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StopRansomware: Ransomware Attacks on Critical Infrastructure Fund DPRK Malicious Cyber Activities

DNA

NEW YOUR: This Cyber security Advisory (CSA) is part of an ongoing #StopRansomware effort to publish advisories for network defenders that detail various ransomware variants and various ransomware threat actors. These #StopRansomware advisories detail historically and recently observed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) to help organizations protect against ransomware. Visit stopransomware.gov to see all #StopRansomware advisories and to learn about other ransomware threats and no-cost resources.

The United States National Security Agency (NSA), the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Cyber security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Republic of Korea (ROK) National Intelligence Service (NIS), and the ROK Defense Security Agency (DSA) (hereafter referred to as the “authoring agencies”) are issuing this joint Cyber security Advisory (CSA) to highlight ongoing ransomware activity against Healthcare and Public Health Sector organizations and other critical infrastructure sector entities.

This CSA provides an overview of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) state-sponsored ransom are and updates the July 6, 2022, joint CSA North Korean State-Sponsored Cyber Actors Use Maui Ransomw are to Target the Healthcare and Public Health Sector. This advisory highlights TTPs and IOCs DPRK cyber actors used to gain access to and conduct ransom are attacks against Healthcare and Public Health (HPH) Sector organizations and other critical infrastructure sector entities, as well as DPRK cyber actors’ use of crypto currency to demand ransoms.

The authoring agencies assess that an unspecified amount of revenue from these crypto currency operations supports DPRK national-level priorities and objectives, including cyber operations targeting the United States and South Korea governments—specific targets include Department of Defense Information Networks and Defense Industrial Base member networks. The IOCs in this product should be useful to sectors previously targeted by DPRK cyber operations (e.g., U.S. government, Department of Defense, and Defense Industrial Base). The authoring agencies highly discourage paying ransoms as doing so does not guarantee files and records will be recovered and may pose sanctions risks.

NA Speaker greets APNS office bearers

ISLAMABAD, Mar 21 (DNA): National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Tuesday emphasized the crucial role of media in combating the spread of false information, urging them to take responsibility for preventing dissemination of fake news to avoid harmful effects on society.

He congratulated the newly elected officials of All Pakistan Newspapers Society [APNS] and called for unbiased dissemination of information and urged media organizations to foster inclusion and tolerance.

The Speaker also highlighted the media’s role in addressing economic and social problems facing the country, combating moral decline, intolerance, and societal uncertainty.

The Speaker expressed optimism about the newly elected officials of the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) and their dedication to the development of media in the country. He encouraged them to continue their efforts towards a vibrant and responsible media landscape that serves the interests of the people of Pakistan.

He congratulated the newly elected officials of the APNS, including Naz afreen Sehgal Lakhani as President, Sarmad Ali as Secretary General, Imtanan Shahid as Senior Vice President, and Muhammad Aslam Qazi as Vice President.

Additionally, SM Munir Jilani was congratulated for being elected as the Joint Secretary, and Shahab Zuberi was congratulated for being elected as the Finance Secretary of APNS.

Experts stress a review of Afghanistan policy

ISLAMABAD, MAR 21 /DNA/ – Experts urged the Government of Pakistan to review its Afghanistan policy in light of the recent 7 developments in Afghanistan. They were speaking at a roundtable discussion jointly organized by the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) and the Area Study Centre, University of Peshawar.

The participants of the roundtable were of the view that the rapid pace of developments in Afghanistan culminating in the rise of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan had necessitated a shift in Pakistan’s policy towards Afghanistan. They cautioned against using the issuance of visas or the border trade with Afghanistan as a method of coercion against the Afghan government.

The participants expressed their concern about the lack of goodwill among the people of Afghanistan towards Pakistan despite Pakistan’s hosting of millions of Afghan refugees over the years and assisting Afghanistan in other ways. They were of the view that some of Pakistan’s policies aimed at having a friendly government across its western border had impacted the lives of ordinary Afghans. This, they maintained, had negatively impacted the public goodwill that could be generated through Pakistan’s generous support to Afghanistan in a variety of ways including the hosting of Afghan refugees.

The experts underscored the independent character of the people of Afghanistan and urged the government of Pakistan to treat the people and the government of Afghanistan as sovereign equals. They also encouraged the Government of Pakistan to take strong action against militant groups operating inside Pakistan and cooperate with the Afghan government to make sure that Afghan soil was not used for terrorist activities either within Afghanistan, the neighbourhood of Afghanistan, or any other part of the world.

