Latest news with #NationalCyberDirectorate
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Greene rips State Department move to halt visitor visas for people from Gaza
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Tuesday ripped the State Department for halting visitor visas for people from Gaza. 'We need to be the America that allows war torn children to come here for life-saving surgeries and the America that never releases a foreign child sex predator that our great LEO's caught,' Greene wrote in a post on social platform X, referring to Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an official in Israel's National Cyber Directorate who was arrested Monday in connection to a Las Vegas child sex trafficking sting. 'Would it be antisemitic to drag [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's Cyber Executive Director back and prosecute this pos to the full extent of the law and at the same time let Palestinian kids who had their limbs and bodies blown apart receive surgeries in America?' she added. Among the groups halted from obtaining U.S. visas last Saturday were those seeking temporary medical-humanitarian visas for children. Greene, in recent weeks, has joined a chorus of other lawmakers who have railed against the Trump administration and Israel over the humanitarian conditions in Gaza. 'I'm not saying bring in refugees or use tax payer dollars, not at all, but when did America's heart grow so cold to refuse innocent children privately funded surgeries and then they return home after they recover?' she added in her Tuesday social media post. 'Wouldn't we allow Israeli children if they were the ones needing surgery? Or war torn children from any other country?' she continued. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration's decision to halt visa processing for visitors from Gaza during a Sunday appearance on CBS News's 'Face the Nation.' 'First of all, it's not just kids,' Rubio said. 'It's a bunch of adults that are accompanying them.' 'Second, we had outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it, and so we're going to reevaluate how those visas are being granted,' he continued. 'Not just to the children, but how those visas are being granted to the people who are accompanying them and, by the way, to some of the organizations that are facilitating it.' Rubio suggested some of the visitors had ties to Hamas. 'And so we are not going to be in partnership with groups that are friendly with Hamas. So we need to — we're going to pause those visas,' pending further review, he told host Margaret Brennan. But Greene pushed back on the administration's movie, invoking religious rhetoric. 'I know God does not discriminate in his love for children. Why would we?' she asked on Tuesday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Greene rips State Department move to halt Gaza visitor visas
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Tuesday ripped the State Department for halting visitor visas for people from Gaza. 'We need to be the America that allows war torn children to come here for life-saving surgeries and the America that never releases a foreign child sex predator that our great LEO's caught,' Greene wrote in a post on the social media platform X, referring to Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, Israel's National Cyber Directorate, who was arrested Monday in connection to a Las Vegas child sex trafficking sting. 'Would it be antisemitic to drag [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's Cyber Executive Director back and prosecute this [sic] to the full extent of the law and at the same time let Palestinian kids who had their limbs and bodies blown apart receive surgeries in America?' she added. Among the groups halted from obtaining U.S. visas last Saturday were those seeking temporary medical-humanitarian visas for children. Greene, in recent weeks, has joined a chorus of other lawmakers who have railed against the Trump administration and Israel over the humanitarian conditions in Gaza. 'I'm not saying bring in refugees or use tax payer dollars, not at all, but when did America's heart grow so cold to refuse innocent children privately funded surgeries and then they return home after they recover?' she added in her Tuesday social media post. 'Wouldn't we allow Israeli children if they were the ones needing surgery? Or war torn children from any other country?' she continued. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration's decision to halt visa processing for Gaza visitors during a Sunday appearance on CBS News's 'Face the Nation.' 'First of all, it's not just kids,' Rubio said. 'It's a bunch of adults that are accompanying them.' 'Second, we had outreach from multiple congressional offices asking questions about it, and so we're going to reevaluate how those visas are being granted,' he continued. 'Not just to the children, but how those visas are being granted to the people who are accompanying them and, by the way, to some of the organizations that are facilitating it.' Rubio suggested some of the visitors had ties to Hamas. 'And so we are not going to be in partnership with groups that are friendly with Hamas. So we need to — we're going to pause those visas,' pending further review, he told host Margaret Brennan. But Greene pushed back on the administration's movie, invoking religious rhetoric. 'I know God does not discriminate in his love for children. Why would we?' she asked on Tuesday.
