The Wild Hunt for the WannaCry Hackers

This report was first published as a three-part podcast series. On 12 May 2017, employees in Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica came under attack. Their computer monitors displayed a disturbing message: their files had been scrambled and to get them back they would have to pay the hackers who’d infected them. Telefonica wasn’t alone. The virus…

Fake login page for Lancaster University - one of the institutions targeted

Iranian Hackers Hit U.K. Cybersecurity Universities

Iranian cybercriminals tried to hack into U.K. universities offering government-certified cybersecurity courses, successfully accessing at least one university’s accounts during a campaign lasting months. The hacking group has targeted at least 18 British universities, according to researchers. The list includes top-flight institutions. But it also includes less well-known destinations which are notable for being among…

U.K. Government Just Linked Russia To A Whole Bunch Of Previous Hacks

The U.K. government has not only accused Russia of four cyberattacks, it’s now linking the country’s alleged hacking team to raids on power stations, TV companies and more. The National Cyber Security Centre has today publicly accused the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU, of hacking the Democratic National Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency and…

How The Dridex Gang Makes Millions From Bespoke Ransomware

One of the world’s most infamous cyber crime gangs has created custom-made ransomware for victims, blackmailing them for millions of pounds. The Dridex group has spent years targeting financial institutions, among others, using viruses to spy on victims and then authorise fraudulent transfers from their corporate accounts. But as banks have got better at spotting…

Third Party Apps: The Next Big Data Sharing Scandal?

As more details emerge about a hack on Ticketmaster’s site, the next data-sharing scandal could be about to break. In June Ticketmaster confirmed that hackers may have pilfered personal and payment information from customers using its UK site. Tech security firm RiskIQ has reported that, in order to skim credit card details, the thieves tweaked…

Facial Recognition and “ethnicity”

[This post was updated on 22nd May 2018 to include NtechLab’s response] Late on Friday I tweeted the following screenshot: When I came back after the weekend it had been retweeted 11,000 times, which is a new experience for me. The company concerned is the Russian firm Ntech. They’re very good at facial rec, by…