Microsoft opens Cybersecurity Engagement Center in Mexico

Microsoft has announced the opening of what it calls a Cybersecurity Engagement Center in Mexico. This will join the Transparency and Cybersecurity Center for Asia-Pacific, as well as the one in India, and its Redmond Cybercrime Center.
The complex, based in the country's capital city, will serve Mexico as well as other Latin American countries, in an effort to use technology, experience, and services to protect citizens and companies from an array of cyber threats.
As highlighted in the post, some of the main objectives of this facility are:

• Taking advantage of Microsoft’s proactive role in matters of fighting cybercrime, particularly in the dismantling of criminal organizations that operate through Botnet schemes
• Allowing cybersecurity experts from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America to work with Microsoft specialists to fight cybercrime together
• Acting as a headquarters for the development of training activities in order to support the building and strengthening of technical capabilities; these activities are geared toward authorities and the public sector

According to Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive VP and President, Microsoft Global Sales, Marketing and Operations, this newly opened complex will work in tandem with the software giant's Redmond-based Cybercrime Center opened back in 2013. The Cybercrime Center was unveiled after the merger of the digital crimes and software piracy teams, which employed 30 staff at the time, collaborating with over 70 individuals worldwide to locate and fight hacker threats and malware.
Microsoft stated it is committed to invest in Latin America, by bringing over its cybersecurity capabilities to help governments identify "current threats that affect the economy’s prosperity". To make good on its promise, the company will use its "robust and trustworthy cloud computing" platform to fight cyber threats, as it has done in the past.
In concert with the opening of the facility, a Government Security Program was signed between the Redmond giant and the Federal Police (representing the Mexican government) to promote IT security. What this does is it gives participating authorities "access to the source code for current versions of Windows and Windows service packs, Windows Embedded CE, and Microsoft Office".
It is not the first time Microsoft has collaborated with authorities on this issue, as the company helped bring down the ZeroAccess botnet in conjunction with the FBI and Europol a few years ago.

63 Universities and US Government agencies breached by hacker

A “Russian-speaking and notorious financially-motivated” hacker, Rasputin has reportedly hacked the computer systems of various universities and government agencies of US and sold the stolen data on the dark web.

According to the cyber security research firm,  Recorded Future, the hackers gained access to computer systems of more than 63 universities and federal, state, and local U.S. government agencies. The prominent universities include Cornell and New York University.

The firm claimed that the victims are “intentional targets of choice based on the organization’s perceived investment in security controls and the respective compromised data value. Additionally, these databases are likely to contain significant quantities of users and potentially associated personally identifiable information (PII).”

The list of the Rasputin's targets are quite long and it does extend to the 10 U.K university and one Indian University in Delhi as well. All the hacked agencies and universities have been informed about the hack by the Recorded Future's researchers.

The victims include 16 U.S state government, 6 U.S. cities and four federal agencies, Child Welfare Information Gateway, which is operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and   Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, America’s premier particle physics lab. The severity of the breaches are unclear

The List of U.S University victims: Cornell University, University of the Cumberlands, VirginiaTech, Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Humboldt State University, University of Pittsburgh, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, New York University, University of Mount Olive, Rice University, Michigan State University, University of California, Los Angeles, Rochester Institute of Technology, Eden Theological Seminary, University of Tennessee, Arizona State University, St. Cloud State University, NC State University, University of Arizona, Purdue University, University at Buffalo, Atlantic Cape Community College, University of Washington.

The list of U.K University Victims: University of Cambridge, Coleg Gwent, University of Oxford, University of the Highlands and Islands, Architectural Association School of Architecture, University of Glasglow, University of Chester, the University of the West of England, University of Leeds, The University of Edinburgh.

And one Indian University: Delhi University.