Cybersecurity

In our latest episode we discuss how a woman hid under the bed after scammers told her she was under “digital arrest”, how hackers are hijacking YouTube channels through malicious sponsorship deals, and how one phone company is turning the tables on fraudsters through deepfake AI.

All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of the award-winning “Smashing Security” podcast by computer security veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, joined this week by special guest Maria Varmazis.

The financial technology firm Finastra is investigating the alleged large-scale theft of information from its internal file transfer platform, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. Finastra, which provides software and services to 45 of the world’s top 50 banks, notified customers of a potential breach after a cybercriminal began selling more than 400 gigabytes of data purportedly stolen from the company. 

In episode 25 of The AI Fix, humanity creates a satellite called Skynet and then loses it, Graham folds proteins in the comfort of his living room, a Florida man gets a robot dog, Grok rats on its own boss, and a podcast host discovers Brazil nuts.

Graham meets an elderly grandmother who’s taking on the AI scammers, our hosts learn why Google is listening to phone calls, and Mark looks at how OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing to prevent “large scale devastation” by their own AIs.

All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of “The AI Fix” podcast by Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley.

Cybercriminals have adopted a novel trick for infecting devices with malware: sending out physical letters that contain malicious QR codes.

Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

In December 2023, KrebsOnSecurity revealed the real-life identity of Rescator, the nickname used by a Russian cybercriminal who sold more than 100 million payment cards stolen from Target and Home Depot between 2013 and 2014. Moscow resident Mikhail Shefel, who confirmed using the Rescator identity in a recent interview, also admitted reaching out because he is broke and seeking publicity for several new money making schemes.

ShrinkLocker is a family of ransomware that encrypts an organisation’s data and demands a ransom payment in order to restore access to their files. It was first identified by security researchers in May 2024, after attacks were observed in Mexico, Indonesia, and Jordan.

Read more in my article on the Tripwire State of Security blog.

Jack Teixeira, the 22-year-old former Air National Guardsman who leaked hundreds of classified documents online, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Teixeira, who served as an IT specialist at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, was arrested in April 2023 after abusing his privileged position to share highly-sensitive documents with friends he had met via a Discord server focused on video gaming and guns.

Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

Arion Kurtaj, a teenager from the UK, amassed a fortune through audacious cybercrimes. From stealing Grand Theft Auto 6 secrets to erasing Brazil’s COVID vaccination data, his exploits were legendary. But his hacking spree took a bizarre turn when he was placed under police protection… in a Travelodge outside Oxford.

Plus Bengal cat lovers in Australia should be on their guard, as your furry feline friends might be leading you into a dangerous trap., and there’s yet more headaches for troubled 23andMe.

All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of the “Smashing Security” podcast by cybersecurity veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, joined this week by Thom Langford.

Microsoft today released updates to plug at least 89 security holes in its Windows operating systems and other software. November’s patch batch includes fixes for two zero-day vulnerabilities that are already being exploited by attackers, as well as two other flaws that were publicly disclosed prior to today.

In episode 24 of The AI Fix, Mark makes an unforgivable error about the Terminator franchise, our hosts wonder if a “seductive” government chatbot will make it easier to talk about tax, a radio station abandons its three month AI experiment after a week, and OpenAI parks its tanks on Google’s lawn.

Graham gets cosmic and wonders why we aren’t surrounded by advanced alien AIs, our hosts argue about whether the moon landings or the invention of the cheese sandwich were more consequential events in human history, and Mark tells Graham that artificial superintelligence is just around the corner.

All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of “The AI Fix” podcast by Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley.