Category Archives: NSA

As the Supreme Court prepares to begin its next term, experts in privacy and national security law are watching closely for hints about whether justices will take up a potentially precedent-setting challenge to the governments use of a state secrets law to avoid scrutiny of its surveillance programs.

The Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that runs Wikipedia, last month asked the nations highest court to hear arguments on its lawsuit over the National Security Agencys warrantless surveillance of Americans international phone and email communications. The organization, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union, has been fighting the NSA in court over such upstream surveillance for the past seven years.

At the heart of the case is a question about how broadly the government can invoke its state secrets privilege to block civil cases from moving forward if they involve disclosing information that is reasonably likely to cause significant harm to the national defense or the diplomatic relations of the United States. The NSAs critics argue that the agencys definition of such information has expanded over time, without apparent justification.

On one side, there is one of the largest archives of human information, maintained and edited by millions of people across the world. On the other is the U.S. government invoking a law that is specifically designed to curtail the spread of information or at least information it deems unfit to be shared.

Corbin Barthold, internet policy counsel at the nonprofit group TechFreedom, said that the focus of the case on the scope and expansion of the state secrets privilege makes it catnip for the Supreme Court, with potential interest from both members of the courts conservative majority and its liberal minority. For example, Justice Neil Gorsuch, appointed by then-President Donald Trump, has pushed for stronger protections under the Fourth Amendment, which protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures. Moreover, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals the last body to weigh in on the case split on the matter.

Barthold also noted that it has been years since the high court has heard a case examining how broadly the government can apply the national security law.

But as with most things when it comes to the Supreme Court, nothing is a given.

Weve always seen mass surveillance as a really significant threat to the privacy and free expression rights not just of Wikimedia users, but internet users in general, said James Buatti, senior manager for legal, governance and risk at Wikimedia. Weve always believed that nobody should have to worry about their government looking over their shoulder when theyre deciding whether to read an article or contribute to a controversial topic. So filing this case back then was kind of an easy decision.

The Department of Justice declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

Details of the NSAs behind-the-scenes practices and its exhaustive surveillance of people in the U.S. and elsewhere burst into public view in 2013, when former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden disclosed them to multiple news organizations.

The Wikimedia suit centers on one of these methods, upstream surveillance. It entails collecting all communications that people in the U.S. have with parties outside of the country. This type of dragnet, authorized under Section 702 of 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, pulls in things like emails, search engine entries and what people browse online. The government is able to collect this information by tapping into the internet backbone, which includes the high-capacity cables and routers our data travels across to make the internet function around the world. The NSA searches this information using thousands of keywords, the results of which the government says it further analyzes to pick up on potential threats to national security. But thats not always where use of the information stops.

Its easy to lose sight of the way that data that was originally collected in the name of national security can potentially flow to police or any number of investigations, said Albert Fox Cahn, founder and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP). All thats stopping it is the belief in the goodwill of agencies that have systematically violated our trust at every turn.

Wikimedia contends that given this surveillance, it cannot ensure the confidentiality of the tens of millions of people who read, edit and communicate about Wikipedia, one of the largest repositories of human information to ever exist.

Aeryn Palmer, legal director of compliance at the Wikimedia Foundation, said that the ability to read and to contribute to Wikipedia under a pseudonym has been important since the projects earliest days.

When we think about what we might be collecting from anyone who visits the site, when we think about how we do research with our readers or with our contributors to better understand what sorts of features they might like to see and how they want the projects to evolve, were continually thinking about how we can best protect their privacy, said Palmer.

Wikimedias suit hinges on state secrets privilege, which the government has repeatedly used to fend off legal challenges to upstream surveillance. It has argued, in this case and others, that upstream surveillance is so secret that legal challenges to it cannot proceed.

The NSA has vacuumed up Americans and international communications using upstream surveillance, and to date not a single challenge to that surveillance has been allowed to go forward, said Patrick Toomey, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Unions national security project and one of the attorneys representing Wikimedia. The Supreme Court must make clear that NSA surveillance is not beyond the reach of our public courts.

He argued that the government has continued to expand its use of the state secrets law as a cudgel to bat away civil litigation.

Toomey pointed to a lawsuit filed in 2007 by Khaled El Masri, a German citizen with Lebanese roots who was abducted by Macedonian police before they handed him to the CIA, claiming that the CIA kidnapped and tortured him in a case of mistaken identity. An appellate court recognized there was public evidence of El Masris mistreatment but decided that state secrets were too central to the case to allow it to go forward.

Similarly, in 2010, five people filed a lawsuit claiming that one of Boeings subsidiary companies had flown the planes carrying them to the black sites where they were tortured by the CIA. An appeals court dismissed that case as well, along similar lines of reasoning as the El Masri verdict. Both times, the government invoked state secrets privilege.

In Wikimedias current lawsuit, the government has taken the maximalist approach and asked the courts to dismiss the case on state secrets grounds, even though the government itself has released dozens of official reports, court opinions and other documents about upstream surveillance, said Toomey.

One reason that the NSA has successfully fended off lawsuits using state secrets privilege is that in many cases regarding surveillance, plaintiffs were not able to show harm.

The Wikimedia case is different. The foundation has relied on an analysis by Jon Penney, a legal scholar and social scientist at York University in Toronto, that quantifies the impact of government surveillance on Wikipedia articles.

The 2016 analysis measured the chilling effect of surveillance, or how people act differently sometimes including censoring themselves if they have reason to believe they are being watched.

Penney found that following reports of Snowdens exposure, traffic to Wikipedia articles on topics that raise privacy concerns for Wikipedia users decreased in a statistically significant manner.

The researcher arrived at that conclusion by choosing Wikipedia pages based off keywords the Department of Homeland Security uses to monitor social media, such as infrastructure security, terrorism and cybersecurity. Penney honed in on the category terrorism, which included terms like Iran, pirates and suspicious substance.

But he noted that more recent discussions about chilling effects have gone beyond national security issues. In the wake of the Supreme Court decision striking down Roe v. Wade, for instance, civil liberties and pro-choice groups have revived conversations around the chilling effect of government surveillance specifically around cellphone, phone app and web search data that could inadvertently reveal when a person is pregnant or seeking an abortion.

You have a combination of government surveillance combined with overreaching laws combined with governments essentially whipping up harassment campaigns against people who are out there just simply attempting to vindicate their rights, said Penney. So, I think [privacy] is a concept that is in increasingly important.

An earlier version of this story misidentified the genesis of the government's state secret claims. This version has been updated.

Thanks to Lillian Barkley for copy editing this article.

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NSA and ACLU may face off in the Supreme Court over Wikipedia - Grid

PHOENIXThe National Security Agency does not spend much time showing its work publicly. Indeed, the agencys work depends on most people not knowing whats going on inside Fort Meade. But recently, NSA has stepped up its efforts to work with cybersecurity analysts and researchers in the private sector, hoping to gain insights from outside practitioners while also lending context to the discoveries and research private companies produce.

The centerpiece of that effort is the NSAs Cybersecurity Collaboration Center, a new group created about two years ago with the mission of building lasting, productive relationships with private sector partners that help defenders on both sides of the fence react more quickly and efficiently. The CCC is not meant to be another in the endless list of public-private partnerships or information-sharing silos that the federal government has created over the years. Instead, it is meant as a two-way street, with NSA giving as well as taking.

We only know one part of the picture. The intelligence community has to be in that conversation. We need to bring our data and understanding of whats happening to get ahead of it. Morgan Adamski, director of the CCC, saud during a keynote at the LabsCon conference here Thursday.

Operational collaboration is a conversation between us government defenders and you, sharing unique and timely info with context.

That last word is the real crux of the effort. NSA and its partners in the signals intelligence community collect massive amounts of information on a daily basis and have insights into networks and environments that private organizations dont. That gives the agency the ability to add context and color to discoveries that other organizations make, creating a more complete picture of a given threat or attackers activities. In the past, NSA and other government agencies typically have shared very limited information on attacks or vulnerabilities, and usually on a case by case basis. Adamski wants to change that.

We were only helping one company at a time. Ninety percent of the time, when we share technical indicators, people already know them. What we were missing is real time sharing with context and actionable unique information. The intelligence community had to come to the table, she said.

To underscore the spirit of cooperation and openness, the CCC itself is physically located outside the fence line on NSAs Maryland campus and Adamski said much of the work the group does with outside partners is done on an unclassified level. The goal is to build a level of trust with the private sector that has not always been there in the past.

We have to make sure we care about the same things. We need trust. If you dont trust me with your data, things can break down pretty quickly, she said.

Though the CCC is meant to share information with outside organizations and help defenders protect their networks, the NSA is benefitting, as well.

Were learning a ton back about things we didnt know. Were moving faster. Attribution is coming faster because everyone is feeding data into ont place and were building a more complete picture, Adamski said.

One recent example of that is the advisory that CISA published in April 2021 warning that state-sponsored attackers from China were targeting users of the Pulse Connect Secure VPN, including federal government employees. Adamski said NSA became aware of the attacks when a partner in the private sector alerted the agency, which then set off NSAs own investigation.

We saw significant targeting of VPN users after the shift to remote work. We were able to take the information from our partner and add context and color and put out the advisory, she said.

