Dustin Volz

A Failed Microsoft Security Patch Is the Latest Win for Chinese Hackers The path to a worldwide hacking campaign began with a contest for cash and a free laptop.

“They are too big to keep failing like this." Inside Microsoft's faulty patch that opened the door to another Chinese cyber espionage operation.

www.wsj.com/tech/cyberse...

How to Spot North Korean Scammers in the American Workforce: Look for Minions References to the yellow agents of evil and other ‘Despicable Me’ characters are telltale signs of swindlers infiltrating U.S. companies

North Korean IT workers are bound by a few defining characteristics: total devotion to Dear Leader Kim Jong Un, a penchant for stealing cryptocurrency and an obsession with Minions, the cuddly yellow agents of evil from “Despicable Me.” www.wsj.com/lifestyle/no...

He Thought an Employee Stole Crypto. The FBI Says It Was a North Korean Scammer. An army of North Korean workers have taken tech jobs at companies around the world, gaining funds for the regime through paychecks, theft and extortion.

How a North Korean scammer stole hundreds of thousands from a crypto startup

www.wsj.com/business/he-...

Exclusive | Israel Built Its Case for War With Iran on New Intelligence. The U.S. Didn’t Buy It. The gap between Israel’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear program and that of the U.S. helps explain why the two allies haven’t been aligned in recent days on dealing with Tehran.

Before launching its attack last week, Israel provided the U.S. with intel saying Iran was conducting renewed research useful for a nuclear weapon, including on an explosive triggering system.

U.S. officials weren’t convinced it pointed to a decision to build a bomb. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

(I don't normally share personal updates here, and I know how treacly they can be, so pardon the intrusion.) | Dustin Volz (I don't normally share personal updates here, and I know how treacly they can be, so pardon the intrusion.) This is my first Father's Day as a dad. I'm so grateful to be alive to celebra...

Some personal news:

www.linkedin.com/posts/dustin...

Exclusive | Cyberattack on Washington Post Compromises Email Accounts of Journalists Reporters covering national security and economic policy were among the employees affected by the breach.

The breach is believed to be the work of a foreign government and stretches back at least a month. Some of those compromised focus their reporting at least partially on China, sources said.
www.wsj.com/tech/cyberse...

News: The Washington Post has suffered a cyber intrusion that compromised the emails of at least several reporters at the paper, including those on the national security and economic policy teams, according to people familiar with the matter.

North Korea Infiltrates U.S. Remote Jobs—With the Help of Everyday Americans A LinkedIn message drew a former waitress in Minnesota into a type of intricate scam involving illegal paychecks and stolen data. It’s a growing problem for businesses.

I wrote a story with @dustinvolz.bsky.social about a woman in Phoenix who turned her life around by operating a North Korean laptop farm.

www.wsj.com/business/nor...

Exclusive | Former Trump Official Targeted With Government Probe Vows to Fight Chris Krebs, the top cybersecurity official in Trump’s first term, resigned from his private-sector job

“I was sanctioned by the Russians and I’ve been effectively sanctioned by my own government as well," Krebs said. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | Former Trump Official Targeted With Government Probe Vows to Fight Chris Krebs, the cybersecurity official from the first Trump administration who was fired after saying the 2020 election wasn’t stolen, vowed to fight back against a White House investigation.

News: @thekrebscycle.bsky.social, a target of Trump's wrath last week, is resigning from SentinelOne to focus fully on fighting back against against the White House's campaign to punish dissent. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

China Accuses U.S. Spy Agency of Winter Games Cyberattacks While the two superpowers are locked in a trade standoff, Beijing is growing increasingly aggressive in pushing back in other ways against perceived efforts to prevent China’s rise.

Chinese police issued wanted notices for three people they said engaged in cyberattacks against China on behalf of the U.S. National Security Agency, a rare step by Beijing as hostilities between the superpowers escalate. www.wsj.com/world/china/...

The fear among academics and lawyers now talking on the record on just about any topic that involves the federal government or the White House is really extraordinary and worrisome, and getting worse, it seems to me, every week. Dissent by an establishment figures becoming verboten in the US

Stock Market Today: Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Edge Lower; China Raises U.S. Tariffs to 125% China raises tariff on U.S. goods to 125% after Trump White House says China tariffs are set at 145%. Follow along for live updates on the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

A closely watched survey showed consumer sentiment souring to one of the lowest levels in a decade. Respondents said they were braced for prices to surge 6.7% in the year ahead, a level of pessimism about costs last seen in the inflation-wracked early 1980s.

www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

Green, asked if Volt Typhoon has already succeeded in deterring the U.S. from defending Taiwan, says "absolutely yes" the U.S. should and could still do so.

"And would it be hard and extremely costly? Absolutely yes."

Speaking this morning at Vanderbilt, Rep. Mark Green, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, compares Chinese infrastructure hacks to Russia placing a satchel charge next to a cell tower that could blow up at anytime.

