VPNs in Tehran’s crosshairs. US indictments of foreign cyber threat actors. Strife exacerbated by social media. ByteDance’s plan for TikTok.

CISA and the FBI warn of extensive Iranian cyberattacks that exploit flaws in widely used VPNs. The US indicts two men for website defacements undertaken for the benefit of Iran, and in retribution for the US drone strike that killed Quds Force commander Soleimani. The US has also indicted seven in a cybercrime and cyberespionage wave conducted in conjunction with Wicked Panda. Ethiopian strife made worse by social media. Joe Carrigan describes scammers using fake alerts on web sites. Our guest is Kevin Ford, CISO of the state of North Dakota on their move to offer free anti-malware to all state k-12 institutions. And ByteDance’s plans for TikTok grow clearer. For links to all of today's stories check out our CyberWire daily news brief: https://www.thecyberwire.com/newsletters/daily-briefing/9/180 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices