Saudi Aramco announced the start of preliminary engineering work for the East-West Pipeline Expansion Project. In a step aimed at enhancing oil transportation capabilities, in conjunction with the company’s study of additional export routes, according to what was revealed by its CEO, Engineer Amin Al-Nasser.
Al-Nasser's statements came during a review of the company's financial results for the third quarter, which showed an increase in its adjusted net income by 9 percent on an annual basis to 117 billion riyals ($31.2 billion), exceeding analysts' expectations. (Details p. 15)
In a related context, the results of the Saudi budget showed that non-oil revenues exceeded their oil counterparts for the first time since 2020, rising to 142.6 billion riyals ($38 billion).
On Tuesday, the Bayanas platform issued a detailed investigation into the hacking operation that targeted its cryptocurrency platform, which resulted in the theft of more than $6 billion, revealing how the hackers used fake employment interviews and malicious software to steal money, according to Agence France-Presse.
The cryptocurrency trading platform said it had re-provided 98 percent of the affected assets using its own funds, while still seeking to secure the remaining percentage, which includes cryptocurrencies that are rarely traded and difficult to obtain.
The attack was carried out within about 4 hours on October 29, and the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accused hackers linked to North Korea of being behind it.
Pyongyang denounced these accusations, and the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un said that they were “absurd” accusations.
Bayanas explained that about $2.85 billion out of the $6.34 billion stolen had been frozen, preventing the pirates from using this money or converting it to other currencies.
“Bianas” is the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in the world in terms of daily trading volume. The announcement of the hack, which is believed to be the largest of its kind in the history of cryptocurrency theft, led to a sharp decline in the prices of most major cryptocurrencies.
Bayanas said that the attackers began preparing to hack the platform in June.
Initially, the hackers targeted one of the platform's engineers, by forcing him to download a malware-equipped version of the Homebrew program, which is widely known among programmers.
Bayanas' cybersecurity teams were able to detect and remove the malware, but the hackers had collected information about the engineer and his colleagues.
In September, the attackers contacted another engineer at Bayanas through a trusted job search platform and offered him an interview for a position at a fake company.
After gaining the engineer’s trust by sharing photos and video clips on social media, they asked him to download a file containing a practical test, as part of the job interview procedures.
Bayanas said the test included malware that used “sophisticated camouflage and evasion techniques,” including replacing a component of an original development tool with a malicious copy.
This malicious software was a decisive factor in the success of the attack; It enabled hackers to access Bayanas's internal systems.
On October 20, attackers used their access, along with an internal AI tool, to take control of software used by two other engineers.
After 9 days, they activated malicious code that launched the attack.
Employers in the United States sharply increased the number of job vacancies last September, indicating a possible improvement in the pace of hiring, with the stronger growth of the economy indicating increased demand for labor. But this improvement comes at a time when voters go to the polls, Tuesday, amid widespread pessimism about an economy suffering from high prices.
The US Department of Labor announced, on Tuesday, that the number of job vacancies had risen to 7.5 million jobs in September, compared to 7.19 million jobs in August, after adjusting the previous reading. This represents the highest level since May, and is above the low level recorded in March of 6.9 million jobs.
The Job Opportunities and Labor Turnover Survey, known as JOLTS, showed an increase in total hiring during September, before counting employees who left or lost their jobs, coinciding with a decline in layoffs.
These indicators reinforce hopes for an improvement in employment, but the continuation of this trend for several months will be necessary to ensure an actual improvement in the labor market. Employment has remained weak for about three years, although layoffs remain at historically low levels, which reflects the limited movement between jobs.
This reduced mobility means that workers enjoy relatively high levels of job security, but it also makes finding a job more difficult than usual for job seekers.