The participants of the roundtable included President IRS Ambassador Nadeem Riyaz, Director Area Study Centre Professor Shabir Ahmed Khan, Assistant Professor Area Study Centre Dr Ahmad Farhan Saeed, Assistant Professor Area Study Centre Dr Mohammad Shafi, Lecturer Area Study Centre Dr Muhammad Ali Dinakhel, Editor IRS Mr Aarish U. Khan, and researchers of IRS.=DNA

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Asad Umar, Shah Mehmood hold ‘breakfast meeting’ with foreign diplomats in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD, MAR 21: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Secretary General Asad Umar on Tuesday told envoys in Islamabad that the party is seeking free and fair elections to end political instability in the country.

The PTI leaders held a “breakfast meeting” with the diplomatic corps in Islamabad organised by Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Neil Hawkins. The ambassadors of European and Muslim countries were also present during the meeting.

“We exchanged views on the regional and overall political situation of the country during the meeting,” Qureshi said.

Both leaders informed the envoys about the PTI’s demand for transparent elections as per schedule and bringing the atmosphere of ongoing political instability in the country to an end.

“We are deeply grateful to the Australian High Commissioner Neil Hawkins for organising this breakfast meeting,” Qureshi added.

The PTI — led by Chairman Imran Khan — has been campaigning for general elections in Pakistan for months since its government’s ouster through a vote of no-confidence in April last year.

To press for their demand for snap polls, the party dissolved the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies — the provinces where it was in power.

On the other hand, the former premier has also been embroiled in various legal challenges. The matter of his appearances in courtd has since caused immense chaos with his party workers taking to the streets, confronting security personnel that led to violent clashes in Lahore and Islamabad.

Deputy Commissioner Attock plants sapling on Int’l Forest Day

FROM QAZI SHOAIB KHAN
DNA
ATTOCK (MARCH-21): Deputy Commissioner Attock Rao Atif Raza on Tuesday while planting a sampling on the International Forest Day here in Attock has said that people should play their active role to make tree plantation drive a successful event in order to maintain natural environment for their next generation.
He was expressing these views after kicking off the tree planation campaign on the impressive ceremony held on the eve of International Forest Day celebrations here along the Ghazi Barotha Water Channel. Among others, the ceremony was also attended by the District Forest Officer Attock Mr. Ishfaq Bashir Bhutta, Deputy Director Public Relations Attock Mr. Shahzad Niaz Cheema and a large number of people from different walks of life. On this occasion, the Deputy Commissioner Attock Rao Atif Raza was also shared the updates that 13 lacs 71 thousands plants of different categories would be planted during the ongoing spring season.
The District Forest Officer while highlighting the salient features of the forest has said that 09 lacs 34 thousands plants were allocated for state lands, 01 lac, 48 thousands were handed over to provincial departments, 02 lacs 31 thousands plants for the owners of private lands and 58 thousands sampling will be planted by the defense organizations. The Deputy Commissioner Attock directed the forest department to also ensure the secureness of these sampling after completion of the tree plantation move.
Earlier, Deputy Commissioner Attock accompanied by Addl Deputy Commissioner Revenue Mr. Waqas Aslam Marth, Assistant Commissioner Attock Ms. Shaguta Jabeen and other relevant officers also inspected the distribution system of free flour to the deserving people at mega free flour points established in ground of District Council Attock. He said that the eligible deserving people could avail the facility of free flour after getting their registration all mega points set up in their six tehsils during the holy month of Ramazan, he added.

Ramadan 2023: When will holy month start in Pakistan?

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Monday forecast that there is a strong possibility that the crescent for Ramadan 2023 will be sighted on the evening of March 22 (Wednesday).

The update was shared by the Met department’s Climate Data Processing Centre. This means the first of Ramadan is likely to fall on Thursday, March 23 in Pakistan.

According to the climate record, the weather is expected to be fair and partly cloudy in most parts of the country during the Ramadan moon sighting time.

Earlier, chief meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz had told Geo News that the chances of the holy month of Ramadan falling on March 23 were high, therefore, the first fast was likely to be observed on Thursday.

He had also said that the sky was expected to remain clear so the moon could be easily sighted.