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The NSA is Here to Help | Decipher - Duo Security

September 23, 2022

On Monday, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman Jamie Raskin (both D-Md.) joined fire fighters working at Naval Support Activity Bethesda (NSA Bethesda) the naval installation home to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center along with International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) General President Edward A. Kelly and National Capital Federal Fire Fighters President Scott Burkhardt Jr. to discuss progress in pushing the Navy to improve the living and working conditions for the fire fighters who serve the base and the surrounding community. The lawmakers and IAFF leadership toured the station and saw first-hand the subpar living conditions that persist within the existing fire station and living quarters including issues such as water leaks, mold, pest infestation, and a broken exhaust removal system, among others. Following their tour, the group reaffirmed their efforts to push the Navy forward and pointed to arecent confirmationfrom the Secretary of the Navy that preliminary planning for an entirely new16,000-square-foot fire stationhas been completed, at an estimated cost of $22.5 million. This progress follows the letter sent by the Senator and his colleaguespressing for an updateon the Navys efforts to address the unsafe conditions at the facility and is a crucial step in allowing future funding of the project.

Senator Van Hollen and IAFF leadership also highlighted theFire Station Construction Grants Act, legislation the Senator recently introduced to help build and upgrade fire stations in Maryland and across the country.

The deplorable conditions that persist at the NSA Bethesda firehouse not only endanger our fire fighters they also make it more difficult for them to protect the Walter Reed complex and the surrounding communities. But with the help of the fire fighters and IAFF, weve finally pushed the Navy leadership to commit to a plan to build a brand new fire station fit for the mission of this base that is at the vanguard of military medicine and serves our wounded warriors and thousands of veterans,said Senator Van Hollen.Ill keep working to push the Navy to provide the necessary funds to get this project off the ground, and I am committed to ensuring our fire fighters and first responders and have the tools they need to keep us all safe.

The firefighters at NSA Bethesda provide an essential public service to the naval base and surrounding community, yet their facilities remain in a state of unacceptable disrepair,said Rep. Raskin.These brave public servants regularly put their lives in danger to protect us. They should never feel unsafe in their home station. While I commend Secretary Del Toro for committing to build a new fire station, I urge the Navy to carry out swiftly the interim facility repairs required to keep our firefighters safe today.

Fire fighters are answering calls today from dilapidated fire stations across the United States. The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center provides world-class medical care to our brave military, yet its fire station is in shambles. Just this summer, a fire fighter there sustained a serious injury when he fell through the floor and required three months of rehabilitation.This injury was preventable; it should not have occurred,said Edward A. Kelly, president, International Association of Fire Fighters.The staff at Walter Reed has done everything it can with the resources it has to repair the current station. It is time for the Navy to prioritize the modernization and replacement of this house and others like it at bases around the nation.The IAFF is grateful to Representative Raskin and Senator Van Hollen for their steadfast dedication to fire fighters and their continued efforts to correct the decades of inaction that have left our nations fire stations in a failing state.

IAFF Federal Fire Fighters should not have to worry about falling through the floor of their bunk room. We worry about that when we're in burning buildings. We also shouldnt have to worry about waterlogged flooring or insect infestations where we live and work, but its a reality that our federal fire fighters face every day,said Scott Burkhardt Jr., president, National Capital Federal Fire Fighters.The leadership of NSA Bethesda, Walter Reed, and the Commander Navy Region have all express their support for us, but they have been hamstrung by cuts to their budgets and the meddling of their internal affairs. We as fire fighters arent asking for more than what the Navy Facilities Engineering Command have told us were supposed to be able to expect in our stations. Thats what were fighting for, and were glad Senator Van Hollen and Congressman Raskin have our backs."

Following theJune 28 lettersent to Navy leadership by Senator Van Hollen and his colleagues seeking an update on the status of the firehouse, U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Torotold the lawmakersthat the Navy has completed its preliminary plans for a new 16,000 square-foot fire facility and committed to working to budget funds for its construction. Secretary Del Toro also outlined how the Navy planned to fix many of the immediate safety issues in the existing fire station where fire fighters are still living and those plans include replacing damaged floors, installing new doors and frames, and making retrofits to prevent water leaks, among others. Additionally, the Secretary provided an update on the improvements made in two barracks for junior enlisted service members on NSA Bethesda, the conditions of which Senator Van Hollen and his colleagueshad also raised concerns aboutearlier this year. Secretary Del Toros letter to Senator Van Hollen and his colleagues can be viewedhere, and form outlining the plans for the new fire station can be viewedhere.

Senator Van Hollen has consistently championed issues important to fire fighters and first responders during his time in the Senate. Last year, as part of the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act, he passed his Federal Firefighter Flexibility and Fairness Act into law. This legislation allows federal fire fighters to trade shifts across pay periods without it affecting their overtime. State and local fire fighters have been able to engage in trade time for many years, and this law extended that right to federal fire fighters. Additionally, last month, Senator Van Hollen introduced theFire Station Construction Grants Act, a bill that authorizes $1 billion in grants to be administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help modify, upgrade, and construct fire and EMS department facilities.

A member of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Van Hollen works each year to secure federal funding for local fire departments and EMS agencies across Maryland to enhance their response capabilities and ability to protect the health and safety of the public and first-responders. So far this year, he has led his Congressional colleagues in announcing over $15.5 million for various agencies around the state.

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Hollen, Raskin Join with NSA Bethesda Fire Fighters, IAFF Leaders to Highlight Progress on Efforts to Improve Base Conditions, Build New Facility |...

