The USA's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) are reporting the large-scale re-emergence of the Emotet trojan. Since July 2020, CISA has seen increased activity involving Emotet-associated indicators. During that time, CISAs EINSTEIN Intrusion Detection System, which protects federal, civilian executive branch networks, has detected roughly 16,000 alerts related to Emotet activity. CISA observed Emotet being executed in phases during possible targeted campaigns. Emotet used compromised Word documents (.doc) attached to phishing emails as initial insertion vectors. It spreads via links in e-mails and as macros in .doc files attached to e-mails.

Below is a notice from FinCEN, the USA's Financial Intelligence Unit. But there's a subliminal message. It's issued out of the FinCEN distribution system but it makes it very obvious that FinCEN is part of Treasury. And, as we know, you don't mess with Treasury, ergo you don't mess with FinCEN.

The actual subject is scary, too.

The USA's Securities and Exchange Commission has announced its 100th award under its whistleblower scheme. It's the 33rd this year.

The USA's Securities and Exchange Commission as done a deal with Power Solutions International Inc. of Chicago to "settle accounting fraud" allegations related to the company's overstatement of revenues by almost USD25 million.

It's not a criminal case so technically they are not "charges" which is how the SEC refers to them. And there's no judgment because the case didn't go to court. So the term "Order" is an administrative not a judicial document of record. Also, while the buzz is about "accounting fraud" the "fraud" was not the offence which the SEC proceeded with - that was filing misstated accounts.

Having cleared that up, the case is interesting: remember ENRON, anyone?

One of the most persistent forms of fraud, now well over 100 years old, is directory fraud. In a recent iteration, there is at least something a little different.

The USA is using Taiwan to bait China, as it did with Hong Kong, and China is responding.