Meanwhile, the PMD had said last week that rainfall was expected at the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

Muslims throughout Pakistan and the rest of the world observe the month of Ramadan annually. It is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar during which Muslims abstain from food and drink from dawn until dusk.

HEC announced Microsoft Imagine Cup 2023 winners

DNA

ISLAMABAD, MAR 21: Microsoft and Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission announced winners and runner ups of the jointly organized Imagine Cup 2023. The announcements were made during the closing ceremony held in HEC head office.

The event was attended by several Vice Chancellors, and Pakistan’s educational leaders as well as Director General Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), Dr. Salim M. Almalik, Chairman Higher Education Commission, Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, and Microsoft Country Manager Jibran Jamshad.

Chief Guest at the event was Dr. Salim M. Almalik. Speaking at the event, he noted, “Such partnerships with companies like Microsoft empower the students to use their creativity in addressing real societal problems using modern technology”.

Microsoft announced winners in all four categories of Imagine Cup competition i.e., Earth, Lifestyle, Health, and Education. Winners at the event included team “Smart Fruity Bytes” in Earth category from Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture, Multan (MNSUAM), team “Journovolt” in Lifestyle category from Usman Institute of Technology Karachi, team “Human Life Saviour’s“ in Lifestyle category from FAST NUCES Lahore Campus and team “AR Learn” in Education category from University of Engineering & Technology (UET) Peshawar. Additionally, 9 more university teams from North, Center, South, and Baluchistan regions were declared Imagine cup regional winners and runners-ups.

The four winning teams also received cash prizes and will now be representing Pakistan on the international level competing with the world top finalist teams.

Addressing the guests and team, Mr. Jibran Jamshad, Country Education Lead, Microsoft Pakistan said, “Imagine Cup is one of the successful and empowering examples of how Microsoft is enabling students to build 21st century skill sets through access to latest technology, training and mentorship. As a result, students are offered new opportunities for the future.”

He added, “The Imagine Cup provides tech students, software developers and entrepreneurs new possibilities to innovate and solve some of the world’s biggest social environmental and health challenges. We have selected excellent local projects and now the champion team will compete in the World Finals Competition for a prize of $100,000, the Azure grant and a mentoring session with Microsoft CEO.

The top teams showcased their projects at the event and Vice Chancellors of the winning institutions and other universities discussed their experience of participating in the competition. Unanimously all participants agreed that Imagine Cup promoted a strong work ethic among students, allowed them to innovate and gain new skills and be awarded great prizes.

In closing remarks, the Chairman HEC, Prof. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed said, “Microsoft and HEC continuously work to introduce tech reforms in the education sector. The Imagine Cup is one of the projects that both HEC and Microsoft are proud to have worked on. In the end these activities bring students together motivating them to contribute to the greater good of their country in an innovative way.”

Worth noting that Microsoft has already entered into an education transformation agreement with HEC covering key higher educational institutions in Pakistan. Under this agreement, Microsoft offers FREE certifications for 100,000 eligible students and organizes several capacity building programs and holds similar activities for the education stakeholders throughout Pakistan. The key objective remains empowering the education sector through technology and with the latest Microsoft products and services.

Pak-US Relations: The Way Forward

Pak-US Relations: The Way Forward

ISLAMABAD, MAR 21 /DNA/ – “Our strong, enduring partnership will continue to improve the lives of Pakistanis and Americans and have a positive global impact. The U.S.-Pakistan Green Alliance Framework is a prime example.” These were the views shared by United States Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome, at the CASS Ambassador Lecture on ‘Pak-US Relations: The Way Forward’ organised by the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies, here in the capital.

Ambassador Blome, a seasoned diplomat, who earlier served in Tunisia, discussed the 75 years of bilateral relations between the two countries, especially decades of development assistance which had supported the construction of schools, hospitals and built highways throughout the country, as well as education through its scholarship programmes. He appreciated the important role being played by Pakistani Diaspora in business and government who had built a network of personal and professional connections that had established a strong foundation for the US-Pak relationship. Ambassador Blome also highlighted the long history of humanitarian work from the earthquake of 2005 and floods of 2010 and 2011 to the recent devastating super floods in the country to ensure Pakistanis in need received life-saving assistance.

Moderated by Ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani, Advisor to CASS on Foreign Affairs, the talk was followed by a candid Question/Answer session between the Ambassador and participants who included serving and retired military officers, academia and diplomats.

