💡Clear-Cut Spotlight💡
Chinese Hacker Hacking The Internet
A lot of controversy has been around China and America about their hacking shenanigans, but recently, it was discovered that a group of hackers (that might be linked to the Chinese government) might be trying to attack… the internet?
And you know what’s the best part? The attack is called the Muddling Meerkat… Meerkat’s seem cute but can turn extremely dangerous, all while staying burrowed underground out of sight.
This cute little guy is named after an attack :)
A little bit into the nitty-gritty of how this attack works, made clear-cut:
To provide some slight context beforehand, every webpage you go on has an IP (internet protocol) address. What this means is each webpage is assigned a specific number, so that people will know what website is besides it’s name. Your computer, because it only handles numbers, and when accessing a website, needs to know this IP address to actually be able to go onto the website.
There are these things called DNS (domain name system) servers. Essentially, whenever you connect to the internet and try to go on a website, your computer has to talk to one of these servers because it’s asking “Hey, I’m trying to access www.youtube.com, can you give me the number address for that?” The server will respond (if it works), “Yeah! Here you go: 123.456.789.0” and your computer will use that number to access www.youtube.com.
When it takes too long to access a DNS server, it means that something is off - typically, the website is weak or the server itself is weak (weak meaning poor connection or poor security).
Essentially, the Muddling Meerkat seems to be trying to outline every single one of the servers with weak security.
But how does it have access to all of this stuff? Simply put, China has a thing known as GFW - Great Firewall [1]. The hackers hacked the Muddling Meerkat in there and now has access to all of the internet websites, pages, etc…
So what’s the purpose of the attack? We have no idea. The best explanation seems to be either 1 of 2 reasons:
The Chinese hackers are testing security strength of the Internet and certain websites, for their own purpose.
The Chinese hackers are planning to make a gradual and large attack, without us noticing by testing security strength; figuring out which websites are easiest to attack.
I’ll hope for the former… But regardless, both are bad.
📒Clear-Cut Snippets📒
📲 Google Prevents What?
If you have an Android (like I do), you’ll be pleased to know that Google has been saving our backs over the last year when it comes to downloading apps.
According to them, they have prevented 2.28 million bad apps from reaching the storefront. ‘Bad’ essentially just encompasses apps that have malware [2] and and apps that repeatedly violate their store policies.
They’ve also banned approximately 330,000 bad accounts for trying to put forth apps with bad intention. Not bad, Google, not bad.
🪖 Ukraine Attacked… With Tank Instructions?
An unknown hacker attacked Ukraine with a document outlining a tank’s manual…seriously.
The hacker sent a PowerPoint file via Signal, which is basically a messaging app that doesn’t store the information you send, to a party within the Ukrainian government and when that file is opened, allows the hacker to take control of the victim’s computer, regardless of where the attacker was located.
Kind of like accessing a computer wherever you want, whenever you want, wherever you are.
🦅 The US Government Makes A.I. Guidelines
Everyone is using A.I. nowadays, and because of that, there are a lot of open opportunities for hackers to hack people. A.I. is vulnerable to a lot of threats (which if you’d like to know, reply to this email and I’ll talk about it!) so having guidelines is important.
The US Government finally cracked down on A.I. guidelines and made sure that going forward, people implement A.I. into work, school, etc… with safety and responsibility. Rest assured now, A.I. is going to be difficult to hack into… right?
🤔Clear-Cut Insights🤔
How To Not Get Bad Apps From PlayStore
To all of the Android users out there, here is a simplified tip on how to make sure the app you’re downloading isn’t filled with malware.
Viruses, malware, etc… on an app in the PlayStore typically never has the malware installed when you install it. Surprising, right? Most apps come completely normal at first.
So, how do you get it?
Because they automatically update on your phone. Automatic updates install the malware on your phone approximately 1 week (roughly) after you download it.
So, how do you stop it?
Open the Google PlayStore
Click your profile in the top right
Click ‘Settings’
Click ‘Network Preferences’
Click ‘Auto-update apps’
Select ‘Don’t auto-update apps’
Just like that. And it doesn’t even become annoying. Every time an update is released, it’ll ask you when you open the app. It’s as simple as that.
And if you want to see which apps you need to update?
Open the Google PlayStore
Click your profile in the top right
Click ‘Manage apps & device’
Click ‘Updates available’
And you’ll be able to see all updates for every app that needs to be updated all in one page. Hope this was helpful!
🌟Clear-Cut Definitions🌟
Firewall: A device/program that controls the data coming in and going out of a device. This control is for security purposes; to make sure incoming data is good and non-dangerous, and programs that are connecting to the internet (outgoing data) are also not dangerous.
GFW (Great Firewall): Similar to the above definition, China has this thing called a “Great Firewall.” It’s the Government’s firewall to make sure Chinese citizens don’t have much access to the internet we have today.
Malware: Any form of bad software that is intended to break into a device or cause harm to a device.
If you have any feedback or any ideas to improve on the newsletter, please respond to this email! I’m always looking for ways to improve and make it easier for everyone reading 🙂
Cheers,
Adam