Also reiterates telco hacks remain ongoing.

See How Government Spending Is Up Even as Musk Touts Savings The Musk team’s estimated $150 billion in savings barely makes a dent in $6.8 trillion of expenditures largely on autopilot, a WSJ analysis finds.

A Wall Street Journal analysis of daily financial statements issued by the Treasury Department found government spending since the inauguration is $154 billion more than in the same period in 2024 during the administration of former President Joe Biden.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Exclusive | In Secret Meeting, China Acknowledged Role in U.S. Infrastructure Hacks A senior Chinese official linked intrusions to escalating U.S. support for Taiwan.

This is an extraordinary story/admission

„The Chinese delegation linked years of intrusions into computer networks at U.S. ports, water utilities, airports and other targets, to increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan“

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

👀 China reportedly acknowledged to outgoing Biden officials in December that it was responsible for the Volt Typhoon critical infrastructure intrusions, linking them to "increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan." www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

NEW: China privately gave tacit acknowledgement of big hacks of US infrastructure.

People present at meeting interpreted #China as linking the hacking to US backing of Taiwan.

Interesting signaling going on.

Story by @dustinvolz.bsky.social
www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Sources: Chinese officials acknowledged in a secret December meeting that China was behind Volt Typhoon hacks, linking them to escalating US support for Taiwan (Dustin Volz/Wall Street Journal)

Main Link | Techmeme Permalink

Exclusive | In Secret Meeting, China Acknowledged Role in U.S. Infrastructure Hacks A senior Chinese official linked intrusions to escalating U.S. support for Taiwan.

Chinese officials acknowledged in a December meeting with Biden officials in Geneva that Beijing was behind the Volt Typhoon intrusions into U.S. critical infrastructure citing increasing U.S. policy support for Taiwan as an excuse www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

“Wang’s comments came after the U.S. stressed that China didn’t appear to understand how dangerous prepositioning in civilian critical infrastructure was, and how much the U.S. would view it as an act of war, the former U.S. official said.”

Exclusive | In Secret Meeting, China Acknowledged Role in U.S. Infrastructure Hacks A senior Chinese official linked intrusions to escalating U.S. support for Taiwan.

Scoop: In a secret summit in Geneva last December, Chinese officials tacitly acknowledged being responsible for the Volt Typhoon intrusions on U.S. critical infrastructure systems and linked the attacks to U.S. support for Taiwan.

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Senator puts hold on Trump cyber nominee, citing ‘cover up’ of telecom security report An unreleased 2022 report is said to contain vital information about the security posture of the U.S. telecommunications sector, according to Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is blocking Sean Plankey’s nom...

Sen. Wyden puts hold on Sean Plankey to lead CISA, citing “cover up” over unreleased agency report on telecom sector vulnerabilities:
www.nextgov.com/cybersecurit...

Americans Buy a Crazy Amount of Cheap Stuff. It’s Costing Us Dearly. Our mountain of clutter remains, even if tariffs bring an end to the era of low-cost goods.

"The buildup of stuff is a uniquely American phenomenon. Roughly 80% of the world’s self-storage facilities are located in the U.S." www.wsj.com/personal-fin...

How Right Wing Influencer Laura Loomer Targeted Top Security Officials The conspiracy theorist has been loyal to Trump for a decade. Now, she’s cashing in on her influence.

Here's our story on how a fringe far-right agitator came to have Trump's ear. It's a story of a decade of unwavering loyalty, rhetorical pugilism, and a failure of the president's remaining gatekeepers in the White House to keep Loomer away. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Loomer's influence appears to be, at the moment, largely unchecked. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wasn’t asked for his opinion on Gen. Tim Haugh, officials familiar with the matter said, and was unaware the general would be relieved of duty.

How Right Wing Influencer Laura Loomer Targeted Top Security Officials The conspiracy theorist has been loyal to Trump for a decade. Now, she’s cashing in on her influence.

During the presidential transition, conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer—who has called 9/11 an "inside job"—unsuccessfully sought contracts to vet incoming administration officials, according to people familiar with the matter. But now, Loomer's the one calling the shots.

www.wsj.com/politics/nat...

Trump Administration Rejects Expanding Medicare, Medicaid Coverage of Obesity Drugs The Biden administration had proposed late last year coverage of the popular medicines for obesity.

The Trump administration said Friday that Medicare and Medicaid won’t expand coverage of popular anti-obesity drugs, rejecting a proposal issued late last year by the Biden administration.

www.wsj.com/health/healt...

How Right Wing Influencer Laura Loomer Targeted Top Security Officials How Right Wing Influencer Laura Loomer Targeted Top Security Officials

NSA officials feared DOGE and Elon Musk. Instead, Laura Loomer came for their leader. How the conspiracy theorist got Trump’s ear for major national security personnel decisions. www.wsj.com/politics/nat...