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Security Lessons From The Latest HBO Hack

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Guest written by: Alex Manea, Security Director, BlackBerry

Early last week HBO suffered a massive cyberattack, with hackers stealing 1.5 terabytes of data from inside their network, including upcoming episodes of shows like Ballers and Room 104 and thousands of internal documents. But the crown jewel of the hack was the script to this past Sunday’s episode of the wildly popular HBO series, Game of Thrones. The network’s chairman and CEO Richard Plepler confirmed the hack and called the recovery efforts “nothing short of herculean,” but he also said something much more important, something that many people overlooked:

“The problem before us is unfortunately all too familiar in the world we now find ourselves a part of.”

Alex Manea, Security Director, BlackBerry.

Winter Is Coming
We often think of major data hacks as individual unrelated incidents, but when we step back and look at cybercrime as a whole, some very disturbing trends start to emerge. Last year alone, companies and individuals were targeted by an estimated 90 million cyberattacks globally – that’s over 12 attacks per second. Just last month, Lloyd’s of London warned that a major global cyberattack could trigger over $50 billion of economic losses. For comparison, Hurricane Katrina – the costliest natural disaster in North American history – caused just over $100 billion in total damage.

Over the past decade, we’ve seen a significant evolution in the scale and sophistication of hacker organizations, along with the types of businesses that they target. Historically, hackers tended to go where the money was, primarily targeting banks, merchants, retailers and other organizations that directly handled financial information and transactions. But as these organizations improved their security standards and began locking down their systems, hackers started looking for easier targets whose assets were just as valuable.

Trial By Combat
With streaming services like Netflix and Hulu leading the way, the global entertainment industry is now worth around $2 trillion, equivalent to the combined value of the world’s top 10 banks. HBO by itself generates over $6 billion in revenue, with Game of Thrones as its most popular series, so it’s no surprise that professional hacker groups are increasingly targeting major movie and television studios.

In 2014, a group of hackers known as the “Guardians of Peace” infiltrated Sony Pictures and spent at least 2 months inside their network copying critical files, stealing up to 100 terabytes of data. The group demanded that Sony halt the release of the major motion picture The Interview, threatening terrorist attacks and causing Sony to cancel the film’s premiere and mainstream release. Just a few months ago, Netflix was hit by a ransomware attack from “thedarkoverlord” hacker group, which ultimately leaked an upcoming season of the hit show Orange Is The New Black. Even HBO is no stranger to these types of attacks, with the first four episodes of Season 5 of Game of Thrones leaking out to BitTorrent before the season premiere.

Where Are My Dragons?
The entertainment industry (along with most other enterprises) needs to update its security model to reflect the reality of the modern IT ecosystem. Many organizations still focus on perimeter defenses – firewalls, intrusion detection systems and Network Access Control. But perimeter defenses are only effective in protecting data inside the network. What happens if, as was the case with Sony, your network is compromised? And more importantly, how do you continue to protect the data once it leaves your network?

The good news is that all of the technologies needed to protect against these types of attacks are already available from companies like BlackBerry. Enterprise File Synchronization and Sharing solutions let you securely share encrypted files and control digital rights even after the files leave your network. Secure Communication solutions let you communicate with external parties over secure channels, be they email, text, phone or instant messaging. Unified Endpoint Management solutions let you centrally secure and control all of your IT endpoints, including desktops, laptops, mobile or even IoT devices. And finally, Cybersecurity Consulting services can help to assess your defenses, bringing “ethical hackers” into your environment to simulate a real-world attack.

If Game of Thrones has taught us anything, it’s that enemies will always try to find and exploit our biggest weaknesses, be they physical, mental or in this case digital. And just as in the hit HBO show, our goal isn’t to make our defenses impenetrable, it’s to make them strong enough that hackers (of both the axe and keyboard variety) simply move on to easier targets. In the end, enterprises and individuals who adopt this rational and economic approach to risk management will have the best chance to survive the digital winter.

Bikes

Bollywood Stars to Blaze the Track at Dubai Autodrome for ‘DSBK Middle East Championship’

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Dubai is gearing up for an electrifying fusion of speed and stardom as the ‘DSBK Middle East Championship’ takes centre stage at the iconic Dubai Autodrome Racing Circuit on February 2, 2025. For the first time, some of Bollywood’s biggest celebrities will swap the red carpet for racing helmets, promising an adrenaline-pumping showdown like never before. Some of the Bollywood favourite stars, including Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan, Emraan Hashmi, Vivek Oberoi, Gauahar Khan, and Salman Yusuff Khan, among others, will be participating and riding in this high-octane motorsport extravaganza.

The event is equally igniting interest and quickly gaining traction in the country as well, for its never-seen-before blend of Bollywood glamour with the thrill of superbike racing. As the UAE’s premier superbike championship, DSBK Racing has carved a niche for itself in the region’s motorsport scene. The event provides an opportunity to immerse in edge-of-the-seat racing action, engaging family-friendly activities, and a seamless experience with free entry and parking, ensuring inclusivity for all visitors.

Beyond the high-speed action, the event boasts an array of entertainment options, including live DJ performances, a dedicated children’s play zone, a diverse range of food trucks, an interactive fan zone, and exclusive meet-and-greet opportunities with racers, influencers and celebrities. DSBK Racing’s Founder and celebrated racer Nasir Syed, along with Co-Founder Abdul Samee shared their vision for the championship and said, “The DSBK Middle East Championship is more than just a race; it’s a movement to promote responsible riding and nurture motorsport culture in the region. We aim to establish DSBK Racing as a marquee event on the Middle East’s motorsport calendar.”

