Twitter suspended 800 million accounts last year – so why does manipulation remain so rampant?

Elon Musk’s social media site says it suspended 800 million accounts in a year for spam and manipulation – but with state-backed campaigns still flooding the platform, the real question is how many fake accounts remain.

Read more in my article on the … Continue reading Twitter suspended 800 million accounts last year – so why does manipulation remain so rampant?

How hackers bypassed MFA with a $120 phishing kit – until a global takedown shut it down

In a co-ordinated public-private operation between law enforcement agencies and cybersecurity industry partners, Tycoon 2FA – one of the world’s most prolific phishing-as-a-service platforms – has been dismantled.

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Smashing Security podcast #457: How a cybersecurity boss framed his own employee

When a top cybersecurity firm discovered it had a leak, you would expect the FBI to be called. Instead, the person put in charge of the investigation was the actual leaker… who promptly sent an innocent colleague into a career-ending ambush.

In this… Continue reading Smashing Security podcast #457: How a cybersecurity boss framed his own employee

They seized $4.8m in crypto… then gave the master key to the internet

South Korea’s National Tax Service (NTS) has found itself in the middle of a deeply embarrassing – and costly – blunder after accidentally handing thieves the master key to a seized cryptocurrency wallet.

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Your staff are your biggest security risk: AI is making it worse

A new report claims that the cost of insider security incidents has surged 20% in two years, reaching an average of US $19.5 million per organization annually, with no sign that the alarming figure is flattening.

Read more in my article on the Fortra … Continue reading Your staff are your biggest security risk: AI is making it worse

Notorious ransomware gang allegedly blackmailed by fake FSB officer

There is a certain poetic justice in a cybersecurity-related story that has emerged from Moscow this week: A man has been accused of trying to extort money… from a notorious Russian ransomware gang.

Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. Continue reading Notorious ransomware gang allegedly blackmailed by fake FSB officer

Smashing Security podcast #456: How to lose friends and DDoS people

When the mysterious operator of an internet archiving-service decided to silence a curious Finnish blogger, they didn’t just send a stroppy email – they allegedly weaponised their own CAPTCHA page to launch a DDoS attack, threatened to invent an entire… Continue reading Smashing Security podcast #456: How to lose friends and DDoS people

$10,000 bounty offered if you can hack Ring cameras to stop them sharing your data with Amazon

Amid a privacy backlash, a US $10,000 reward has been offered for anyone who can find a way to run Ring doorbell cameras locally, cutting off the flow of video data to Amazon’s servers.

Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. Continue reading $10,000 bounty offered if you can hack Ring cameras to stop them sharing your data with Amazon

Spanish police say they have arrested hacker who booked luxury hotel rooms for just one cent

Spain’s police force has announced that it has arrested a 20-year-old man who they claim managed to book luxury hotel rooms worth up to €1,000 a night for just one euro cent.

Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. Continue reading Spanish police say they have arrested hacker who booked luxury hotel rooms for just one cent

Smashing Security podcast #455: Face off: Meta’s Glasses and America’s internet kill switch

Could America turn off Europe’s internet?

That’s one of the questions that Graham and special guest James Ball will be exploring as they discuss tech sovereignty. Could Gmail, cloud services, and critical infrastructure really become geopolitical lev… Continue reading Smashing Security podcast #455: Face off: Meta’s Glasses and America’s internet kill switch