect Journalists</a>’ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. “Journalists and their sources are not free and safe if they are spied on, and this attack on Timchenko underscores that governments must implement an immediate moratorium on the development, sale, and use of spyware technologies. The threat is simply too large to ignore.”

Another thing you might’ve missed if you didn’t look at the newsletter later in the day on Wednesday is a link to the Meduza <a href="https://meduza.io/en/feature/2023/09/13/the-million-dollar-reporter">version of the story</a>. Make sure you check it out.

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/sep/13/exiled-russian-journalist-galina-timchenko-reportedly-hacked-using-nso-group-spyware">Timchenko told</a> the Guardian newspaper that the hacked phone used a Latvian country code.

So I asked Scott-Railton, “Why would that matter?”

“There's still a lot we don't know about how Pegasus is licensed to its EU customers, and how they are limited,” he said in an online message. “This is an interesting datapoint in that process.”

First in The Cybersecurity 202: Asian American groups demand overhaul of key surveillance power

Anna Moneymaker

A coalition of 52 Asian American organizations is urging Congress to oppose the renewal of a contentious U.S. surveillance power unless significant revisions are put into place, according to a letter first shared with The Cybersecurity 202.

The <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qE2a5szb512RbydcJs90_cv-QkwmW2QA/view?usp=sharing">missive</a> led by the Asian American Scholar Forum, Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC, Chinese for Affirmative Action and Stop AAPI Hate alleges that the spying authority — Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — enables unlawful, discriminatory surveillance of Americans that’s been used for purposes unrelated to national security, including surveillance of certain races or historically underrepresented communities.

Section 702 allows the FBI and National Security Agency to gather electronic data without a traditional warrant based on probable cause when the target is a foreigner overseas and it’s for foreign intelligence purposes. But those intercepted exchanges sometimes include conversations with Americans, raising skeptics’ fears that American communications are warrantlessly swept up in the process.

The coalition demands that a warrant be required to access Americans’ data in a 702-related search and place new surveillance limits to only target people possessing “information of genuine intelligence value.”

“From the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II to the modern day unjust prosecutions of Chinese Americans and immigrants, our country has a centuries-long history of treating Asian Americans as ‘perpetual foreigners’ and unfairly scapegoating us as economic or national security threats,” Gisela Kusakawa, executive director of Asian American Scholar Forum, said in a statement.&nbsp;

“This enduring, harmful … narrative is now colliding with the current wave of anti-Asian xenophobia and bigotry — creating a dangerous environment in which Asian Americans are extraordinarily vulnerable to warrantless government surveillance and profiling,” Kusakawa added.

Civil rights representatives have previously cited legal complaints about the intelligence community’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/19/fbi-digital-surveillance-misuse-jan6-blm/">domestic misuse</a> of the authority. Meanwhile, intelligence and national security officials argue the tool is <a href="https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2023/8/10/section-702-must-get-reauthorized-nsa-chief-says">vital to U.S. operations</a> and that information sourced from Section 702 makes up a large chunk of President Biden’s daily briefings.

A White House advisory board in July recommended <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/07/31/section-702-fbi/?itid=lk_inline_manual_68">new restrictions</a> be placed on 702, but argued against a long-demanded ask that authorities seek a warrant before probing certain electronic communications. Meanwhile, key members of Congress say they will <a href="https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-meets-with-fbi-director-wray">not support reauthorization</a> unless significant revisions are agreed upon.

Civil liberties groups <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/09/11/what-new-ruling-social-media-case-means-cyber-agencies/#:~:text=Coalition%20urges%20intelligence%20community%20to%20consider%20surveillance%20power%20reforms?itid=lk_inline_manual_69">recently met with</a> National Intelligence Director Avril Haines and other intelligence officials, urging them to commit to a range of related reforms to the contentious spying power that is set to expire at year’s end unless it is reauthorized by Congress.&nbsp;

Correction: A previous version of this newsletter did not include the full name of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC. This version has been updated.

