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Day: June 19, 2024
We have much to fear if the French president, playing with fire, opens the door to a far-right government
Twenty-two years after Jean-Marie Le Pen was unexpectedly voted through to the second round of a French presidential election– an electoral shock that drew nearly a million people on to the streets in protest – the threat of the far right coming to power has returned.
On 9 June, French voters gave Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) an unprecedented victory in the European elections. Her party won a record 31.5% of the vote, twice as many votes as the centrist alliance backed by President Emmanuel Macron. A separate far-right list headed by Le Pen’s niece, Marion Maréchal, won a further 5% of the vote.
Rokhaya Diallo is a French journalist, writer, film-maker and activist
The post Macron’s reckless gamble shows how little he cares about the fate of French people like me | Rokhaya Diallo first appeared on The News And Times.
Правозащитный проект “Поддержка политзаключённых. Мемориал”признал политзаключенным Сергея Мингазова. Это редактор новостей издания Forbes.
The post Редактор новостей издания Forbes Сергей Мингазов признан политзаключенным first appeared on The News And Times.
Помощник президента США по национальной безопасности Джейк Салливан заявил, что Вашингтон хочет помочь Киеву получить эти средства.
The post Передаваемые Киеву из США истребители F-16 разместят на Украине first appeared on The News And Times.
Авторы инициативы предлагают внести изменения в закон «О библиотечном деле».
The post Комитет ГД поддержал проект об ограничении доступа к книгам иноагентов first appeared on The News And Times.
A malware campaign targets publicly exposed Docker API endpoints to deliver cryptocurrency miners and other payloads.
Researchers at Datadog uncovered a new cryptojacking campaign linked to the attackers behind Spinning YARN campaign.
The threat actors target publicly exposed and unsecured Docker API endpoints for initial access.
The attack begins with the threat actor scanning the internet to find hosts with Docker’s default port 2375 open. After locating a valid host, they perform Docker reconnaissance by querying the Docker host’s version using the docker version command. Following this confirmation, the attacker starts the exploitation phase by attempting to create an Alpine Linux container and using Docker’s Binds parameter to map the host’s root directory (/) to a directory within the container (/mnt). Below is the command snippet used in the campaign:
"Image": "alpine",
"HostConfig": {
"Binds": ["/:/mnt"]
}If this step is successful, the attacker gains access to the Docker host’s underlying filesystem through the /mnt directory inside the container, allowing them to escalate their privileges.
In addition to defining the container image and host configuration parameters, the attacker executes a shell command within the container itself to set the root of subsequent processes.
The attackers were observed deploying multiple payloads, including a remote access tool (chkstart) that downloads and executes additional malicious payloads and a tool to perform lateral movement (exeremo) used to propagate the malware via SSH.
The threat actors used a a shell script named “vurl” to retrieve the malicious payloads from a server under their control. The script includes another shell script called “b.sh” that, in turn, packs a Base64-encoded binary named “vurl” and is also responsible for fetching and launching a third shell script known as “ar.sh” (or “ai.sh”).
“After the attacker gains initial access and achieves execution via cron, the next stage of the campaign is to fetch and execute a new shell script—b.sh. This script contains a base64-encoded tar archive of a new binary named vurl. The script decodes and extracts this binary to /usr/bin/vurl, overwriting the existing shell script version, before fetching and executing one of two shell scripts—ar.sh or ai.sh.” reads the report published by the researchers.
The attackers use an unusual persistence mechanism by modifying existing systemd services and using the ExecStartPost configuration option to execute malicious commands.
The shell script “ar.sh” is used for multiple purposes including setting up a working directory, installing tools to scan the internet for vulnerable hosts, remove existing cron entries, weaken the system by disabling firewalls, clearing shell history, and preventing new lines from being added to the history file.
The script is ultimately used to fetch the next-stage payload “chkstart.”
Attackers used Golang binary, such as vurl, to set up a remote access and download additional tools from a remote server. The experts observed attackers downloading “m.tar,” and an XMRig miner called “top,”.
“This update to the Spinning YARN campaign shows a willingness to continue attacking misconfigured Docker hosts for initial access. The threat actor behind this campaign continues to iterate on deployed payloads by porting functionality to Go, which could indicate an attempt to hinder the analysis process, or point to experimentation with multi-architecture builds.” concludes the report.
“Although the likely objective of this campaign is to deploy an XMRig miner to compromised hosts, the attackers also ensured that they maintain access to victim machines via SSH. Maintaining remote code execution to victim hosts could mean that attackers can leverage their access for additional objectives”
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(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Docker)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Fresh Malaysian durians will soon make their way to China as the two countries signed a slew of trade and economic deals Wednesday during a visit by Premier Li Qiang to celebrate a half-century of diplomatic relations.
Li held private talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the government administrative capital of Putrajaya before they met with their delegations. The two leaders witnessed the signing of various pacts, including a new five-year deal for economic and trade cooperation that officials said would bolster links between industries in priority sectors like high-level manufacturing and the digital economy.
The sides also inked a protocol on measures that will allow Malaysia to export to China fresh durian, a spiky tropical fruit with a strong odor and known for its creamy pulp, Anwar’s office said.
Exporting fresh durians to China will open a new market for Malaysia, which began selling durian pulp and paste to China in 2011 and frozen durian whole fruits in 2018. Malaysia’s frozen durian export value to China has surged from 170 million ringgit ($36 million) in 2018 to nearly 1.2 billion ringgit ($255 million) last year, it said.
Li, the first Chinese premier to visit Malaysia since 2015, flew in for a three-day visit late Tuesday from Australia. Li, who was given a red-carpet welcome, said upon his arrival that the two nations’ 50-year anniversary was a new starting point to deepen links and increase exchanges.
“China is advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. Malaysia, on its part, is promoting national development under the vision of Malaysia MADANI. China is ready to work with Malaysia,” Li said in a statement published by the national Bernama news agency.
Li, China’s No. 2 leader after President Xi Jinping, last week also became the first Chinese premier to visit New Zealand and then Australia in seven years.
Other agreements signed aim to promote investment in the digital economy and green development, combat transnational crime, and boost housing and urban development, higher education, people-to-people exchanges in science and technology, tourism and cultural cooperation, Anwar’s office said.
Trade with China — Malaysia’s No. 1 trading partner since 2009 — made up 17% of Malaysia’s global trade, valued at $98.8 billion last year, Trade Minister Zafrul Aziz was quoted as saying by Bernama last week.
While trade dominated the talks, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hassan has said the prickly issue of territorial claims in the South China Sea was also likely to be raised.
Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan all dispute Beijing’s claims to almost the entire South China Sea. But unlike the publicized clashes between the Philippines and China, Malaysia’s government prefers the diplomatic channel and rarely criticizes Beijing even though Chinese coast guard ships have sailed near Malaysia’s waters. This is partly to protect economic ties between the trade partners.
“That is why we need to further build on this good cooperation we have established since 1974. The good ties we have enjoyed since will allow us to manage and resolve any issue amicably,” Mohamad Hassan was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper ahead of Li’s visit.
Anwar, who visited China twice last year, has sought to move closer to Beijing even while engaging the U.S. as a key ally. While speaking at a forum in Tokyo in May, Anwar stressed that Beijing is too close, too important and too strategic to ignore.
Ahead of Li’s visit, Anwar told Chinese media that Malaysia planned to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies but didn’t give details. The plan was confirmed by Zafrul and Mohamad Hassan on Monday. The bloc’s core members are Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, who seek a fairer world order currently dominated by Western nations. The bloc expanded with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates invited to become members this year. Some 40 countries have also expressed interest.
“Joining BRICS doesn’t mean Malaysia will lose its strategic ambiguity between Beijing and Washington. It merely means an additional platform to give it a bigger voice as a middle power,” said James Chin, professor of Asian studies at Australia’s University of Tasmania.
Li is also scheduled to have an audience with King Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar. Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry said Li and Anwar will also attend a groundbreaking ceremony at a construction site for the East Coast Rail Link, which connects Malaysia’s west coast to eastern rural states and is a key part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
The project was suspended in 2018 after Malaysia’s long-ruling coalition was toppled in a historic general election over a massive corruption scandal. It was subsequently revived after the Chinese contractor agreed to cut the construction cost by one-third, and is now due to be completed by the end of 2026.
The two leaders will also attend a dinner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Both leaders will also meet the business community at a luncheon before Li heads home Thursday.
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