The Russian hackers, who worked for a shadowy state-sponsored group previously identified as Dragonfly or Energetic Bear, broke into supposedly secure, “air-gapped” or isolated networks owned by utilities with relative ease by first penetrating the networks of key vendors who had trusted relationships with the power companies, said officials at the Department of Homeland Security.

“They got to the point where they could have thrown switches” and disrupted power flows, said Jonathan Homer, chief of industrial-control-system analysis for DHS.

https://archive.is/Hgnbx

Justin Trudeau’s latest headache is unusual for a country bounded by three oceans and just one neighbor: the border.

Canada has seen a steady flow of asylum seekers since Donald Trump’s election, with people who fear the U.S. will deport them or reject their bids for asylum crossing the 4,000-mile undefended border and filing a claim. While the total numbers are relatively modest, the influx has strained resources and prompted calls for more funding.

The issue has the Canadian prime minister caught between demands for tighter security and his own pledge of open arms. The controversy has ramped up in recent weeks, in part because of Ontario’s election of a conservative government led by populist Doug Ford. He and two other premiers have called on Trudeau to act, and a political sparring match is underway over what values are more Canadian: welcoming refugees, even those arriving illegally, or securing the border?

https://www.bloombergquint.com/politics/2018/07/23/immigration-and-the-border-are-suddenly-tough-issues-for-trudeau#gs.fJcFMU8

The former anchor of NBC's Today show, purchased the lease to Hunter Valley Station on the shores of Lake Hāwea for $13 million last year.

Now he wants to cut off public access to the beach, or at least charge for access.

https://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/362421/row-over-us-tv-personality-matt-lauer-s-land-he-s-holding-the-country-to-ransom

>>2256288