WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A team of former U.S. government intelligence operatives working for the United Arab Emirates hacked into the iPhones of activists, diplomats and rival foreign leaders with the help of a sophisticated spying tool called Karma, in a campaign that shows how potent cyber-weapons are proliferating beyond the world's superpowers and into the hands of smaller nations.
The Japanese minister tasked with maintaining the government's cybersecurity capabilities has reportedly never used a computer before in his adult life, the Associated Press reports with a straight face.
Defense Secretary James Mattis announced last month that his department would be standing up a new task force to make recommendations about securing the defense industrial base from cyber attack. This comes after a Chinese company was charged with attempting to steal trade secrets from a leading U.S. chip manufacturer.
South Carolina inmates are reportedly using a dating app and the threat of an underage porn charge to catfish and blackmail Army soldiers, leading to a multi-year Army investigation dubbed 'Operation Surprise Party.'
Over the last six months, the government has released a series of strategic documents and executive orders that have led some to conclude that the gloves are off when it comes to deploying offensive cyber capabilities.
