The Swiss government has ended its contract with American analytics company Palantir, after federal agencies in the country rejected Palantir at least nine times over seven years... 1/4

In the latest "Smashing Security" podcast, special guest @iainthomson.bsky.social and I dig into MoltBook - the AI social platform that briefly convinced the internet the bots were forming a religion. open.spotify.com/episode/6gOc... 1/2

Cybercriminals should not assume that they have evaded justice just because years have passed since their offence. Polish police have charged a hacker seven YEARS after the Morele data breach. Read more: www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

Apparently Epstein, after his 2008 conviction, invested in search engine manipulation, content placement, and even discussed hacking sites to suppress negative press and spread news of his philanthropy instead. www.forbes.com/sites/the-wi...

When a Romanian businesswoman fell for a fake Dubai Crown Prince in a $2.5 million romance scam, investigators tracked the fraudster to his Nigerian mansion - only to discover he was masquerading as a campaigning philanthropist. Read more: www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

OMFGs the second degree burn from The Guardian

Fab to have Tricia Howard join me on the latest "Smashing Security" podcast, where we discussed how supposedly-redacted Epstein files can still reveal exactly who they’re talking about - especially when AI, LinkedIn, and a few biographical breadcrumbs do the heavy lifting.

Maybe training police on cryptocurrency while running a running a vast Tor-hidden drug bazaar wasn't such a good idea... Read more about the man who made an elementary mistake that ensured his arrest. www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

The nightmare scenario for any cybersecurity company - when its solution becomes the actual attack vector. 😱 If you needed one, here's a timely reminder that supply-chain attacks remain one of the most insidious threats in cybersecurity... 1/4

Maybe it's not a case of AI getting smarter and smarter, maybe it's us humans getting dumber and dumber... Thanks to Hacker Valley Media for having me on their show. You can watch the full thing here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9brv...

Good reporting about an important story. Was great to have @joetidy.bsky.social on this week's @smashingsecurity.com podcast, sharing his thoughts on this case.

Love this week’s episode of @smashingsecurity.com! @joetidy.bsky.social’s book is amazing, definitely pick it up now that it’s available in the US. And, @grahamcluley.com, you know I love you, but if you need an arch-nemesis I’m your huckleberry!

One of the newly-released files reveals that an informant claims that Jeffery Epstein had a hacker working for him who found zero-day exploits in iOS, BlackBerry etc. The name of the hacker alleged to have worked for Epstein is redacted in the document, but... 1/3

You can test new tech ideas using the Seinfeld Test Would the product eliminate the plot of an episode? (Google maps, cell phones, paypal, battery packs) Good tech. Would the product inspire new Seinfeld plots? (NFTs, AI chatbots, crypto currency, blindboxes, metaverse land sales) Bad tech.

The FBI has seized control of RAMP, a cybercrime online forum that bragged to be the only place that allowed ransomware, with over 14,000 active users Now some of those users' details are ln the hands of the police... Read more on the Bitdefender blog: www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

Imagine the scene. It's a cold Monday morning in Moscow. You press the button to unlock your car, and ... nothing happens. You try again. Still nothing. The alarm starts blaring. You can't turn it off. That's what just happened to cars across Russia. www.fortra.com/blog/hacking...

The BBC's Joe Tidy joins me on the latest "Smashing Security" podcast where we discuss why a UK-based YouTuber had his smartphone infected with the Pegasus spyware, and just how hard it is to find a reliable assassin on the dark web. open.spotify.com/episode/7fOZ...

If you've installed a browser extension to enhance your ChatGPT experience, you might want to think again. Researchers have found at least 16 malicious Chrome extensions posing as ChatGPT productivity tools that steal your account credentials and hijack sessions www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

🇺🇸🚫 So many people are going to stop visiting the United States, if this comes to pass... I'm imagining I'm going to be speaking virtually rather than in real-life a lot more. I do hope conference organisers move their events to Canada🇨🇦 or Europe🇪🇺. www.privacyinternational.org/news-analysi...

The end of an era for me, as my last ever episode of "The AI Fix" podcast is published. It's been enormous fun. Thanks to everyone who tuned in, and to Mark who has been a great cohost. grahamcluley.com/the-ai-fix-85/ Don't worry, the show isn't dead. @ai-fix-mark.bsky.social will be continuing!

Checking out Upscrolled… share.upscrolled.com/en/post/7afa...

Regardless of which political party they leave, or which they're jumping ship to, by-elections should automatically be called when MPs defect. Sign the petition. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

I can't stand Suella Braverman or Reform, but for the Tories to suggest she has mental health challenges feels particularly desperate.

Cybersecurity in freefall! More data stolen from European Space Agency by hackers. The high profile of organisations that work in outer space means that they are common targets for both bug hunters and malicious hackers alike. Read more on the Bitdefender blog: www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

Ray [REDACTED] is my guest on ep 451 of the "Smashing Security" podcast, where we discuss a hack of the US Supreme Court that took an unusual twist PLUS a CREEPY flaw that lets attackers hijack wireless headphones, listen to calls, inject audio, and even turn your earbuds into a stalking device

At Davos a new social media platform was revealed - "W" (as in the one before "X") says it aims to counter misinformation, properly verified users, will be hosted on European 🇪🇺 servers, and have zero bots. What do you think? Are they joining the game too late? Would you sign-up?