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Exploiting Vulnerabilities for Data Extortion and Disk Encryption for Ransom Operations

WASHINGTON - The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), U.S. Cyber Command Cyber National Mission Force (CNMF), the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), and the United Kingdoms National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) today released a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to highlight continued malicious cyber activity by advanced persistent threat (APT) actors affiliated with the Iranian Governments Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

This CSA, titled, Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Affiliated Cyber Actors Exploiting Vulnerabilities for Data Extortion and Disk Encryption for Ransom Operations, provides actionable information regarding IRGC exploitation of VMware Horizon Log4j vulnerabilities for initial access and ongoing use of known Fortinet and Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities. After gaining access to a network, these actors likely determine a course of action based on their perceived value of the data, including data encryption or exfiltration for ransom operations.

Todays advisory is an outcome of our close collaboration with international and U.S. government partners to understand and provide timely information on malicious cyber activity targeting our countrys critical networks, including by Iranian cyber actors, said Eric Goldstein, Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity, CISA. Our unified purpose is to drive timely and prioritized adoption of mitigations and controls that are most effective to reducing risk to all cyber threats, including malicious actors like those affiliated with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Immediately addressing the vulnerabilities in this advisory, which are also in CISAs known exploited vulnerabilities catalog, and deploying rigorous controls consistent with a zero-trust strategy is strongly recommended.

The FBI is dedicated to preventing and disrupting nation state affiliated cyber activity that threatens our private sector partners and the American public," said Bryan Vorndran, FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director. "We will continue to coordinate with our domestic and international partners to proactively share relevant and timely information to mitigate cyber threats posed by the IRGC, and we are confident this advisory will assist individuals and businesses in developing a plan to protect their systems and shore up network defenses. In the event victims do suffer an intrusion, we encourage them to report the compromise as early as possible to their local FBI field office or to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov.

This advisory points to specific instances in which IRGC-affiliated cyber actors have used publicly known vulnerabilities to gain access to U.S. critical infrastructure networks, said David Luber, Deputy Cybersecurity Director, NSA. We implore our net defenders and our partners to detect and mitigate this threat before your organization is the next ransomware victim.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is dedicated to collaborating with other U.S. government agencies,allies,and partners to combat and deter malicious cyber-enabled actors and their activities, especially ransomware andcybercrime that targets economicinfrastructure, saidUnder Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson.This advisory identifies specific tactics, techniques, and procedures of a group of IRGC-affiliated actors whothreaten thesecurity and economy of the United States and other nations, and provides valuable information to the public and private sectors which can strengthen their cybersecurity resilience and reduce risk of ransomware incidents.

Cyber National Mission Force works closely with our partners to disrupt and degrade foreign malicious cyber activity, sharing threat information and taking actions to the defend the Nation, said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William J. Hartman, commander of Cyber National Mission Force, USCC. This multi-partner advisory highlights how Iranian cyber actors are exploiting vulnerabilities, targeting a broad range of entities including U.S. and partner critical infrastructure, and using accesses for ransom operations. When acted on, collaborative efforts like this advisory contribute to collective defenses around the world, and remove tools from those who would do us harm.

Ransomware remains a persistent threat. Every day, cyber threat actorsstate and criminalare seizing opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities and deliver ransomware against a growing array of targets, said Sami Khoury, Head of the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security. We strongly encourage network defenders, especially critical infrastructure partners, to read this advisory and implement these guidelines.

Based on the latest intelligence across the Five Eyes, this advisory again underscores that organisations of all sizes continue to be targeted by capable and increasingly sophisticated adversaries. Its absolutely critical that organisations strengthen their cyber defences by reviewing these protective measures and implementing them immediately, said Abigail Bradshaw CSC, Head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre. In particular, I urge organisations to patch their systems against a number of already known critical vulnerabilities.

This CSA identifies additional malicious and legitimate tools that are likely being used by these actors as well as tactics, techniques, and procedures, and additional indicators of compromise (IOCs) observed as recently as March 2022 that can be used to detect this latest malicious activity. Also, it is an update to the 2021 joint CSA on Iranian government-sponsored APT actors exploiting Microsoft Exchange and Fortinet vulnerabilities and now assesses this APT group to be affiliated with the IRGC, an Iranian Government agency tasked with defending the Iranian Regime from perceived internal and external threats. For more information on state-sponsored Iranian malicious cyber activity, see CISAs Iran Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories webpage.

Organizations are strongly discouraged from paying ransoms as doing so does not guarantee files and records will be recovered and may pose sanctions risks. In September 2021, Treasury issued an advisory highlighting the sanctions risk associated with ransomware payments and providing steps that can be taken by companies to mitigate the risk of being a victim of ransomware.

All organizations should share information on cybersecurity incidents and anomalous activity to CISA 24/7 Operations Center at report@cisa.gov or (888) 282-0870 and/or to the FBI via your local FBI field office or the FBIs 24/7 CyWatch at (855) 292-3937 or CyWatch@fbi.gov.

