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Germany Says Cyber Threat Greater Than Expected, More Firms Affected (reuters.com)

From a Reuters report, shared by a few readers on Twitter: Germany's BSI federal cyber agency said on Friday that the threat posed to German firms by recent cyber attacks launched via a Ukrainian auditing software was greater than expected, and some German firms had seen production halted for over a week. Analyses by computer experts showed that waves of attacks had been launched via software updates of the M.E.Doc accounting software since April, the BSI said in a statement.

27 comments

  1. Cyber Sword Slash? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Cut by the knife!

  2. Maybe they need to hire creimer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With his experience and results-driven approach. He'll have to Germanize his name to kreimer, and start eating lots of sausages. He'll like *that*!

    1. Re:Maybe they need to hire creimer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I have bitcoin. Where are my eggs?

  3. SmartAdmin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    This is why I always disable all automatic updates. Any automatic update is a backdoor in essence. By automatic updating you are allowing someone else to execute any code on your system.

    1. Re: SmartAdmin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Death to CNN. Long live the new flesh.

    2. Re:SmartAdmin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

    3. Re:SmartAdmin by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ayup - auto updates are generally good for unsophisticated users (the vast unwashed masses), but not so good otherwise.

  4. Re:With a grain of salt by aaarrrgggh · · Score: 1

    What makes you think that what you see is real?

  5. Re:With a grain of salt by Hylandr · · Score: 1
    --
    ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
  6. Re:With a grain of salt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "There's just so much bullshit anymore"

    ...what a bizarre use of the word "anymore". Is that a regional thing? It makes no sense. You could, no, should, just drop the word completely and convey 100% the meaning you want.

  7. Re:With a grain of salt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NASA an all other space agencies lied to you, the Earth is flat! Vaccines cause autism! Climate change is a lie! Free energy exists! All lies told by our secret reptilian overlords! Wake up sheeple!

  8. Re:With a grain of salt by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Good for funding, over time, a new budget and working with the private sector.
    New private sector jobs and an expanded bureaucracy protecting nations from all that new spam and unexpected malware in 2017.
    Great for that digital resume social media site and becoming a contractor or finding more gov work.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  9. To be recursively applied by Picodon · · Score: 2

    There's just so much bullshit anymore it's nearly impossible to accept anything as fact unless it's witnessed first hand.

    Quite the opposite. What you witness first hand is a tiny sliver of information that you, as an involved observer, are likely to misinterpret or misunderstand; a mere anecdote that is unlikely to represent any large trend capable of enlightening you much about reality, especially in regard to societal issues. In fact, refusing information other than that directly seen is likely to turn you into an ignorant narrow-minded and yet easily-fooled individual. Ironically, it is for people like you that journalists now focus on serving short videos of “first-hand witness news” (really, unimportant anecdotes) rather than going into detailed, balanced, well-reasoned and well-contextualised explanations based on a large body of observations.

    Anything any governmental body says is garbage, and anything the entertainment media says about it is even more garbage just decorated with spin.

    Such generalisation and hyperbole is entirely gratuitous and deserves about as much scorn as you are displaying toward governmental institutions and the press at large.

    1. Re:To be recursively applied by Hylandr · · Score: 0

      detailed, balanced, well-reasoned and well-contextualised explanations based on a large body of observations.

      You're referring to science, not the entertainment industry. I have worked in the latter. I promise you, it's all about the dollar. No matter what.

      Everything you hear on the radio and see on TV is literally bullshit designed to maximize viewership, and hence profits. Nothing more, nothing less.

      I applaud your naivety though. I remember being that young.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
    2. Re:To be recursively applied by fazig · · Score: 0

      So if CNN says that 3 plus 4 equals 7 then it's certainly bullshit?
      I think there are appropriate expressions for the practice of inferring the truth value of a statement based on the source of the statement. The fallacies are called argumentum ad hominem and argumentum ad verecundiam.

      Sadly not a new phenomenon and very popular among people who hind their denialism behind the label of scepticism. Simply refuse and deny everything without having to bother looking into the matter. When criticized it's also quite common that a false dichotomy is employed, where the only other option besides of denial is blind trust. It's a very convenient attitude, because it removes any obligation for critical thinking from the equation.

    3. Re:To be recursively applied by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      3+4=7 for stable values only. If it comes from the Crap News Network, then you have to consider the influence of various sources of noise on the result.

    4. Re:To be recursively applied by Hylandr · · Score: 1

      I think there are appropriate expressions for the practice of inferring the truth value of a statement based on the source of the statement

      Madam Cleo passed away in 2016.

      Sadly not a new phenomenon and very popular among people who hind their denialism behind the label of scepticism. Simply refuse and deny everything without having to bother looking into the matter.

      Nothing new of course, and skepticism is an important tool towards uncovering the truth. I doubt you're going to trust some homeless guy on the street telling you things. What is it about a corporation that brings 'credibility' to the stories it tells?

      In all reality it's groups of echo chambers where people flock to be told what they already believe. 'Skepticism' rarely enters their thought process as their confirmation bias gets an endorphin drip.

      Having worked in the entertainment industry I know, and have seen what is done to promote new shows, boost existing shows and what happens to 'hosts' that don't tow the marketing line. Generate viewership, boost the ratings, charge more for ads, which fills the paychecks.

      It's all about the paycheck. nothing more.

      If the truth happens to find it's way in there it's either by accident, or they need just that little bit to make their spin somewhat plausible.

      --
      ~ People that think they are better than anyone else for any reason are the cause of all the strife in the world.
  10. Why German companies? by manu0601 · · Score: 1

    I understood the attack came through a Ukrainian accounting software. How German companies are impacted? Did they also used that software?

    1. Re:Why German companies? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ukraine is a large country with 45 million people (about 2/3rd the size of Germany). So many German companies have subsidiaries, sales offices and factories there. The sites are linked by VPN. So once a worm gets in on one network, it can travel.

  11. Internet kill switch by OrangeTide · · Score: 1

    Time to let any world leader take down the Internet before the hackers do it for us.

    --
    “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
  12. Germany by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Germany is about one molotov cocktail away from a trustafarian civil war. Amazing how oblivious the establishment is.

  13. Re: With a grain of salt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anymore conveys contrast from an earlier time. Not superfluous here. Be nice.

  14. Re: With a grain of salt by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    English is not hylandr's first language.