The National
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The National
Israeli official 'released from US' despite child sex offence charge
Tom Alexandrovich, described by Israeli media as a senior department head in Israel's National Cyber Directorate, was one of eight people charged last week following an undercover operation "targeting child sex predators," the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said in a statement. Alexandrovich faces a felony charge of luring or attempting to lure a child or mentally ill person to commit a sex act "with use of computer technology," according to Nevada State court records reviewed by Reuters. Israeli media has reported that Alexandrovich was released by US authorities and is back in Israel. READ MORE: Scottish Labour councillor jailed for sex offences involving young girl Reuters reported that although it was unknown why Alexandrovich had been in the Las Vegas area, at the time the city was hosting Black Hat, one of the cybersecurity industry's most prominent conferences. A representative for Black Hat said the conference did not share data on attendees. The report that an Israeli official accused of a felony sex crime was allowed to return home drew a storm of speculation online, with claims that Trump's government had intervened to protect a key Israeli official from legal repercussions. On Monday, the US state department said that Alexandrovich "did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date'. 'Any claims that the US government intervened are false," the department added. The court records reviewed by Reuters show a $10,000 bond was posted in Alexandrovich's case at the Henderson Detention Center, southeast of Las Vegas, on August 7. The records indicate he is due back in court on August 27. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Image: Archive) Israeli media quoted the Prime Minister's Office as denying that Alexandrovich was arrested, saying only that a "state employee" was "questioned by American authorities during his stay" and he had "returned to Israel as scheduled'. Trump has faced fury from his own supporters after refusing to release the 'Epstein files', an alleged list of the late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Far-right Tesla CEO and former Trump ally Elon Musk alleged that the US president appeared in the list during a public row between the pair. Trump had played up the list, and his attorney general Pam Bondi told press she had it 'on my desk' earlier in 2025. However, the Department of Justice has since denied it exists.
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Politics
- Gizmodo
Israeli Cyber Official Arrested During Undercover Internet Crimes Against Children Sting
A high-ranking member of Israel's cybersecurity directorate was recently arrested in Las Vegas as part of an undercover sting operation involving internet crimes against children, according to the State Department. A joint operation between city police and the FBI that targeted child sex predators resulted in the arrest of Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, a man who, according to many news outlets, has been identified as a member of Israel's National Cyber Directorate, which operates out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. Mediate previously reported that Alexandrovich's since-deleted LinkedIn profile had also identified him as an official with the agency. The Jerusalem Post claims that Alexandrovich worked 'in a technical role at the Cyber Directorate,' and KLAS-TV, a CBS news affiliate, also claims to have confirmed that an 'Israeli government official was one of eight people arrested' during the weekend sting, and that Alexandrovich was in the city for 'a cyber event.' Blackhat, the well-known cybersecurity conference, recently took place in Vegas. Additionally, the U.S. government appears to have confirmed much of this information. The X account for the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs posted about the arrest, in an apparent effort to dispel internet rumors that the government had intervened on Alexandrovich's behalf. 'The Department of State is aware that Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, an Israeli citizen, was arrested in Las Vegas and given a court date for charges related to soliciting sex electronically from a minor,' the post states. 'He did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge pending a court date. Any claims that the U.S. government intervened are false.' When reached for comment by Gizmodo, the State Department simply referred us to its tweet. Alexandrovich faces a charge of luring a child with a computer for sex acts, KLAS writes. He was allowed to leave after having posted a $10,000 bail, the outlet adds, citing court records. An archived Haaretz report states that a 'senior official in Israel's National Cyber Directorate' had been questioned in Vegas for alleged online solicitation of a minor, but does not identify the official by name. However, the report also includes a statement from Israel's cyber directorate, which admits that one of its employees was questioned by authorities during a trip to the U.S. The statement reads: 'The employee updated the directorate that during his trip to the United States, he was questioned by U.S. authorities on matters unrelated to his work, and he returned to Israel on his scheduled date. The directorate has not yet received additional details through official channels. If and when such details are received, the directorate will act accordingly.' Gizmodo reached out to the Las Vegas Police Department and the Israeli government for more information.