As the nations cyber defense agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day. VisitCISA.govfor more information.

Visit CISA onTwitter,Facebook,LinkedIn,Instagram

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CISA, FBI, NSA, Treasury, Cyber Command, and International Partners Release Advisory on Malicious Cyber Actors Affiliated with Iranian Government...

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The President Muhammadu Buhari-led National Security Council has ordered the disbandment of the National Taskforce on Prohibition of Illegal, Importation/Smuggling of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons, Chemical Weapons, and Pipeline Vandalism (NATFORCE).

The task force was declared illegal at a meeting of the National Security Council presided over by President Buhari on Thursday.

The Senate had in July passed a bill establishing the National Commission for the Coordination and Control of the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons which included the NATFORCE.

The squads inclusion in the bill, however, received negative feedback from security experts.

While announcing the disbandment on Thursday, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola said the council agreed that the task force was illegal.

NATFORCE got the Senates nod more than a year after the National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retd.), declared the security outfit illegal and ordered a halt of all its operations nationwide.

In particular, the office has cautioned individuals, organisations, and foreign partners on the activities of NATFORCE which was illegally formed as a task force to combat illegal importation and smuggling of small arms, ammunition, and light weapons into Nigeria.

The National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser is the national coordination mechanism for the control and monitoring of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in Nigeria, ZM Usman, the Head of Strategic Communication, Office of the National Security Adviser, had said in a statement.

Usman noted allegations of extortion and harassment against NATFORCE which seeks to combat illegal importation of Arms, Ammunition, Light Weapons, Chemical Weapons, and Pipeline Vandalism and has been involved in mounting illegal roadblocks, conducting illegal searches, seizures, and recruitment.

For the avoidance of doubt, the general public and all stakeholders are to note that NATFORCE is an illegal outfit without any mandate or authority to carry out these functions.

This trend is unacceptable and the promoters of NATFORCE are warned to dismantle their structures and operations immediately, he added.

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NATFORCE: Buhari Finally Disbands Security Outfit After Senate Ignored NSA To Recognize Body The Whistler Newspaper - The Whistler Nigeria

CHINA SAID THE US NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY IS BEHIND A CYBERATTACK ON A CHINESE UNIVERSITY. PHOTO: KEVIN KU VIA UNSPLASH

China has accused the U.S. National Security Agency of hacking the information system of a key Chinese university that develops secret weapons for the countrys military.

Chinese authorities said Monday they have traced the source of recent cyberattacks on the countrys Northwestern Polytechnical University to the NSAs Office of Tailored Access Operations, a secretive unit of the agency known for breaking into computers around the world and getting the ungettable.

The university works closely with the Chinese military on aeronautics and defense research and had in June reported being attacked by foreign hackers who sent staff and students phishing emails.

China has been increasingly vocal in accusing U.S. individuals or groups of carrying out cyberattacks on Chinese users and institutions, in what some analysts have called an information campaign to counter U.S. allegations of Chinese hacking.

In February, a Chinese cybersecurity firm linked the NSA to a hacking operation with targets spanning 45 countries, including China.

The Northwestern Polytechnical University in June said its staff and students received emails disguised as invitations to academic events or scientific review but were trying to steal email logins. On Monday, Chinas National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center said the attack was carried out by the NSA. The center said it conducted an initial investigation with the Beijing-based internet security company 360 Security Technology Inc.

Albert Zhang, a researcher with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said he detected hundreds of inauthentic Chinese state-linked social media accounts sharing statements and memes blaming the NSA for the cyberattack even in the weeks leading up to the centers announcement.

Regardless of whether the claims are true or false, this coordination of official statements and covert activity may be part of a broader propaganda campaign to negatively portray the U.S. and show off Chinese cybersecurity capabilities, Zhang told VICE World News.

The NSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Funded and directly managed by Chinas Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Northwestern Polytechnical University in Shaanxi province is among a number of public Chinese institutions sanctioned by Washington over its close ties with the military. The university helps with the development of military weapons, including drones, fighter jets, and spacecraft.

The alleged U.S. hacking did not result in any significant data leak, the university said in June.

Speaking at a regular press conference on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the phishing emails targeting the university is another example of the U.S. governments cyber attacks on China. The US has also long carried out indiscriminate audio surveillance against Chinese cell-phone users, illegally stole text messages from them and conducted wireless positioning, said Mao, who called on the U.S. to offer an explanation.

The case was also widely covered by Chinese media outlets and racked up more than 380 million views on Chinese social media platform Weibo by Monday evening.

The U.S. government and internet security companies have for years pointed fingers at China for a wide range of hacking operations. Beijing has repeatedly denied involvement in such campaigns.

Follow Rachel Cheung on Twitter and Instagram.

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China Accuses NSA of Hacking Its Military Research University - VICE

Since fall 2021, No String Attached Noodle Bar (or NSA Noodle Bar, for short), has been serving up globally inspired fusion noodle dishes from ramen to carbonara and beyond at 135 N 5th Street with Executive Chef Brooke Apfelbaum at the helm.

The restaurant was established by experienced restaurateurs (who double as architectural designers) Chiwa Yeung and Spencer Cartledge and designed in part by Apfelbaum after her idea to sell pasta kits for La Margarita Pizzeria, which Yeung and Cartledge bought in spring 2020. Since then, the team expanded their noodle concept to an actual brick and mortar location featuring a myriad of both Italian and Japanese fare.

Greenpointers got in touch with Chef Brooke to discuss her mentorship of kitchen staff, the importance of simplicity, her favorite neighborhood taco spot, and more.

Greenpointers: What brought you to No Strings Attached?

Chef Brooke Apfelbaum: During the pandemic, I was applying everywhere and I applied to this place called La Margarita Pizzeria and thats how I found out about Chiwa and Spencer, my owners. I ran that place for a year and a half during the pandemic and the landlord raised the rent, so we had to come up with an idea, so with my background of being an actual chef and not just being a pizza chef, I was just like, Why dont we open up a restaurant? And so we came up with this noodle concept because I started doing at-home noodle kits at the pizzeria, and that was a big hit. So then we expanded that idea into finding an actual place where we can actually do noodles.

With my background, I came from the Culinary Institute of America. Im also from Florida, so I wanted to bring some of my Floridian flair to the menu that we created, thats why its more like a seafood-driven menu than anything. [Yeung and Cartledge are] architects, so we all have different concepts of how we wanted to do this they structured the place how they wanted it and then I made the menu the way I wanted it. So thats how we collaborated.

I found my team slowly; I started this place originally by myself and then I had another person come along with me. I kind of hire people who dont have much experience so I can teach them how to cook or even serve or bartend. Most of my staff is actually from the military so I teach them how to work in the hospitality industry.

Greenpointers: How is NSA different from anywhere else youve been prior?

Chef Apfelbaum: I try to maneuver my management style differently because I grew up where chefs would yell at you, and it would be, like, really hostile coming to work. But for me, were a family here and working well together will make a great restaurant. We work well together, we feed off each other well. Like it should have a great impact on how customers feel about even coming into the restaurant, how homey it feels, how its not hostile; like its a good spot in the area for people to just come and chill or have a date night or even bring their kids. And the menu, I designed it so all types of people can eat it off of it gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian, pescatarian.

Greenpointers: What is your philosophy in the kitchen?

Chef Apfelbaum: Again, I dont yell unless its a really bad situation, but I like to teach my staff everything on hand and if they dont know anything, they can ask me questions. They should never be scared to even bring up their own creativity. Because when I hire someone, I do tell them when we change the menu, I like everyones opinion before I even implement it. I know its usually just [the] executive chef, but I like to have everyones opinion cause we are cooking the food, so I like to have my staff like to cook what they cook.

I dont want anything too complicated, because when we do have a bunch of people coming in, I love simplicity. The ingredients should speak for themselves.

Greenpointers: What would you recommend for someone dining with NSA for the first time?

Chef Apfelbaum: Either the truffle tonkotsu [ramen] or the angel hair uni, which is really nice. For the tonkotsu we do our house-braised pork chashu, and we infuse the broth with truffles. And the uni dish is really popular; we get our uni from California right now, usually Maine in the fall. We infuse that with angel hair and we top it with nori panko. So its an infusion of both Italian and Japanese flair.

Greenpointers: Is there anything coming up at the restaurant that youre particularly excited about?

Chef Apfelbaum: Right now, were still planning on the fall menu. Im really excited for fall dishes because its more comforting and hearty, like short ribs, maybe even oxtail. I feel like its gonna be really cold this year, so thats up and coming.

Greenpointers: What are some of your favorite North Brooklyn spots?

Chef Apfelbaum: The Charleston, Vera Cruz, late-night bars. The Four Horsemen is really good. My favorite Mexican spot is definitely Taqueria Diana, I always go with friends at night. I love the vibe [in Williamsburg].

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Behind the Toque: An Interview with NSA Noodle Bar Executive Chef Brooke Apfelbaum - greenpointers.com

Lindsey Button gives her Bloom Box garden a 10 out of 10.

They are easy, sustainable and help support native pollinators, she said. Theres no maintenance after the first couple of years.

The bloom boxes she used to fill the garden bed, which she carved out of part of her front lawn, came with plants chosen by Nebraska Statewide Arboretum horticulturalists, along with a design plan and instructions for maintaining the garden. The My Garden Affiliate program is designed for home gardeners seeking to use their private gardens to create a more resilient environment.

Button filled one part of the garden bed with the 24 plants that came in her first Bloom Box in 2019, and then added more in 2021.

Her garden will be on display as part of the NSAs annual Omaha Garden Walk on Tuesday, Sept. 13, from 5 to 7:30 p.m.

