In the midst of the chaos caused by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), hackers from hostile countries are causing trouble for the United States. Recent research has revealed that China’s Salt Typhoon hacking group has expanded its targets to include universities worldwide and additional US telecoms, bringing the total number of breached networks to at least 11. Meanwhile, Russia’s Sandworm hacking unit, specifically the BadPilot group, is targeting Western nations, including Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US.
Additionally, romance scammers are taking advantage of loneliness, online advertising data poses a national security threat, and funding cuts under the new Trump administration are impacting organizations protecting children from exploitation. The Official DOGE website launch, which was criticized for its lack of security measures, was found to be vulnerable to unauthorized updates. The website, which claimed to be an official US government site, allowed anyone to edit its database, leading to messages being left on the site calling out its insecurity. Furthermore, the website heavily relied on Musk’s social media platform, X, diverting search engines to X.com instead of DOGE.gov.
Another security concern arose with the Chinese TikTok alternative RedNote, which lacked encryption and exposed US users to potential surveillance by governments and ISPs. The analysis from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab highlighted network security flaws in RedNote’s apps, leaving users vulnerable to surveillance, especially in China. Additionally, military spy planes have increased surveillance flights at the US-Mexico border, marking a significant escalation in activity. Backlash has also mounted against the UK’s secret order demanding Apple create an encryption backdoor, with concerns raised about the impact on global security and privacy.