Delivering his Concluding Remarks, President CASS Air Marshal Farhat Hussain Khan (Retd) thanked the guest speaker and was hopeful that the strong foundations of Pak-US relationship would further strengthen their bilateral ties, especially inclusive economic growth, and regional peace & prosperity.

Arrangements to conduct free and transparent polling underway

FROM QAZI SHOAIB KHAN
DNA
ATTOCK (MARCH-20): All necessary arrangements of elections in five provincial assembly constituencies in Attock are being finalized to conduct free and transparent polling on the scheduled date of April 30, 2023. The District Election Commissioner Attock Noor ulKhitab while sharing the elections preparations with the media persons here on Monday hassaid that total 106 candidates include 13 candidates have filed nomination papers for PP1 Attock, 23 candidates for PP2 Attock, 23 candidates for PP3 Attock, 21 candidates for PP4 Attock and 26 candidates for PP5 Attock.
He said that scrutiny of the nomination papers is being finalized and final list of the candidates will be displayed as per the schedule while training of the staff deputed for election duty will be started in due course of time, as well. The scrutiny of their papers will be continued March 22, 2023.The candidates can withdraw their papers on April 05, 2023 and final list of candidates will be notified on the same day. The election symbols will be allotted to the contesting candidates on April 06, 2023 whereas polling will be conducted on April 30, 2023. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) extended the deadline for nomination paper filings till March 16 aiming to facilitate candidates vying for provin¬cial assembly elections of Punjab province.
According to ECP spokesperson, the ex¬tension was granted in re¬sponse to the demands of candidates and was aimed at providing ample time to complete the nomination process. the District Election Commissioner Noor ulKhitab saidthat there are 1319817 registered voters in Attock district in five provincial constituencies: PP I, II, III, IV and V. These registered voters include 684391 male and 635426 female voters. He said that 1069 polling stations will be set up which include 317 male, 298 female and 454 combined polling stations.the District Election Commissioner Noor ulKhitab while talking to this scribehas said that there are 1319817 registered voters in Attock district in five provincial constituencies: PP I, II, III, IV and V. These registered voters include 684391 male and 635426 female voters. He said that 1069 polling stations will be set up which include 317 male, 298 female and 454 combined polling stations.He said that total of 13417 personnel will be deputed which include 1069 presiding officers, 8232 assistant presiding officers and 4116 poling officers. He said that Deputy CommissionerAttock Rao Atif Raza was appointed as District Returning Officer, AC Hazro Kamran Ashraf as Returning Officer PP I Attock, AC Hasanabdal Dr Sana Ramchand as Returning Officer PP II Attock, ADC Waqar Akbar Cheema as Returning Officer PP III Attock, AC AttockShagufta Jabeen as Returning Officer PP IV Attock and AC Jand Muhammad Irfan as Returning Officer PP V Attock in pursuance of the orders of Provincial Election Commission, accordingly. Mr. Noor ulKhitab said the polling staff willalso beimparted necessary training to conduct the fair and transparent election process as per code of conduct. However, the contestant candidates have expressed their concerns over the prevalent changing scenario of the country with their views that electioneering of provincial assembly Punjab launched by 106 contestant candidates of different rival political camps in the inter provincial bordering district Attock plunged into a doldrums as a result of prevailing crisis arisen after the recent clashes between the PTI leaderships and PDM led government. They are now hanged at wait and see situation when the entire picture is clear despite filing their nomination papers in the five provincial assemblyconstituencies of PP1, PP2, PP3, PP4 and PP5 respectively.

15 years old student crushed to death by train

FROM QAZI SHOAIB KHAN
DNA
ATTOCK (MARCH-20): 15 years student on Monday was crushed to death by train while crossing through the railway line near New Town of Attock Railway Station. Police said, 15 years old Abdul Rafah son of Jahangir Khan coming from school was crossing the railway line near New Town of Attock Railway Station when an train ran over him causing his instant death.
On getting information, Rescue-1122 reached the spot and shifted the dead body to Asfandyar District Headquarter Hospital Attock where his dead body was handed over to its real heirs after completing other legal formalities. Later on, he was laid to rest in the local graveyard amid the tears of his bereaved parents and other people who recited his funeral prayers held in the evening of Monday.

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