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☆ UK's National Cyber Security Centre reviewing TikTok risks, minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre is reviewing whether Chinese-owned video app TikTok should be banned from government phones, security minister Tom Tugendhat said on Tuesday. TikTok has come under increasing focus over fears that user data could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests. "That's why I've asked the National Cyber Security Centre to look into this. Last week, the White House backed legislation to give the administration new powers to ban TikTok and other foreign-based technologies if they pose national security threats. And we will always do that and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure that happens," he added.

☆ British lawmaker's email account hacked by Russian group
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - A British lawmaker said his private email was hacked by a group, thought to be Russian, and he wanted to speak out publicly to warn others about the attackers' tactics. Later he discovered the member of staff had not sent the email. The NCSC said that Russia-based SEABORGIUM and Iran-based group TA453 were active in 2022 and it deemed it necessary to issue an advisory last month urging individuals in certain sectors to be vigilant. On Wednesday, the NCSC, which is part of GCHQ, Britain's intelligence, security and cyber agency, said it was providing an individual with support. "The NCSC regularly provides security briefings and guidance to parliamentarians to help them defend against the latest cyber threats," it said in an email.

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A global ransomware outbreak has scrambled servers belonging to Florida's Supreme Court and several universities in the United States and Central Europe, according to a Reuters analysis of ransom notes posted online to stricken servers. Florida Supreme Court spokesman Paul Flemming told Reuters that the affected infrastructure had been used to administer other elements of the Florida state court system, and that it was segregated from the Supreme Court's main network. "Florida Supreme Court's network and data are secure," he said, adding that the rest of the state court system's integrity also was not affected. Because internet-facing servers were affected, researchers and tracking services like Ransomwhere or Onyphe could easily follow the criminals' trail. Digital safety officials in Italy said on Monday that there was no evidence pointing to "aggression by a state or hostile state-like entity."

LONDON/WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A global ransomware outbreak has scrambled servers belonging to Florida's Supreme Court and several universities in the U.S. and Central Europe, according to a Reuters analysis of ransom notes posted online to stricken servers. The Florida Supreme Court didn't respond to messages. Reuters contacted the hackers via an account advertised on their ransom notes but only received a payment demand in return. Because internet-facing servers were affected, researchers and tracking services like Ransomwhere or Onyphe could easily follow the criminals' trail. Reporting by James Pearson in London and Raphael Satter in Washington; Editing by Anna DriverOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hackers who breached ION say ransom paid; company declines comment
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Raphael Satter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) - The hackers who claimed responsibility for the disruptive breach at financial data firm ION say a ransom has been paid, although they declined to say how much it was or offer any evidence that the money had been handed over. Britain's National Cyber Security Agency (NCSC), part of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, told Reuters it had no comment. ABN told clients on Wednesday that due to "technical disruption" from ION, some applications were unavailable and were expected to remain so for a "number of days." ION was removed from Lockbit's extortion website, where victim companies are named and shamed in a bid to force a payout. As of late Friday, Lockbit's extortion website alone counted 54 victims who were being shaken down, including a television station in California, a school in Brooklyn and a city in Michigan.

ION Group, the financial data firm's parent company, said in a statement on its website that the attack began on Tuesday. "The incident is contained to a specific environment, all the affected servers are disconnected, and remediation of services is ongoing," ION Group said, declining requests for further comment. ABN told clients on Wednesday that due to "technical disruption" from ION, some applications were unavailable and were expected to remain so for a "number of days". It added that its staff had to process trades directly with the exchange. Intesa Sanpaolo told clients that its brokerage and clearing operations on exchange-traded derivatives had been "severely hampered" by IT problems at ION and that it was not able to handle orders.

☆ Britain sounds alarm on Russia-based hacking group
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( James Pearson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Russia-based hacking group named Cold River is behind an expansive and ongoing information-gathering campaign that has struck various targets in government, politics, academia, defence, journalism, and activism, Britain said on Thursday. "There is often some correspondence between attacker and target, sometimes over an extended period, as the attacker builds rapport," the advisory said. A second, Iran-based, group known as Charming Kitten has deployed the same "spear-phishing" techniques to gather information, according to the NCSC. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York said the Iranian government had no knowledge of the group. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Cold River has escalated its hacking campaign against Kyiv's allies, cybersecurity researchers and western government officials told Reuters.