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A half-dozen local gardens across the city will be open to tour, with owners on hand to answer questions and provide information about the plants and garden design.

The Garden Walk is a chance for local gardeners participating in our programs to show off the beautiful results of their hard work, while also inspiring others to explore and learn about the benefits of sustainable gardening, NSA Program Coordinator Sarah Buckley said.

Button earned a masters of science in biology in Canada, focusing on the benefits of native pollinators and their impact on crop yields.

She saw first-hand the huge benefits of native pollinators but didnt have any idea of what plants to grow here in Nebraska to attract them.

Shes a novice gardener, and this is the first home for her and husband, Colin Cassard.

It was daunting, she said, to think of coming up with a plant list, figuring out when things bloomed and how big they would get. With a Bloom Box, she could leave that up to the NSA.

Im no landscaper, she said. So having some kind of guide to follow is ridiculously helpful.

Button says the bed of perennials looks a little bit like organized chaos. Her coneflowers and blue sage are flourishing as well as the ironweed. The rose milkweed provided some food for the monarch caterpillars found by the kids across the street.

Now that the garden is established, Button said shes only had to weed a few times this year. She cautions that its important to put a label with each plant, so it doesnt get pulled up by accident by gardeners unfamiliar with the native varieties.

Thats what she almost did to her new blue wood aster.

The NSA provides a sign to post in a bloom box garden, so anyone walking by can learn whats in the garden and its purpose.

Ive had a lot of people stop and support my little lawn patch, she said.

Tickets for the Garden Walk are $5/car for NSA members and $10/car for nonmembers. Participants will be provided with a map of the gardens on the tour and a description of each.

To register for the Omaha Garden Walk, visit plantnebraska.org/events and click on Omaha Garden Walk.

Deep roots of native plants

One of the things that fascinates Button about native grasses is their root growth.

Native grasses with their deep roots are more able to survive drought.

Because their roots go so deep, they are much more suited to survive here, especially with the challenges ahead due to climate change.

A lawn will go maybe four inches, she said. Look at the roots on some of those native grasses and its like feet and feet and feet. They are way better evolved to thrive in this kind of environment.

Those deep roots reduce the amount of water required, especially important in times of drought.

Seeking difference makers

Each year the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum presents recognition awards to those in our state who are working to plant trees, make gardens, build their communities and educate others about the importance of greening towns and protecting natural spaces.

NSA is accepting nominations through Oct. 3 for the following award categories:

Blazing Star Award: Recognizes an individual or organization that has made a significant contribution toward advancing the horticultural use of native plants or the restoration of native plant communities in Nebraska.

Johnny Appleseed Award: Recognizes an individual who embodies the generous spirit of Johnny Appleseed through a sustained personal involvement in tree planting in Nebraska.

Educator Award: Recognizes educators who have made an outstanding contribution toward advancing the knowledge and appreciation of plants among their students.

Community Landscape Award: Recognizes individuals, groups, businesses or organizations (including governmental units) for the implementation of a landscape project or activity that has significantly improved the green infrastructure of a community. Such projects should reach beyond beautification to include elements of sustainability such as water conservation, stormwater management, land stewardship, tree-canopy restoration, habitat, biodiversity, soil improvements, education and outreach, native plants, etc.

The awards will be presented on Nov. 4. Nomination form are available at plantnebraska.org/awards.

Gardeners across a swath of Omaha were assessing damage to their plants Wednesday after a hailstorm moved through Tuesday night.

The goal is to allow grass to grow unmown for the month of May, creating habitat and forage for early season pollinators.

Tomatoes will still likely be the biggest topic of conversation when "Backyard Farmer"kicks off its 70th season Thursday night, host Kim Todd predicts. So will turf.

2021 has been the year of the houseplant. When Omaha photographer Jesi Lee decided to take pictures of people with their beloved plant babies,

An Omaha couple transformed their home and land, giving wildlife and pollinators a more sustainable home.

Two Omaha couples sharing a corner-lot home and trying to practice a sustainable lifestyle, were met with some friendly and not-so-friendly

This fun story looks at photographer and artist Mary Robbins, who uses everything from old bottles to mannequins to turn her backyard south of

Buying houseplants in Omaha especially the uncommon varieties exploded in 2021. It's the same with the accessories that go with them.

For the holidays: Get inspiring home and gift ideas sign up now!

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In the Garden: Tour gives Omahans a chance to see how a 'Bloom Box' works - Omaha World-Herald

Published 7:26 pm Tuesday, September 6, 2022

By Matthew Hatfield

Contributing Writer

Three area teams picked up gridiron wins Friday night, while one dropped its first game of the season.

Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Kings Fork and Nansemond River all defeated their opening week opponents, while Lakeland fell in its second contest of the fall season.

There was not a lot of tackling in NSAs 56-49 triumph over Blue Ridge, yet plenty of head-spinning action from the two offenses. Helping the Saints outlast the Barons on the road was senior quarterback Gabe Wansart, who turned in a masterpiece with 474 yards passing, six touchdowns and no interceptions to go with another 40 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown.

As a coach, you tend to look at the weaker points of the game and not focus enough on the positives. But there were plenty of positives to look at offensively, said NSA coach Mike Biehl.

It was probably our quarterbacks best game of his career, Biehl said. Gabe made a ton of plays, and when we needed something, he gave it to us along with our skill guys.

Six-foot-4 junior receiver Isaiah Fuhrmann had seven catches for 160 yards and two touchdowns.

Hes really come into his own in the last 8-10 months, Biehl added.

Another multi-sport athlete from basketball, Caden Bradford, chipped in four receptions for 180 yards and a pair of scores.

NSAs first game was suspended due to lightning in the second quarter against North Cross, trailing 26-0.

Up next, the Saints face Christchurch (1-0) a 35-6 victor over Middlesex in its opener on the road on Sept. 10.

Anthony Joffrions Bulldogs put forth a strong effort to kick off the 2022 campaign in blanking the Smithfield Packers in a non-district road opener.

I think we played really well and as a family. We were able to get pretty much everyone into the game and a lot of guys got that first game varsity experience, Joffrion said.

To be honest, the last time we played was against Maury, so we had a bad taste in our mouths since the scrimmage. We coached them really hard for two weeks and they corrected a lot of those mistakes.

Kaletri Boyd found the endzone three different ways, including on a 94-yard kickoff return and 35-yard reception to go with a rushing touchdown. Another senior, QB Cameron Butler, completed 6 of 11 passes for 126 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with 35 yards rushing.

Tailback JaVon Ford not only rushed for 72 yards and a couple of scores on nine carries, but successfully booted through five extra points. Fellow sophomore Jahmel Mackey made three catches for 53 yards.

Defensively, the Bulldogs saw seniors Ronald Rhodes and Isayah Singleton as well as junior Jacolbe Leonard each get to the quarterback and register a sack. Singleton and Rhodes also recovered fumbles.

Kings Fork will visit Southeastern District rival Indian River, which is 2-0, on September 10th in a highly anticipated matchup.

They look really good on film, Joffrion stated of a Braves team that has outscored opponents 71-12 thus far. Im very excited for this upcoming week.

Sophomore running back Melvin Brown helped provide some separation with an 81-yard touchdown run with 6:15 remaining as the Warriors held off Southeastern District foe Great Bridge on the road.

Melvin was awesome. That play he had was really big, said Warriors coach Alonzo Ricks Jr. He played last year on J.V. and has been doing well throughout the summer. When his number has been called, hes been responding.

The only other time Nansemond River found the end zone was on Damonte Bassettes 12-yard touchdown run in the second period. Great Bridge limited the Warriors to just 193 total yards of offense in a physical, defensive battle.

It was hard-fought. Coach [Curtis] Campbell did a great job getting those guys prepared and kudos to them, Ricks added. Our defense found a way to make stops and plays. When they started moving the ball, we just made sure we protected our end zone.

On defense for the Warriors, Jayden Bradley made two interceptions, one to end each half, preserving a 2-0 start for the Warriors before a key tilt with Western Branch (2-0) on Sept. 9 at Kings Fork.

After notching a 25-10 victory over Manor in Marcus Cutlers coaching debut, the Lakeland Cavaliers fell to 1-1 overall on the season with a 33-22 loss at Southampton.

Next for the Cavs is a trip to Booker T. Washington (1-1), which beat Hampton 40-0 in its last contest.

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Three area teams pickup wins to start football season - The Suffolk News-Herald - Suffolk News-Herald

Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has disclosed that the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) would soon reveal the identities of highly placed Nigerians behind oil theft in Nigeria.

Appearing on a Trust TV programme, Shehu revealed that security operatives recently raided locations where illegal oil bunkering thrives as part of the plan to control economic sabotage in Nigeria, adding that oil theft is being tackled.

Shehu also disclosed that it is embarrassing for the country not to meet up with the quota given to it by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

According to him, Oil theft is being tackled. The big problem we have in this country is that we ought to see more commitment from communities in assisting law enforcement agents. In some cases, where some actors in law enforcement are complicit, it becomes bad.

We used to fight the OPEC for more quotas; now, theyve given us and we arent able to meet up. Thiss embarrassing. Security agencies are fully involved in stopping this act. Im hopeful that in the next few days, the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) will be presenting to the country big men who are promoters of this kind of business as theyre being caught and illegal refineries are being bombed out.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited is also installing a monitoring capacity to detect or advise immediately when sabotage of oil pipelines happens.

Meanwhile, just last week, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested 120 Nigerians over alleged illegal oil theft.

The EFCC carried out a joint operation with personnel of the 6 Division Garrison, Nigerian Army in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

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NSA to reveal identities of big men behind oil theft in Nigeria Presidency - Daily Post Nigeria