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Back at the beginning of the month, computers containing highly sensitive information about government officials and national security were compromised due to a breach at the National Informatics Centre, according to Delhi Police. The computers contained data regarding Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) organises and supports government communications, technologies and security. According to a source from the Delhi Police, the attack came through in an email. When the employee who...

Business owners in the UK have been targetted by a phishing scam which captured sensitive information, such as passwords and payment details. The scam impersonated Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), as reported by accountancy firm Lanop Outsourcing. Business owners were targetted through emails supposedly from HMRC which claimed that the recipient's VAT deferral application had been rejected. This was in relation to the UK government's initiative which allowed struggling business to defect VAT payments...

An attack on the Newhall District in Valencia is one of the many ransomware attacks targeting the education sector in America. As children head back to school and learning moves online it seems that schools are becoming a major target for ransomware attacks. This most recent attack of Californian schools targetted 10 different elementary schools, affecting around 6,000 students, according to Valencia's city officials. The attack took place on Sunday night and ran into Monday...

After an increase of cyber attacks on the education sector, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued a new warning for schools, colleges and universities. Over the last few months, cybercriminals have attacked schools and universities with ransomware as they prepare to bring students back safely after the long pause due to the pandemic. The latest victim, Newcastle University was hit with a ransomware attack just last week. The NCSC is offering new guidance...

A hacker has managed to gain access to former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott's passport and phone number. The hacker, Alex Hope was able to find this information through a picture of Mr Abbotts's boarding pass he posted on Instagram back in March 2020. Using the reference number on the boarding pass, Hope was able to log into Mr Abbott's booking page. Then through using the page's HTML code, Hope could identify Abbott's personal information...

Google has 'formally' banned any stalkerware apps from their Play Store, but large loopholes have been left which allow stalkerware to be uploaded as child-tracking apps onto the Play Store. Stalkerware apps track a user's movement, listen to calls, view messages and record other app's activity on the user's device. They are typically advertised as a way to track children to keep them safe online or to track cheating partners. They are installed and run...

The social networking site was hacked by a researcher who had identified a flaw on MobileIron’s Mobile Device Management (MDM) used by an employee. In this case, the vulnerability was not entirely Facebook's fault as the weakness in a third-party service created a ripple effect which negatively impacted users security.  However, this highlights how important it is for companies to monitor not only their own security but also the security of partnered vendors. The researcher...

Announced last week, Portland City Council has banned both personal and public use of facial recognition software. This ban will come into effect at the start of 2021 and the council will fine anyone caught using such technologies $1,000 a day of use. Portland is the fourth city to pass such laws alongside San Fransisco, Oakland and Boston. However, Portland's law is the first to include corporations as well. The council voted unanimously for the...

French law enforcement have deployed malware to Encrochat devices in the effort to infiltrate criminal networks. Encrochat is largely used on Andriod phones using an encrypted network for communication, hence its popularity within organised crime including drug trafficking. The malware deployed has the ability to harvest all the data sorted on the phone from messages and geolocations to passwords. This hacking operation has been said to be one of the biggest in law enforcement to...

Researchers discovered four flaws in TikTok's Android app which made users vulnerable to benign third-party Android apps. These flaws allowed attackers to possibly compromise a target's TikTok account, along with access to their private messages and videos on the app. These flaws also allowed the attackers to override the app's permission settings, allowing them to access all pictures, videos, contacts, web browser downloads and recording functions of the user's device. The flaws were discovered by...