Oxford Uni Covid-19 Research Lab Hacked |Gab Private Data Stolen | McDonald’s Secretive Intel Team

Plus: Corellium—The Startup Apple Is Suing—Joins Forces With ARM Security Genius To Build iPhone, Mac And Android Research Heaven

All kinds of hackers are trying to exploit the coronavirus pandemic for their own gain. So far we've seen attacks on Covid-19 vaccine producers and on their supply chain, with North Korea and Russian blamed.

In an exclusive this week, I revealed that an Oxford University lab that has been heavily involved in researching Covid-19, amongst all manner of other viruses, was breached. The hackers managed to obtain access to lab devices used to prepare biochemical samples, potentially allowing them to sabotage research or steal data.

It appears the hackers are financially motivated. In the past they've sold data from the organizations they've breached. The Oxford breach might be the first real-world example of what Interpol was warning about last year: an organized crime effort to hack into those working on Covid-19 research.

But with the National Cyber Security Centre now looking into the Oxford breach, the hackers may now have watch their back.

And if you have any tips on government surveillance or cybercrime, drop me an email on tbrewster@forbes.com or message me on Signal at +447837496820.

The Big Story

The Stories You Have To Read Today

Gab, the social media tool that became popular amongst the far-right, has been hacked, reports Wired. As much as 70GB of stolen data, which includes users' private information, has been shared with DDoSecrets, which has been openly publishing information from previous breaches.

Investigators with the Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency have been using a database called CLEAR to chase down immigration violations, the Washington Post reports. The database includes more than 400 million names, addresses and service records from more than 80 utility companies. It's used by all manner of police agencies and is run by Thomson Reuters.

Three former Amazon staffers warned their ex-employer about potential security and privacy issues, but claim they were ignored, according to POLITICO. Two claimed that Amazon has a poor grasp of what data it owns and who can access it. Amazon rejected the allegations.

McDonald's has a secretive intelligence unit that spies on any internal employees who might cause trouble, according to Vice. The company uses tools like social media monitoring that are used to target activists trying to convince McDonald's to increase the minimum wage to $15 per hour, though the food giant rejected the claims of the report.

A ransomware gang known as Clop breached Bombardier, the business jet manufacturer, posting data like airplane design and flight test reports online. It appears they found a way in via file-transfer application Accellion FTA, which has been involved in a number of attacks since December.

How's this for a software bug: Arizona Department of Corrections whistleblowers have raised the alarm that inmates who should have been scheduled for release are being held in prison because inmate management software "cannot interpret current sentencing laws," reports KJZZ.

Winner Of The Week

Self-flying drones are now a reality and as the world heads towards a place where the machines can operate without any human required whatsoever, Silicon Valley startup Skydio is leading the way. It's just secured a place in the unicorn club too, with a $170 million raise that takes it to a $1 billion valuation. It's now trying to take on DJI, the Chinese giant with a huge market share.

Loser Of The Week

An old loss, but a loss nonetheless. Some years ago the National Security Agency (NSA) had some of its cyberweapons pilfered. Hackers known as the Shadow Brokers leaked them in 2017 and now it looks like the Chinese government may have had access to at least one of the tools two years before that, according to new research.

Across Forbes