RUTHFULLY YOURS

https://nypost.com/2021/08/21/hundreds-of-released-gitmo-detainees-back-to-killing-americans/

Twenty years after the 9/11 attacks, U.S. intelligence documents reveal 229 “rehabbed” former Gitmo detainees have returned to terrorism and killing Americans — and an alarming 66% of them have not been recaptured and are still at large.

Meanwhile, President Biden is quietly freeing more of these terrorist suspects from the Guantanamo Bay prison, all to fulfill his old boss’ pledge to permanently close the facility in Cuba.

Shortly after taking office, Biden reversed President Trump’s executive order to keep Gitmo open and is lining up inmates to transfer out of the prison with the goal of emptying it and shuttering it — even though the remaining prisoners have long been classified by military intelligence as the worst of the worst and too dangerous to release.

Last month, the president freed his first prisoner — accused terrorist Abdul Latif Nasser — leaving the number of remaining detainees at 39. Ten others have been cleared for release, including some of Osama bin Laden’s bodyguards and 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s safehouse operator, according to Gitmo parole board documents.

 The five Taliban prisoners exchanged for Bowe Bergdahl.Department of Defense

Still other detainees have appealed to the Biden administration through their pro-bono defense lawyers to ensure their release, despite the risk of them returning to militant activities. The suspected 20th hijacker, Mohammad al-Qahtani, and a dozen other inmates are slated for parole hearings this year, documents reveal.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckbrooks/2021/08/21/ransomware-on-a-rampage-a-new-wake-up-call/?sh=38a0815b2e81

Ransomware is on a rampage targeting industry and organizations. It is also and creating significant cybersecurity challenges. Ransomware is a type of malware cyber-attack where key files are encrypted encryption by hackers that renders data inaccessible to the victim. It is a criminal extortion tool and after an attack has occurred, the hackers will promise to restore systems and data when ransom is paid by the victims.

The use of ransomware by hackers to leverage exploits and extract financial benefits is not new. Ransomware has been around for over 2 decades, (early use of basic ransomware malware was used in the late 1980s) but as of late, it has become a trending and more dangerous cybersecurity threat. The inter-connectivity of digital commerce and expanding attack surfaces have enhanced the utility of ransomware as cyber weapon of choice for bad actors. Like bank robbers, cybercriminals go where the money is accessible. And it is now easier for them to reap benefits from extortion. Hackers can now demand cryptocurrencies payments or pre-paid cards that can be anonymously transacted. Those means of digital payments are difficult to trace by law enforcement.

But it is not just the financial gains, while hackers can use ransomware to extort, it can also be employed to harass and demonstrate vulnerabilities to critical infrastructure. In this sense, state actors and/or criminal gangs can use ransomware as an instrument of geo-political power. Hackers often operate in tacit support by nation state actors and criminal enterprises acting in cahoots. The use of ransomware against critical infrastructures has certainly elevated the issue to global national security levels.

The Targets (and Costs) of Ransomware Attacks:

The current state of cyber-affairs is an especially alarming one because ransomware attacks are growing not only in numbers, but also in the financial and reputational costs to businesses and organizations. Three statistics stand out that highlight ransomware trends and implications: