A financially motivated data theft and extortion group is attempting to inject itself into the Iran war, unleashing a worm that spreads through poorly secured cloud services and wipes data on infected systems that use Iran's time zone or have Farsi set as the default language.
Press release 26/07
Pedestrians crossing a street in Denver, Colorado, got rather more than they bargained for last weekend, when the audio signals at two crosswalks began broadcasting a political message alongside their usual walking instructions. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.
A ransomware gang that claims to be a group of "investigative journalists"? Meet LeakNet - the group using fake CAPTCHA pages to trick employees into hacking themselves. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog.
Situation as at 31 December 2025
(first publication: 30 October 2024)
Situation as at 31 December 2025
Situation as at 31 December 2025
The U.S. Justice Department joined authorities in Canada and Germany in dismantling the online infrastructure behind four highly disruptive botnets that compromised more than three million hacked Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as routers and web cameras. The feds say the four botnets -- named Aisuru, Kimwolf, JackSkid and Mossad -- are responsible for a series of recent record-smashing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks capable of knocking nearly any target offline.
In episode 459 of Smashing Security, we dive into a chillingly clever account takeover attempt targeting WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg - involving MFA fatigue, real Apple alerts, a convincing support call, and a phishing page that oh-so-nearly worked. If a famous techie could have this happen to you, can you be sure you're immune? Plus: would you donate your lifetime medical history to science if you were promised anonymity? We unpack serious concerns around UK Biobank, where “de-identified” data may not be as anonymous as you think — and how surprisingly little information it takes to reveal everything. And! Human-powered “AI”, and a punishment worse than prison: eight hours on the RSA expo floor... All this, and much more, in episode 459 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity veteran Graham Cluley, and special guest Paul Ducklin.
Out-of-court consumer complaint resolution
Latest update on the AML/CFT standardised data collection
Drivers in the Russian city of Perm have been enjoying an unexpected bonus this week: free parking. Not because the city council suddenly decided to embrace generosity - but rather because hackers succeeded in knocking the city's payment system offline. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.
If you're in the middle of applying for a planning or zoning permit, there is some unwelcome news: cyber-criminals have found a way to exploit the bureaucratic tedium of the process against you. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog.
Signal, the encrypted messaging app trusted by security-savvy users around the world, has confirmed that hackers have managed to takeover accounts - with government officials and journalists among those being targeted. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.
A Wikipedia security engineer accidentally wakes a dormant JavaScript worm that hadn't stirred since 2024 - and within minutes, giant woodpecker images are plastered across the internet's favourite encyclopaedia. Meanwhile, a crypto contractor hired to help the US Marshals manage seized digital assets allegedly decides to help himself to $46 million of it - and then brags about it on a recorded Telegram call. Plus: Graham champions Asterix, Trisha discovers the fantasy novels of Robin Hobb, and someone called "Lick" ends up in the nick. All this, and much more, in episode 458 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity veteran Graham Cluley, and special guest Tricia Howard.