Shields up! The UK's NCSC has warned that Russia-linked hacktivist gangs are targeting organisations and UK critical infrastructure with DDoS attacks. The attacks are believed to not be financially motivated - but are instead driven by ideology "over perceived Western support for Ukraine."

"Will this be the year that it finally happens?" asks @theromanoreport.bsky.social

Another great episode of @smashingsecurity.com I love it when angry @grahamcluley.com makes an appearance, and he is (rightfully) angry about xAI’s lack of response (and lack of guardrails) to people creating non-consensual sexualized images of women and children using grok.

Ok, so tens of thousands of users can't get on Twitter... but just think of how many millions of bots are suffering right now!! www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cp... #twitter #x

We can no longer say that artificial intelligence is a "future risk", lurking on a speculative threat horizon. The truth is that it is a fast-growing cybersecurity risk that firms are facing right now. That's not just my opinion, it's also the World Economic Forum's www.fortra.com/blog/wef-ai-...

Monica Verma joins me on episode 450 of the "Smashing Security" podcast, where we explore the spiral of confusion caused by claims 17.5 million Instagram accounts were up for sale, and reports of unrequested password reset emails. open.spotify.com/episode/6k95...

Ah yes, the reverse Kaspersky...

The home of Hannah Natanson, a Washington Post reporter, was searched by the FBI. Her devices were seized. I spoke to @columjournreview.bsky.social about the potential damage and what news organizations need to know. www.cjr.org/news/hannah-...

Have you ever stolen data, traded a hacking tool, or just lurked on a dark web forum believing that you are anonymous? If so, I might have some unsettling news for you - because the BreachForums database has been breached. Read more: www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

pcTattletale was one of those spyware outfits that insisted it sold perfectly legitimate "employee" and "child monitoring" software - while loudly marketing how it could be used to spy on partners without their knowledge. What could possibly go wrong?

Huge thanks to @hacks4pancakes.com for joining us on our latest podcast, where we discuss a romance scammer's handbook for stealing dollars (and hearts), and chat about the cybersecurity career crisis. Plus don't miss our featured interview with ThreatLocker founder Danny Jenkins!

"Although not the app I just posted this on, obviously..."

I don't understand how the UK govt (and indeed many firms) can continue to maintain a presence on Musk's piss-palace. Their continued association with Twitter is an endorsement of a site that behaves in a disgusting, degrading way, and has been churning out sexualised images of real women and girls

Remember when Coinbase said its support staff had been bribed to hand over customer records, leading to hackers demanding a $20 million ransom or 70,000 customers' data would be leaked? A Coinbase customer support agent has been arrested in India. www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

In entirely predictable news, it has been found that portions of the newly-released Jeffrey Epstein files - intended to be redacted - can be effectively *UN-redacted* by using simple techniques... including highlight text and pasting it into a word processor!! 🤦‍♂️ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Is Santa Claus real? 🎅 This Christmas special of "The AI Fix podcast" sets out to answer that question in the most sensible way possible: by consulting chatbots, Google's festive killjoys, and the laws of relativistic physics. grahamcluley.com/the-ai-fix-8...

📚Think your Kindle is harmless? Think again! @dannypalmer.bsky.social and I unpack how a boobytrapped audiobook could exploit the Amazon eBook reader - potentially letting an attacker break into your account - in the latest episode of the "Smashing Security" podcast grahamcluley.com/smashing-sec...

Ahoy! 👨‍✈️ A cruise line firm has banned the use of smart glasses (like Meta Ray-Bans and Google Glass) onboard in public areas. And apparently some people aren't happy about it! www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

A 49-year-old man has been jailed for 5½ years after admitting to creating detailed video tutorials that showed members of a criminal gang how to infect Android phones with spyware and drain bank accounts. Read more in my article on the Bitdefender blog: www.bitdefender.com/en-us/blog/h...

I keep having to justify why I want to go to conferences outside the USA and the simple answer is "Many of the people it would be helpful to talk to are no longer able to enter the USA"

A security researcher has found a vulnerability on a photo booth company’s website. A tiny flaw... as in anyone on the internet could browse and download customers of Hama Film’s booths’ photos and videos by exploiting the simple flaw. 🤦‍♂️

Agentic AI browsers introduce serious new security risks and should be blocked "for the foreseeable future." That's the opinion of a new report from analyst firm Gartner. What do you think? Would you trust an AI browser inside your company? www.fortra.com/blog/gartner...

Great to have @jennyradcliffe.bsky.social on the latest episode of the "Smashing Security" podcast! 📍 How Grok can doxx members of the public, and aid stalkers 👑 What the Louvre heist teaches us about social engineering 🧑‍💻 Why misconfigurations and over-privileged accounts can make M365 a nightmare

A new report from the United States's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has shone a revealing light on the state of the criminal industry of ransomware. The report, which examines ransomware incidents from 2022 to 2024, reveals that attackers extorted more than $2.1 billion.