Treasury Department hit in cyberbreach by China-sponsored actor, officials say
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(WASHINGTON) — The Treasury Department was breached by a China-sponsored actor earlier this month, officials told Congress in a letter on Monday.
The “major” breach was achieved by gaining access to a third-party cybersecurity service Treasury used, called BeyondTrust, they said.
The actor then accessed Treasury workstations and “certain unclassified documents” on them, department officials said in a letter to the Senate Banking Committee.
The threat actor was able to “override the service’s security, remotely access certain Treasury DO user workstations, and access certain unclassified documents maintained by those users,” the letter said.
Treasury has ceased use of BeyondTrust since discovering the incident.
“The compromised BeyondTrust service has been taken offline and there is no evidence indicating the threat actor has continued access to Treasury systems or information,” according to a Treasury Department spokesperson.
The department has been working with the FBI and THE Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) as well as the intelligence community to “fully characterize the incident and determine its overall impact,” the official said.
More information will be available on the hack in a supplemental notice to Congress within 30 days, according to the Treasury Department.
Treasury is mandated by policy to notify Congress of such breaches.
China is one of America’s most pernicious cyberactors, experts and officials say. Last month, officials said a Chinese-backed group hacked into nine telecommunications companies and was able to gain access to certain high-profile individuals cellphones as a result of the hack.
It is unclear if this breach is related to those actions.
(NEW YORK) — The tallest animal on Earth is in danger, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has called for federal protections for giraffe species for the first time.
In the face of poaching, habitat loss and climate change, the agency proposes listing three subspecies of northern giraffes from west, central and east Africa as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.
“Federal protections for giraffes will help protect a vulnerable species, foster biodiversity, support ecosystem health, combat wildlife trafficking, and promote sustainable economic practices,” U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams said in a press release Wednesday.
“This action supports giraffe conservation while ensuring the United States does not contribute further to their decline,” Williams added.
The subspecies officials say need endangered designation include the West African, Kordofan and Nubian giraffes.
The populations of these subspecies of northern giraffes have declined approximately 77% since 1985, from 25,653 to 5,919 individuals, according to the agency, which notes, only 690 West African giraffes remain.
Additionally, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recommends two subspecies of southern giraffes, Angolan and South African, be listed as threatened.
If the proposal is finalized, officials say the designation would reduce illegal hunting and trade of giraffes by requiring permits for import into the U.S. and increase funding for conservation and research efforts.
“Giraffes have been moving towards extinction for years, but their plight has gone largely unnoticed,” Danielle Kessler, U.S. Director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), said in a statement to ABC News.
The IFAW helped craft and submit the Endangered Species Act listing proposal.
Kessler said the decline in giraffe populations is known as the “silent extinction” with subspecies numbers plummeting dramatically by up to 40% over the last 30 years.
“Losing giraffes would be a devastating loss to Earth’s biodiversity,” Kessler said. “We hope that USFWS will move quickly to finalize this decision and safeguard the future of these species.”
(NEW YORK) — Details about the murder of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, in 2017 were revealed for the first time Friday during the trial of the man accused of killing them.
Richard Allen is charged in the murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14. The two friends were found dead a day after they went out for a walk on a hiking trail in February 2017.
Allen has pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder.
Police have never released how the eighth graders were killed. During opening statements Friday in the long-awaited trial in Carroll County, Indiana, the prosecutors provided the jurors with details about the murders.
“You’re going to see the crime scene,” prosecutor Nick McLeland said. “It was a gruesome scene. Libby was completely naked. Her throat was cut, blood all over. Abby’s throat was also cut.”
McLeland said the case is about three things: the “bridge guy,” an unspent bullet found at the crime scene and the brutal murders of Libby and Abby, who were found dead near the Monon High Bridge.
According to McLeland, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat while they were crossing over the Monon High Bridge. After the girls crossed the bridge, they saw a man behind them, so Libby started a recording on her phone at 2:13 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, he said.
