U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairperson Jessica Rosenworcel has warned that the ongoing expansion of 5G networks around the world presents increasing cybersecurity risks, according to PC Mag.
"Closer to home, the deployment of these networks also involves big security challenges. Because the truth is that 5G networks connecting so much more in our lives will mean a broader attack surface for cyber events," said Rosenworcel at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Rising cybersecurity threats have prompted the FCC to bolster inter-agency coordination regarding critical infrastructure security, as well as updates on undersea cable license approvals. With Chinese telecom firms like Huawei and ZTE added to the FCC's Covered List, the agency has also moved to help U.S. telecommunications providers to replace network equipment from both companies.
The FCC has also proceeded to support open radio access network development with funding from last year's CHIPS and Science Act, as well as update data breach disclosure rules for telecom providers, said Rosenworcel.
Ukrainian hacktivist operation IT Army has taken responsibility for a significant distributed denial-of-service attack against Russian local airline booking system Leonardo, which is used by over 50 Russian carriers, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
New attacks with the updated SysUpdate toolkit have been deployed by Chinese advanced persistent threat operation Budworm, also known as APT27, Emissary Panda, Bronze Union, Lucky Mouse, Iron Tiger, and Red Phoenix, against an Asian government and a Middle East-based telecommunications provider, reports The Hacker News.
Forty-five malicious NPM and PyPI packages have been deployed by threat actors to facilitate extensive data theft operations as part of a campaign that commenced on Sept. 12, according to BleepingComputer.