Security News
Brit cops have cuffed eight men in England and Scotland amid a probe into SIM-swapping attacks on high-profile US targets - including sports stars, musicians, and "Influencers" - that had money and personal data stolen. Last year unauthorised third parties took over the Twitter accounts of 130 celebrities including Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and former US president Barrack Obama.
The UK's ruling Conservative Party has been using personal data in a way that spots an individual's likely county of origin, ethnic origin and religion based on their first and last name. According to an ICO report, the Tory party purchased so-called "Estimated onomastic data" and appended it to the records of 10 million voters.
"There are over 6,000 systems and 80,000 cameras in operation across 183 LAs!" So exclaimed the UK's outgoing Surveillance Camera Commissioner as he detailed just how many council CCTV cameras there are across the nation. In a public plea asking councils to take compliance with surveillance laws seriously, Tony Porter lifted the lid on the scale and depth of CCTV camera deployment across Great Britain.
Christopher Taylor, a 57-year-old labourer, appeared by video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court to contest an extradition attempt by the US government, according to the Court News UK newswire. "I'm having bad thoughts about ending my life. I'm so sorry for what I've done. I would never come back or I would come back in a coffin, I know I would and I know my wife wouldn't be here to stand it, I know she would end her life too, I know she would. I'm so sorry."
A British startup is hoping to strap 5G antennas to liquid-hydrogen-powered high-altitude pseudo-satellites in the hope of replacing mobile base stations on the ground. Bruno Jacobfeuerborn, chief exec of DT's mobile mast subsidiary, said in a canned statement: "We are thrilled to be working with Stratospheric Platforms to realise our vision of connectivity from the sky. SPL's unique technology will enable us to deliver to all our customers, wherever they are located, a true broadband experience. We welcome other investors to join us on this journey to cost-effectively address the challenges of broadband roll-out."
A man who spied on unsuspecting victims through their webcams has escaped a prison sentence after buying off-the-shelf LuminosityLink malware and using CCTV software to spy on them. Crown prosecutor Russell Pyne told the court that Wood had been caught by police as part of a wider multinational investigation into LuminosityLink creator Colton Grubbs, who pleaded guilty to US criminal charges over the malware in 2018.
A man who spied on unsuspecting victims through their webcams has escaped a prison sentence after buying off-the-shelf LuminosityLink malware and using CCTV software to spy on them. Crown prosecutor Russell Pyne told the court that Wood had been caught by police as part of a wider multinational investigation into LuminosityLink creator Colton Grubbs, who pleaded guilty to US criminal charges over the malware in 2018.
The front man for the notorious Dark Overlord hacker gang, which threatened to leak stolen confidential information unless paid off, has been sentenced to five years behind bars in America. Wyatt was among a crew of miscreants who since 2016 operated under the Dark Overlord brand: they would hack people and organizations, and threaten to dump their victims' private documents onto the web unless payment - typically between $75,000 and $350,000 in Bitcoin - was coughed up.
GCHQ offshoot the National Cyber Security Centre has warned Further and Higher Education institutions in the UK to be on their guard against ransomware attacks as the new academic year gets under way. NCSC sent advice to places of learning "Containing a number of steps they can take to keep cyber criminals out of their networks, following a recent spike in ransomware attacks," it said in an advisory note published this morning.
A British citizen has been extradited to the US to face charges he oversaw a series of business email compromise attacks to steal over $2m from unwary accounts departments and individuals. It is said the crew used combinations of stolen personal information, spoofed phone numbers, fake email accounts, and even voice-altering software to contact bank staff and con them into handing over control of accounts by posing as legit customers.