McLeland said the man pulled out a gun and ordered the girls “down the hill.” The girls complied and then, the video on the cellphone stopped recording.
According to McLeland, Allen testified that he was on the trail that day. Investigators also found a gun in his house, and testing showed a bullet found at the crime scene cycled through that gun.
McLeland said Allen also confessed to committing the crime to his wife and mother voluntarily while in jail.
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin said in his opening statement that there is reasonable doubt in the case, arguing that the state’s investigation was botched from the beginning.
Baldwin questioned the timeline and cellphone evidence in the state’s case, holding up a phone to the jury and saying, “Forensic data on these phones don’t lie.”
Baldwin said the prosecution claims Abby and Libby were dead by 4 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, and their bodies were never moved until they were recovered the next day. He said the prosecution’s timeline puts Allen in a parking lot near the trial at 1:30 p.m. but his cellphone data shows he was gone by 2:15 p.m.
Addressing the unspent round found at the crime scene, Baldwin said law enforcement commonly used that type of bullet, but police never investigated if an officer was missing one. He also said the owner of the property where the girls were found owns a similar weapon but his gun was never tested.
The defense also argued Allen’s mental health was in decline while in prison, which led to him to confess to the crime.
The defense told jurors they believe the girls were killed somewhere else and their bodies were returned to the crime scene — that searchers saw no bodies or girl’s clothing in the creek on the night of Feb. 13, and witnesses near the crime scene also never heard any screams.
Baldwin also said hair found in Abby’s hand was a possible match to a female relative of Libby, and not Allen. The defense revealed the evidence for the first time during proceedings earlier in the week.
Ahead of opening statements, Judge Frances Gull ruled the composite sketches of a person of interest in the case released by the Indiana State Police early in the investigation will not be used during the trial.
Prosecutors had filed a motion seeking to prevent defense attorneys from referencing the sketches, arguing they were for generating leads in the case and were not used to identify Allen as a suspect in the case.
(NEW YORK) — The Texas Board of Education will vote Friday on whether to implement its new K-12 curriculum that calls for expanding Bible teachings in classrooms, after signaling its passage in a preliminary vote.
The curriculum includes Biblical and Christian lessons about Moses, the story of the Good Samaritan, the Golden Rule, readings from The Book of Genesis, and more. The accuracy of the materials has come under scrutiny. For example, the curriculum claims “Abraham Lincoln and other leading abolitionists relied on a deep Christian faith,” though Lincoln’s religion has historically been debated.
The instructional materials, called Bluebonnet Learning, are developed by the state, according to the Texas Education Agency. The lessons would be optional, but districts can receive at least $40 per student for using state-approved materials, according to local legislation.
Some supporters of instituting religion in the curriculum say that these religious texts are important for the historical context of U.S. history and can instill moral values in the classroom. While some critics said, this violates the First Amendment right to freedom of religion for students and teachers, forcing classrooms to engage in Christian instruction.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has spoken out in support of the Texas Education Agency’s curriculum after singing legislation directing the Texas Education Agency to purchase and develop instructional materials.
“The materials will also allow our students to better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution,” Abbott said in a May statement. “I thank the TEA for their work to ensure our students receive a robust educational foundation to succeed so that we can build a brighter Texas for generations to come.”
The Freedom From Religion Foundation, an advocacy organization centering on the separation of state and church, has criticized the curriculum, claiming leaders are determined to “turn the state’s public schools into Christian training grounds.”
“The curriculum targets the youngest, most impressionable elementary students, starting by introducing kindergartners to Jesus,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in an online statement ahead of the vote. “Religious instruction is the purview of parents, not proselytizing school boards. This is a shameful ruse by Christian nationalists in Texas who see the schools as a mission field.”
States like Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and others have been behind the push to enforce Christian-based school requirements, including the implementation of Bibles, the Ten Commandments and other religious doctrines in schools.