☆ Ransomware group with links in Russia behind UK Royal Mail incident -Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - A cyber incident that led to severe disruption to Royal Mail's international export services was caused by Lockbit, a ransomware group which some cybersecurity experts say has members in Russia, Britain's Telegraph newspaper reported. To prevent a build-up of export items in its network, the British postal company, which is part of part of International Distributions Services (IDSI.L), has advised customers not to post international export items until further notice. Royal Mail, which declined to comment on the Telegraph report, earlier said it had engaged external experts and notified security authorities as it investigates the incident. Lockbit, which some cybersecurity experts say has members in Russia, also claimed to have attacked a French cosmetics firm called Nuxe, Le Parisien newspaper reported on Thursday. Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar, additional reporting by Tassilo Hummel in Paris; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Alexander SmithOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Royal Mail export services severely disrupted after 'cyber incident'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Britain's Royal Mail said on Wednesday it was facing severe disruption to its international export services following what it described as "a cyber incident". "We are temporarily unable to despatch items to overseas destinations," Royal Mail, one of the world's largest post and parcel firms, said in a service update on its website. It advised customers to temporarily hold any export mail items while it works to resolve the issue. The "cyber incident" is the latest in a growing list of high-profile cybersecurity events in Britain. Royal Mail said its import services remained operational, albeit with minor delays.

☆ UK lawmakers warned of cyber-attacks and possible harassment from Iranian operatives
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Nina Dos Santos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —British lawmakers have been warned to be on alert for cyber-attacks and possible harassment from Iranian operatives, according to correspondence sent to lawmakers in both the upper and lower chambers last month. The correspondence is part of a growing chorus of warnings about the potential actions of Iranian operatives in Britain as tensions rise between the two countries. Earlier in the month, UK lawmakers received guidance on how to prevent digital snooping. Iran has sanctioned several UK lawmakers, including the country’s security minister. Iranian security forces have also allegedly threatened journalists working in Britain.

☆ Cyber security education needs to be increased to ward off threats, Principal Deputy National Cyber Director says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailCyber security education needs to be increased to ward off threats, Principal Deputy National Cyber Director saysWith the potential for national cyber security threats rising, Principal Deputy National Cyber Director Kemba Walden said there needs to be a focus not just on the technology and apps, but on educating people on how to counter those efforts.

☆ Hackers release Thales data on dark web, franceinfo says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 11 (Reuters) - Data relating to French defence and technology group Thales (TCFP.PA) have been published on the dark web by hacker group LockBit 3.0, franceinfo news website reported on Friday. The company this week said the Russian-speaking extortion and ransomware group had claimed to have stolen some of its data, with plans to publish it on Nov. 7. Thales, which on Tuesday said it had opened an internal investigation and informed the ANSSI national cyber security agency, did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comments. The French company provides businesses, organisations and governments with advanced technologies in the defence, aeronautics, space, transport and digital security sectors. Reporting by Juliette Portala Editing by David GoodmanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ France's Thales says hackers claim to have stolen data
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

PARIS, Nov 1 (Reuters) - French defence and technology group Thales (TCFP.PA) said on Tuesday the hacker group LockBit 3.0 claimed to have stolen some of its data and was threatening to publish it. Thales said the extortion and ransomware group had announced plans on the dark web to release the data on Nov. 7. Thales has opened an internal investigation and has informed the ANSSI national cyber security agency, but so far has not filed a complaint with the police, a company official said. The hackers have not provided proof they have obtained any Thales data, the official added. Reporting by GV De Clercq, Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK extends deadline to remove Huawei from 5G networks after one carrier warned of outages
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON — The U.K. government extended a deadline for telecom companies to remove equipment from Chinese tech giant Huawei from their 5G mobile networks. They will still need to ban new Huawei 5G installments and completely eliminate it from their networks by the end of 2027. The order was enshrined in law last year with a piece of legislation called the Telecoms Security Act. Previously, telecoms groups like BT and Vodafone had been told to remove Huawei 5G equipment from their "core" by January 2023. Today I'm using these powers and making it a legal requirement for Huawei to be removed from 5G networks by 2027."

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