John Locher

Hospitality giants MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment were both breached by the same hacking group just a few weeks apart, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-13/mgm-caesars-hacked-by-scattered-spider-in-span-of-few-weeks?srnd=technology-vp">Bloomberg News’s William Turton, Christopher Palmeri, and Katrina Manson report</a>, citing four people familiar with the matter.&nbsp;

They write: “The hackers demanded a ransom from MGM, according to two of the people. It wasn’t immediately clear how much ransom was requested or if the hackers deployed ransomware to lock up the company’s files.” Separately, Caesars paid tens of millions of dollars to the group that held company data for ransom, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-13/caesars-entertainment-paid-millions-in-ransom-in-recent-attack?srnd=technology-vp">separate Bloomberg report</a> that cited two people familiar with the matter.

They write: “MGM was still working to resolve the turmoil caused by the hackers, known as Scattered Spider, four days into the cyberattack that has disrupted the company’s websites, reservation system and some slot machines at its casinos across the country, according to two of the people.”

Research firm Trellix <a href="https://www.trellix.com/en-us/about/newsroom/stories/research/scattered-spider-the-modus-operandi.html">describes Scattered Spider</a> as being active since May 2022. It has often been observed “impersonating IT personnel to convince individuals to share their credentials or grant remote access” to devices, a company blog says.

The group may have worked with the Alphv ransomware gang to pull off the recent MGM hack, Bloomberg reports, citing two people familiar with the group’s operations.

The FBI is looking into the MGM hack, which has affected casino slot machines and room booking sites over the past few days, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/caesars-entertainment-paid-heavy-ransom-after-cyberattack-bloomberg-news-2023-09-13/">Reuters reported</a>. Moody’s warned the incident may affect the company’s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/21/credit-ratings-increasingly-looking-cybersecurity/">credit rating</a>, the outlet added.&nbsp;

MGM, which declined to respond to Bloomberg News’s questions about the hack, said in a Tuesday statement that an investigation was ongoing. Caesars didn’t respond to the outlet’s request for comment.

White House urges dozens of nations to publicly commit to not pay ransomware gangs

Demetrius Freeman

The White House National Security Council is asking member nations of the International Counter Ransomware Initiative (CRI) to publicly commit to not paying ransomware payments, <a href="https://therecord.media/counter-ransomware-initiative-members-ransom-payments-statement">the Record’s Suzanne Smalley reports</a>, citing three sources with knowledge of the plans.&nbsp;

The 47 CRI members will convene at an Oct. 31 summit in Washington, and the White House’s goal will be to have that commitment in place by then, according to the report. The National Security Council declined to comment to the outlet.

The document would set a precedent for ransomware governance, experts said. “Governments should be setting an example by never paying,” said Allan Liska, a threat intelligence analyst at Recorded Future, the cybersecurity firm that owns the Record.

Not all are in favor of the proposal, Smalley notes. Most small-to-medium-sized ransomware events do not lead to “boots on the ground” in the same way that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/10/costa-rica-shows-damage-ransomware-can-do-country/">Costa Rica</a> experienced a ransomware incident and the United States came to its aid, white-hat hacker Marc Rogers said.

The report adds: “Instead of pressing countries to agree not to pay ransoms, Rogers said more focus should be placed on helping less well-equipped governments improve their cyberdefenses, particularly since ransomware attacks often exploit cyber vulnerabilities which are relatively easy to address.”

Just 31 nations were a part of CRI when it <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/14/joint-statement-of-the-ministers-and-representatives-from-the-counter-ransomware-initiative-meeting-october-2021/">launched in 2021</a>. It has steadily added member groups as ransomware attacks continued to proliferate.