In a major announcement, DSBK Racing has also unveiled two groundbreaking initiatives. The DSBK Racing Academy, UAE’s first-ever Superbike training academy, is aimed at cultivating the next generation of racing talent through structured training programs for aspiring riders. Additionally, DSBK Racing is committed to fostering a passionate community of riders, families, and motorsport enthusiasts, offering an experience that extends beyond races to include education and entertainment.

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Entertainment

Universal Music Group and Amazon Music Expand Global Partnership

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Universal Music Group and Amazon Music today announced an expanded global relationship that will enable further innovation, exclusive content with UMG artists, and advancement of artist-centric principles including increased fraud protection. This reflects the two companies’ shared commitment to advancing and safeguarding human artistry while ensuring UMG’s artists achieve their commercial potential through the service’s continued product enhancements and exclusive content that elevate authentic engagement between artists and fans.

UMG and Amazon Music will work closely to explore new and enhanced product opportunities designed to benefit artists and enrich the experience of their fans. UMG will also collaborate with Amazon Music as it continues to expand in audio, including further innovation in audiobooks, audio and visual programming, and its investment in live-streamed content that has connected millions of fans with their favourite artists across all genres and corners of the world. UMG and Amazon will also work collaboratively to address, among other things, unlawful AI-generated content, as well as protect against fraud and misattribution.

Sir Lucian Grainge, Chairman & CEO, Universal Music Group said, “We are very excited to advance our long-standing, excellent partnership with Amazon Music that marks a new era in streaming—Streaming 2.0. We appreciate Amazon Music’s deep commitment to the interests of our artists, and look forward to progressing our shared artist-centric objectives through product innovation and accelerating the growth of their service.”

Steve Boom, VP of Audio, Twitch and Games for Amazon said, “UMG has always been a collaborative partner to Amazon Music, and as we continue to invent and introduce more artist-to-fan connections through our product and exclusive content, we’re redefining what it means to be a streaming service. We’re thrilled to expand our relationship with UMG which will enable us to partner on meaningful new ways for artists to deepen their engagement with fans around the world while working together to protect the work of artists, songwriters and publishers.”

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Cool Stuff

Dubai International Baja is Now Underway

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After months of preparation, the final event in the international off-road rallying season is underway. Crews have completed the spectacular Qualifying Stage in the Hatta Suhaila Area and the Ceremonial Start at Dubai Festival Bay and are now focusing on the 359km of driving in Dubai’s daunting Al Qudra Desert that will make up Saturday’s Al-Futtaim Toyota Stage 2 of the event.

Lucas Moraes took victory on the first stage in Hatta by the narrowest of margins over his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Seth Quintero. Just 0.2s separated the Brazilian and his Spanish codriver Armand Monelon from the US star Quintero and his German co-driver Dennis Zenz in their Toyota Hilux machines.

12-time event winner and reigning champion Nasser Al Attiyah got to within 1.4s of the leading pairing on his one-off outing with his team in his Taurus T3 Max while his team-mate Khalifa Al Attiyah was fourth, less than 10 seconds from the leading crew. Father/daughter combination Lionel and Lucie Baud were a fine fifth at the end of their first stage of rallying in Dubai with their Mini JCW Rally.

It was a tough start to the weekend for a couple of pre-event favourites Khalid Aljalfa and Eduard Pons who were 2m28s and 2m40s down after the stage after delays. However, they retain every chance of vying for honours in their battle for T3 class honours in the FIA World Cup Baja series. Poland’s Konrad Dabrowski took the early bragging rights among the two-wheel entry, the 23-year-old steering his Duust Rally Team KTM 450 to the fastest time in the 3.4km timed run at Hatta.

That was 25 seconds faster than Rafic Eid of Lebanon on his Gasgas and 28.2 seconds quicker than Pedro Bianchi Prata on his Honda CRF. Leading Quad rider on the Yamaha Raptors in the opening test was local man Abdulaziz Ahli, who had just under ten seconds in hand over Abdulaziz Al Atawi with the Saudi’s fellow countryman third Hani Al Noumesi third.

Following the stage in Hatta, the crews made their way back to the Service Park in Dubai Festival City for the tactically important Start Selection Ceremony. The competitors were then flagged away at Ceremonial Start in front of the fans in Dubai Festival City by His Highness Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council in the company of His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed ben Sulayem, President of the FIA, Omar Abdullah Al Futtaim, Vice Chairman and CEO of the Al Futtaim Group and His Excellency Dr Amer Al Zarooni Chief Executive Officer of the Al Jalila Foundation.

The crews then turned their attention to the challenges of Al-Futtaim Toyota Stage 2. In total there are 395km of timed ‘selective’ sections across the weekend and, with the untimed sections, the crews are facing a total of 867km of driving and riding until the champions of Dubai International Baja 2024 are crowned.

This year’s innovative use of the rugged landscape around Hatta means that gravel/dirt tracks make up 20% of the total route terrain on the selective sections. The rest is made up of open desert (35%) and 45% on the daunting dunes of Dubai which have made this rally so famous and popular with crews the world over.

Al-Futtaim Toyota Stage 2 begins at 8 am (Saturday 30th November) with the first crews expected to complete the selective sections from 11.30 am onwards, after which the teams will return to the Service Park in Dubai Festival Mall where they will be on view to spectators throughout the day. Now in its eighth edition under the Baja format, the event draws top competitors from around the globe to tackle the challenging dunes of Dubai.

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and organised by the Emirates Motorsport Organization (EMSO) in collaboration with the Dubai Sports Council, the Baja is supported by Official Automotive Partner Al-Futtaim Toyota, Energy Partner ENOC, and the strategic collaboration of the Dubai Government and its entities, including the Dubai Police, RTA and Dubai Municipality.

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