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Belgian military hit by cyber attack
Belgium’s Ministry of Defense was targeted with a significant cyber attack exploiting a recently discovered vulnerability in a popular logging tool, officials have confirmed, noting they are still attempting to secure the network.
The security breach was initially detected last week, but only publicized on Monday by ministry spokesman Commander Olivier Severin, according to a local media report.
“[The Defense Ministry] on Thursday discovered an attack on its computer network with internet access,” Severin said, adding “All weekend our teams have been mobilized to control the problem, continue our activities and warn our partners.”
A spokesperson for Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder also told Politico that the ministry was “working hard” to secure the network, though officials have yet to comment on the origin of the attack.
The breach reportedly targeted a security flaw in a widely used utility known as Log4j, a fault that was first observed by cyber experts earlier this month, stoking fears that hackers could use the vulnerability to compromise millions of devices. While many attackers have exploited the flaw to install cryptocurrency mining software on computers without the owners’ knowledge, others have taken aim at businesses and even government agencies, according to Check Point, an Israel-based cyber security firm.
Companies and officials in Belgium and beyond have raced to patch up the vulnerability, with Google reportedly tasking 500 engineers to ensure its code is airtight, while the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an emergency directive last week urging other federal agencies to fix the flaw.
Beijing has announced that it will require people travelling to the city from low-risk areas of China to present a negative Covid-19 test, as part of a raft of measures introduced ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations. The restrictions will come into effect on January 28 and last until March 15, covering both the Lunar New Year festivities and the annual parliament meeting that occurs in the city. People who enter Beijing will have to undergo a 14-day health observation period, with a test taken on the seventh and 14th day after their arrival. The spokesperson for Beijing’s city government, Xu Hejian, announced the new measures on Wednesday, over fears that travel during the holiday period could see people spread the virus around the country, causing a spike in cases. In recent weeks, areas around Beijing have seen Covid-19 restrictions increased since the start of the year, as authorities took a ‘wartime mode’ approach to prevent a wider outbreak occurring in Shijiazhuang ...
A health worker takes a break in front of a fan in New Delhi, August 2020. Photo: Reuters Even before COVID-19, protests by health workers in India were on the rise. According to one database, India had the most such protests in 85 countries between March 2019 and 2020. Most of them concerned unpaid salaries, poor management, contracts and regularisation, and patient overload, followed by protests around lack of supplies and equipment. Health workers have often faced uphill battles in having their demands met – but the underlying problem has been a lack of attention to health workers’ basic needs. One of the biggest casualties of the governance problems were medical entrance exams – a sphere in which NEET replaced the erstwhile faulty system with new problems. By now, many have watched the dramatic footage of junior doctors and police clashing in New Delhi or heard about ongoing demonstrations by resident doctors around India. These events have been taking place against the b...
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