Time of India
20-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Camera lens behind Israel–Iran conflict: How Iran's missiles are finding their mark
Israeli footage blacked out, Iran turns to hacked cameras Live Events Farmers, homes and streets: Cameras become blind spots A global trend with local consequences Cheap cameras, expensive mistakes Experts push for better standards (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Iranian hackers are actively targeting internet-connected security cameras across Israel to track where their ballistic missiles have landed, Israeli officials have confirmed. These live breaches, now playing out in real time, are helping Iran improve the precision of its strikes as the Israel–Iran conflict Monday, Refael Franco, former deputy director general of Israel's National Cyber Directorate, issued a stark public warning: 'We know that in the past two or three days, the Iranians have been trying to connect to cameras to understand what happened and where their missiles hit to improve their precision.' Franco now leads the cyber crisis firm Code development comes after Israel's recent strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and Iran's retaliation with over 300 drones and missiles, according to Israeli defence sources. Iran's government reports over 200 deaths from Israeli attacks. In Israel, 24 people have died, and more than 800 have been Israel enforces a media blackout on the damage caused by Iranian missile strikes, Tehran appears to be filling the information gap through hacked footage from homes, traffic cameras, and business premises. A spokesperson for Israel's cyber directorate confirmed the targeting of connected surveillance systems: 'We've seen attempts throughout the war, and those attempts are being renewed now.'Iran is not alone in this playbook. In October 2023, Hamas used similar methods to gather intelligence for its surprise invasion. Gaby Portnoy, who served as Israel's top cybersecurity official until recently, revealed: 'The intelligence gathering that Hamas did from private cameras in the Gaza periphery was a disaster. Thousands of cameras were hacked over the years, both public and private, and were used to collect intelligence.'Many of the hacked devices were never designed with war in mind. Farmers installed them to prevent theft. Families placed them outside homes and kindergartens for safety. But the same cameras ended up broadcasting military activity near the Gaza fence. 'You try to protect yourself and meanwhile you are exposing yourself,' Franco the Hamas attack that killed over 1,200 Israelis and saw 250 abducted, Israel was granted legal authority to disable private and traffic-facing cameras showing sensitive areas. Yet according to Portnoy, 66,000 personal cameras still used default passwords in 2022 — a number that may have barely changed isn't just an Israeli problem. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Moscow 'likely used access to private cameras at key locations, such as near border crossings, military installations, and rail stations,' according to a joint advisory by the US National Security Agency and its allies. Ukraine responded by banning public webcams in 2022 and urging owners to stop broadcasting online. 'Russia is exploiting vulnerability of modern webcams to launch missile attack at Ukraine and adjust them in real time,' a government statement the US, the Federal Communications Commission banned Chinese-made cameras from several vendors that same year, citing security private surveillance market is expected to grow from $54 billion in 2024 to $89 billion by 2030, according to MarketsandMarkets Research. But many of these systems are weakly secured. Some cameras still stream footage live online by default. Many retain factory-set passwords like '1234'. A study by BitSight Technologies this month found that 40,000 security cameras worldwide were exposed on the internet — 14,000 of them in the US.'Most people don't look at the security features of the device they're buying. So for the vendor there is no incentive to beef up security of such systems,' said Peleg Wasserman, a cybersecurity architect at a global energy added: 'Consumers need to remember that they're not the only ones who may have access to this camera. I've seen people that put a camera outside the home without knowing that they're also filming their neighbours, or a sensitive object, or even giving a panoramic view of a city which may be useful for targeting.'Cybersecurity professionals stress that higher-end systems with regular firmware updates and strong configuration settings are crucial. 'Higher-grade security camera systems from vendors that take cybersecurity seriously will offer extensive configuration settings allowing for more device and communications customisation,' said Geoff Kohl of the Security Industry Association, as reported by the same time, he warned users to assume their cameras may be attacked: 'Presume your security video systems could be targeted.'Despite numerous red flags and official advisories, many users continue to favour cost over security. And in war, that choice has digital dimension of the Israel–Iran conflict is intensifying. Pro-Israel hacking group Predatory Sparrow has claimed responsibility for recent cyberattacks on Iranian financial institutions, including a major bank and a crypto exchange. In turn, Iran's state media reported that Israeli forces launched a broad cyberattack against Iran's the missile war makes headlines, the cyberwar runs quietly — embedded in homes, farms, shops, and streets. Unsecured cameras, once intended for peace of mind, are now part of the people living in conflict zones — or anywhere with vulnerable tech — the message is blunt but clear: update your passwords, lock your devices, or risk turning your camera into someone else's eyes.(With inputs from Bloomberg)