<a href="https://www.cybersecuritydive.com/news/white-house-federal-support-open-source/693565/" target="_blank">White House, federal cyber leaders pledge renewed support for open source security (Cybersecurity Dive)</a>

<a href="https://therecord.media/cyberattack-cote-rep-garbarino-slams-white-house" target="_blank">Lawmaker slams White House refusal to create plan for economy after potential cyberattack (The Record)</a>

<a href="https://insidecybersecurity.com/daily-news/senators-spar-over-sec-regulatory-authorities-oversight-hearing-addressing-disclosure" target="_blank">Senators spar over SEC regulatory authorities at oversight hearing addressing disclosure polices, AI regulation (Inside Cybersecurity)</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/09/13/senate-ai-hearing-musk-zuckerburg-schumer/" target="_blank">Tech leaders including Musk, Zuckerberg call for government action on AI (Cat Zakrzewski, Cristiano Lima and David DiMolfetta)</a>

<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/13/x-formerly-twitter-hate-speech-running-rampant-ccdh.html" target="_blank">Elon Musk's X sued this nonprofit after it exposed hate speech, and its new research shows little has changed (CNBC)</a>

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/09/13/china-iphone-ban-security-issues/" target="_blank">China denies iPhone ban for officials but notes its ‘security incidents’ (Christian Shepherd)</a>

<a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2023/09/fbi-hacker-dropped-stolen-airbus-data-on-9-11/" target="_blank">FBI hacker dropped stolen Airbus Data on 9/11 (Krebs on Security)</a>

<a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/digital-id-cards-spread-across-us-states-with-range-of-new-uses" target="_blank">Digital ID cards spread across US states with range of new uses (Bloomberg Law)</a>

Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-N.Y.) and Deputy National Cyber Director Camille Stewart Gloster <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-need-for-more-diversity-in-americas-cyber-workforce-tickets-703420338167?aff=ebdssbdestsearch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">discuss diversity in America’s cyber workforce</a> at 8:30 a.m.

The FCC’s task force for preventing digital discrimination <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/news-events/events/2023/09/task-force-prevent-digital-discrimination-listening-session-gallaudet-u" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">holds a listening session</a> in D.C. beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The Senate Homeland Security Committee <a href="https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/hearings/governing-ai-through-acquisition-and-procurement-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">convenes a hearing</a> on AI acquisition and procurement at 10 a.m.

The House Oversight Committee <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/how-are-federal-agencies-harnessing-artificial-intelligence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">holds a hearing</a> on how federal agencies are adopting AI at 1 p.m.

TechDuels and George Mason University <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/is-generative-ai-a-threat-to-cybersecurity-tickets-675427199937?aff=ebdssbdestsearch" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">convene a debate</a> over whether generative AI is a threat to cybersecurity at 6 p.m.

The Institute of World Politics convenes a <a href="https://www.iwp.edu/events/online-seminar-cyber-intelligence-overview-6/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cyber intelligence seminar</a> at 6 p.m.

Thanks for reading. See you tomorrow.

2022 American Society of Business Publication Editors, Bronze National Award, Government Coverage

2022 American Society of Business Publication Editors, Silver Regional Award, Government Coverage

2022 American Society of Business Publication Editors, Bronze Regional Award, Single Topic Coverage by a Team

2022 Society of Professional Journalists Washington, D.C., Chapter, Finalist, Staff

2021 Best in Business Awards, Honorable Mention, Technology, Small Division (for editing role)

2009 National Press Club Sandy Hume Memorial Ward for Excellence in Political Journalism

2001 Indiana Associated Press Managing Editors, 1st Place, Non-Deadline News Reporting (with another reporter)

2001 Hoosier State Press Association, 3rd Place, Business Writing (team project)

University of Southern Indiana, BA in Print Journalism

Tim Starks is the author of the Cybersecurity 202 newsletter at The Washington Post. He previously served as senior editor at CyberScoop and ran Politico's cybersecurity newsletter. The Evansville, Ind., native also has held reporting roles for CQ Roll Call, the New York Sun and the Evansville Courier & Press.

Tim Starks

George Washington University, BBA in business analytics

Georgetown University, MS in business analytics

David DiMolfetta researches The Cybersecurity 202 and The Technology 202, the morning newsletters at The Washington Post keeping readers up to date on cybersecurity and technology policy.

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FILE PHOTO: Meduza CEO Galina Timchenko speaks during an interview outside a court building in Moscow

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