Cyber Bites

In 2017 the NHS fell victim to the WannaCry ransomware attack, causing severe disruption and causing the UK's health service £92m. On top of that, 19,000 patient appointments were cancelled. The attack was launched with malicious code placed in commonly used software. As a result, health systems prompted a renewed focus on cyber defences. Especially, as there have been several attacks on a variety of healthcare organisations since. These include dental practices, private hospitals and...

Many users have already considered fleeing, the messaging app following recent changes in the privacy policy. The app suffered a massive loss of users, after many believed their messages would become less private and switched to Signal or Telegram. To make matters worse, WhatsApp is now being used to spread malware through messages from a user's contacts, prompting them to "download this application and win Mobile Phone." Anyone who falls for the scam is taken...

Palfinger, a global leader in crane and lifting manufacturing, has been targetted by a cyberattack which has disturbed both the companies business operations and IT systems. The crane manufacturer is Austrian based and has more than 11,000 employees in over 35 locations. Being one of the global leaders in crane and lifting solutions, Palfinger has an annual revenue of €1.75 billion, making it a prime target for cyberattacks. At the moment Palfinger has been the...

Google has revealed that a number of cyber-security researchers who are focused on vulnerability research have been targetted by a North Korean government hacking group. Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG), who is a security team specialised in discovering advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, first noticed the attacks. Google's TAG published a report outlining the attack, explaining that North Korean hackers contacted security researchers using fake personas on multiple profiles across a range of various social...

Surveillance Camer The former ADT Security technician pleaded guilty to computer fraud. He admitted to secretly tapping into customers' home security systems over 9,600 times since 2015. A prosecutor explained how Aviles added his personal email address to his customers' ADT Pulse accounts, giving him real-time access to their surveillance systems. “This defendant, entrusted with safeguarding customers’ homes, instead intruded on their most intimate moments,” said U.S. Attorney Prerak Shah. “We are glad to hold...

Russian hackers gained access to the computer systems of federal agencies, by sneaking malicious code into a software update, which was sent out to thousands of government agencies and private companies. This allowed them to exploit weaknesses in the supply chain that they, unsurprisingly, used to launch a massive intelligence gathering operation. U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts have often sounded the alarm about these issues. However, these types of attacks have been able to defy...

Over 2.28 million users registered to the online dating site MeetMindful.com have had their personal details leaked online by a well-known hacker. The hacker has shared the dating sites data for free on a hacking forum. The 1.2 GB file shared on the forum contains users full names, email addresses, physical addresses, marital status, birth dates, IP address, longitude and latitude, bcrypt-hashed account passwords, identifiable body details, Facebook user IDs and Facebook authentication tokens. The...

President Joe Biden has announced that he will be appointing a number of national security experts in order to help the US government recover from one of the most vicious hacks its agencies have ever suffered. While cybersecurity was demoted as a policy focus with the Trump administration, it will be of increased importance for the Biden administration. In December a major hack targeted eight federal agencies, as well as a number of companies, including...

Covid-19 threw our world into turmoil - from battling against a pandemic we never expected, all the way to keeping up with the contentious U.S. election. While we have had our eyes turned, cybercriminals have been watching and waiting to take advantage of poorly secured networks and distracted victims. 2020 has been riddled with cyberattacks, many taking form as a phishing link. That being said, here are last years top 5 phishing scams: The COVID-19...

All passengers are now required to provide verifiable proof of a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival in the UK. This decision came after the UK government suspended all travel corridors on the 18th January 2021 - a decision which has caused upheaval at London Heathrow Airport. As a result, the UK is faced with a new threat, involving fake COVID-19 test certificates and vaccination records. There has been an alarming rise in the amount of...