Cyber Bites

TechUK announced the publication of its UK tech plan on the 6th of June 2023. Alongside a thousand members of SMEs, global businesses etc., the plan lays out ideas for the next incoming government on “digital regulation, economic reform and public service reform” to leverage technology for a “better Britain”. The plan determines 18 areas that it calls ‘summary of opportunities’. This includes making the UK one of the most trusted, safe and secure places...

While there is no specific intelligence about an attacked planned for the weekend, experts from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre have been drafted to help minimise the risk of sabotage. Broadcasters' main worry suffering an attack from pro-Russian hackers looking to disrupt the public vote on Saturday. Fortunately, there are "so many contingency plans" in place in the event of incident. Kate Phillips, the BBC's director of unscripted programmes said: “I don’t want to say...

Romance Fraud has increased throughout the government implemented coronavirus lockdown. Compared to 2019, the year 2020 saw a 20% increase in money being transferred as a result of romance scams. Scammers were targeting people on dating apps, pretending to want a relationship before asking for money. The UK's Action Fraud reported that £68 million was lost throughout the entire year. People have been warned to be vigilant, especially now with Valentine's Day just around the...

A fine of over $400,000 has been handed to the developer of several stalkerware apps, alongside an order to modify the software. A consortium of 16 companies owned by Patrick Hinchy produced apps that snooped users, including DDI Utilities, PhoneSpector, TurboSpy, Surepoint, Easy Spy, and Auto Forward. These apps enabled customers to secretly monitor a range of activities on other devices, including text messages, photos, location, WhatsApp and Skype. Browsing history and other social media...

It has been reported that a credential phishing attack targeted 22,000 students at national educational institutions through a campaign where hackers impersonated Instagram. The advisory was highlighted by security experts at Armorblox in an advisory released on the 17th November 2022. The advisory says: "The subject of this email encouraged victims to open the message... The goal of this subject was to induce a sense of urgency in the victims, making it seem an action...

Earlier today it was reported that former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss’s personal phone was hacked earlier this year by suspected foreign agents, putting national security at risk, according to a new report on Sunday. Further to this, unnamed “security sources” told the Mail on Sunday that the incident was discovered during the Conservative Party leadership contest over the summer, causing Truss sleepless nights as she worried it may impact her chances of winning. In addition,...

Earlier today, the the world’s second largest copper producer has been hit by a cyber-attack which forced IT systems offline. Further to this, Hamburg-headquartered Aurubis revealed in a brief statement that the attack struck on Friday evening. “This was apparently part of a larger attack on the metals and mining industry,” it said. “As a result, numerous systems at Aurubis sites had to be shut down and disconnected from the internet as a preventive measure.” At...

As reported by Medibank, an Australian health insurance giant, every one of its customers had their personal information accessed by ransomware actors—which happened a few days after Medibank had downplayed the aftermath of a recent breach.  In a newly issued statement, Medibank admitted that the threat actors might have compromised all of its customers’ personal data, including that of international students and policyholders with Medibank business ahm. In other words, it’s possible that an estimated...

Reports have said that the Hive ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) group has claimed responsibility for the cyber-attack against Tata Power disclosed by the company on October 14 and believed to have occurred on October 3. “The company has taken steps to retrieve and restore the systems. All critical operational systems are functioning,” the Mumbai-based company said at the time. Security researcher Rakesh Krishnan, has claimed that the leak has reportedly affected several of Tata’s 12 million customers and includes personally identifiable...

Earlier today, global ticketing giant See Tickets has begun notifying customers of a significant breach of their personal and financial information, which lasted for over two-and-a-half years. It appears that the company, owned by French media firm Vivendi, revealed the news in breach notification letters published by various US states. An official statement from either business has so far not been forthcoming. Although, according to the published data breach notices, See Tickets was alerted to “potential...