News
Monthly selection of cyber news
May 2020, issue 2
Kazakhstan News
5 May
Information security telegram-bot launched in Kazakhstan
The main objectives of the bot are to provide references and news in information security areas; receive incident reports and assist system users in detecting and preventing incidents.
12 May
The number of phishing attacks increases during the state of emergency in Kazakhstan
The majority of cyberattacks occur in the banking sector, e-commerce, and online gaming resources. In the banking sector, this is mainly an emulation of bank Internet resources. Under the pretext of online surveys and authorisation, users are prompted to enter details of personal Internet banking accounts or provide credit card details.
12 May
Kazakhstan state websites and the eGov.kz portal attacked from 48 countries
The National Information Technologies press service has reported an external Internet DDoS attack on Kazakhstan government websites and the eGov.kz portal.
21 May
Persons illegally changing information in state databases convicted
A joint computer and technology investigation by experts from the State Technical Service and National Information Technologies found suspects guilty of modifying data.
22 May
Deputies present their “Digital Kazakhstan” report
Deputies and representatives of the state authorities, local executive bodies and national companies provided a report on 21 May detailing the progress of the implementation of the “Digital Kazakhstan” state programme for 2019. Representatives from the ministries of digital development, internal affairs, industry and infrastructure development, and the national economy spoke about the implementation of the main areas of the state programme.
Caspian news
12 May
Uzbekistan Humo payment system crashes
Xalq Bank has reported a temporary failure of Humo payment system due to transaction volume, adding that the growth in transactions was caused by an increase in cash withdrawals using cards. The result has been that pensioners and those receiving benefits through their Humo card do not have full access to their funds.
13 May
Uzbek President orders accelerated digitalisation
On 11 May, President Mirziyoyev chaired a meeting to discuss the widespread adoption of a digital economy and e-government and noted, “If we do not complete this in the next 2-3 years, each year of delay will cost the country 10 years of progress.” Analysis showed that only 30% of the more than 700 government-agency information systems are connected to the "Electronic Government". Of the 80 departments providing public services, only 27 are integrated with the Agency for Public Services.
16 May
The World Net Summit held its latest conference in Azerbaijan with the support of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technology on 11-15 May. The event, which aroused great public interest, was attended by more than 40,000 people from 26 countries.
20 May
Mobile application developed to obtain information on start-ups
The IAA Demo Day App has been developed to obtain information on start-ups in Azerbaijan. According to the innovation agency, users can contact start-ups through the application to receive detailed information on them.
20 May
The Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare launches an official DOST Agency website
The site contains details on DOST legislation and the institution’s structure in 11 main sections, including details of services provided at DOST centres, and information booklets on services, statistics, news, galleries, etc.
21 May
The State Agency for Public Services and Social Innovation organises a web conference
On 21 May, the State Agency for Public Services and Social Innovation under the President of Azerbaijan organised a web conference dedicated to Global Access Awareness Day and held a meeting of the Executive Group to discuss e-government initiatives.
26 May
Uzbekistan tax officials to track debtors via GPS
The Uzbekistan State Tax Committee has launched a GPS-based automated tax collection system to track individuals with property tax and land tax arrears.
30 May
"Rehabilitation" electronic system to be launched soon
According to the Azerbaijan Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the “Rehabilitation” subsystem will be used to exchange data electronically between the ministry’s rehabilitation institutions and medical and social expert commissions, and to establish related activities.
Russian news
14 May
Banks see the risks of fraud in the self-delivery of biometrics
Banks have warned that a bill allowing Russians to provide biometrics through smartphones and computers for banking services does not provide protection against hackers and scammers.
15 May
COVID mailing list attackers spread a password theft Trojan
COVID-19 pandemic mailing lists spread Trojans to steal Wi-Fi passwords and email credentials from Outlook.
18 May
Waiting for a fake: banks forecast growth in attacks on customer accounts
A number of large credit institutions have told “Izvestia” about how they are gearing up for a spike in fraud through the use of fake banking apps. Remote services became especially popular during the self-isolation period, including share increases in software downloads and active users, and the volume of statistics shared in credit organisations.
22 May
5G not found: the launch of fifth generation networks to be suspended
The commercial launch of 5G communication networks in Russia is in doubt. The Ministry of Digital Development, Telecommunications and Mass Media proposed saving 1.5 billion roubles, which in 2020 should go to clearing frequencies to build a new generation of infrastructure.
A bill to create an integrated database of Russians adopted after the final reading
The State Duma has adopted a bill at the third and final reading to create an integrated database or Federal Information Register to store the full names, places of birth, marital status, citizenship information, SNILS and TIN of all Russians.
Experts note a decrease in the number of cyberattacks per year
Kaspersky Lab experts have reported a reduction in the number of malware attacks. 2019 saw attacks across the world on every fifth user, which is a 10% drop on the 2018 figure. The number of unique malicious resources where infection attempts were blocked and the number of these attacks were halved. At the same time, the number of unique malicious programmes has increased by 13%.
25 May
Sberbank buys ATMs with blockchain
Sberbank is to dramatically increase its number of contactless ATMs working with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, Mir Pay and Huawei Pay, “Izvestia” writes. Information on the $ 108.5 million tender to purchase almost 5 thousand ATMs was published on the government procurement website, with the results due to be announced in mid-July.
Operators warned of bankruptcy risk due to free site access
The heads of four regional telecom operator associations have reported significant risks of lower service quality and bankruptcy for small providers if a bill is passed providing free access to socially significant Internet resources.
27 May
Banks introduce an alternative to digital signatures for transfers
Banks have found a way to protect customers' money from theft through the interception of SMS, push notifications and the substitution of SIM cards. Credit organisations transfer users to confirm transactions using a simplified electronic signature stored on a smartphone.
28 May
Fraudsters set a trap for banking customers on Skype
When trying to call a credit institution on Skype, an Alfa-Bank client got through to scammers who convinced her to transfer money to a “special account”. The bank said that they do not communicate with customers via Skype. A Банки.ру correspondent also managed to contact the forged account owner and learn how it worked.
29 May
Every 10th Russian citizen faced cyber blackmail during self-isolation
ESET antivirus company researchers have analysed the cyber threats that Russian users have faced during the COVID-19 self-isolation period, paying special attention to sextortion blackmail attempts.
Sources
We used the following information sources to prepare this material:
Contacts
