Winter salad ❤️

Winter salad ❤️

Dear America, I have tried your “chocolate” and it is awful. So bad that I completely fail to grasp why Hallowe’en ever even took off in the US. Do better.

Anthropic’s report is being called the first AI-orchestrated cyber-espionage campaign. For many it’s the moment the alarm bell was finally audible. For me, it’s different: the moment a warning I’ve been giving since 2017 stopped being “nightmare scenario” panel fodder & started leading the news.

Lars Ulrich is definitely one of the drummers of all time.

Xi-phoon or Xi-clone? It’s so difficult to tell them apart. Salt, Volt, Flax, Silk; they all rely on Xiploits. Remember, just because something is not “required” doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.

TAFKNAP - The Andrew Formerly Known As Prince.

Our team at Forescout has discovered multiple new vulnerabilities in TP-Link routers. You may have noticed an uncredited vulnerability disclosure from TP-Link yesterday, that was us. Several additional vulnerabilities are still in the disclosure process and will be detailed in upcoming publications.

Well this seems pretty huge! www.independent.co.uk/news/health/...

AWS

I almost sliced off the tip of my finger with a breadknife the other day. It’s given me a great idea for Hallowe’en canapés though. #finger_food

1981, the year of antmusic, is now as far behind us at 1937 was in 1981… Damn.

PromptLock. Was. An. Academic. PoC. Not. An. AI. Revolution. In. Cybercrime. Stop putting it in your blogs and presentations. Thank you for your attention to this matter ;)

But, will the Conservatives give everyone (except “illegals” fkors) a free puppy “if they win the next election?

If you edit for a security title and you follow me, I’ve a new column looking for a home: Operational Truth. Accuracy is a security property. It’s practical: exposure SLOs, drift measurement and enforced controls. and it has a funky Stranger Things tie-in. Want it as a contributed piece? DM me.

Terminal 2 at Prague airport is currently evacuated

Post you from a different era. Describe that era. Sep 1992, Buckinghamshire. 22 & graduated. In a recession so couldn’t find a job, so I worked in my local boozer and lived up in the roof. Life was very good. After this I went to live in Paris and work in a bookshop.

Hello weekend ❤️

Boarding at Heathrow is still hit and miss after the recent #ransomware attack against Collins Aerospace . Some gates are working. Some gates are still operating manual boarding procedures. Be prepared for delays.

I the ten years I have lived here in Warsaw, I’ve never seen a swan. Suspiciously though, I have seen brogue-shaped footprints by the lake, just deep enough to hold half a pint of real ale, and a vague waft of stale tobacco. The was a clue in the tread although I could quite make it out.

Best, most raw, thing I have written in ages. So much so that it can't go on LinkedIn, they'd crucify me :) Anchored in the Cupboard - Growing up in the 80s.

Wouldn’t it be nice if folks quit telling you how to improve? Nice to find a feed not full of humblebrag platitudes? Respectful if those who’ve “cracked it” didn’t claim their recipe fits every cookie? You do you. Keep going, even when no one’s looking. Practice makes perfect. You’re worth it.

The late-night drive feeling of isolation, discomfort, dislocation. A few lines echo the rhythm of tyres ticking over cats-eyes. UK folks will know that heartbeat under the tyres that tells you you’re already drifting. The uncanny, fog-lit stretch between fatigue and focus. I hope the mood lands

You don’t predict the future. You feel the gradient under your boots 2017 I said AI would enter adversarial ops & we’d need AI to meet it. 2019, impersonation would mature & that defenders must reason like machines. Today, AI accelerates crime before it automates it & change windows are still human

11 years ago today, aKasia Ferguson and I were lucky enough not just to spend an amazing day with simply the best friends and family you can imagine, but we joined a winning team . Team Ferguszki, in Wonderland. Love wins. youtu.be/BRmnrXSkD6A?...

Substack now live. I’m unearthing and analysing a decade or so of my blogs to see what holds water. Sharp security, occasional detours (probably music, opinion, or language-related). If the jumble of my brain is your thing, subscribe! ferguson.ink

11 years ago I warned connectivity would outrun security. It has. Interfaces are the battleground; diversity buys time, not safety. APIs run the business and unmanaged, unagentable devices crowd IT, OT and IoT. What works: live inventory, context-led risk, real segmentation.

I learned this the hard way, one glance at my phone on a mountain road and I nearly wiped out a group of cyclists. A second of divided attention turns a safe system into a weapon. Security fails the same way. Speed limits are compliance; safe driving is judgement. #cybersecurity #OTsecurity #risk

I wrote about this topic recently too. We should get together soon and discuss best ways forward www.helpnetsecurity.com/2025/07/29/r...

The urge to outlaw ransom payments is understandable. It feels morally clear and politically decisive. But clarity != effectiveness. I explore why banning payments may do more harm than good. Not a defence of payment but sometimes the option must remain. Policy rarely moves faster than crime WDYT?

The first half of 2025 saw a 36% increase in ransomware, a 46% rise in zero-day exploitation, and the return of Iranian faketivism in OT environments. Our latest threat report looks behind the headlines at what attackers are targeting, how tactics are shifting, & what defenders need to be watching.

What perfect album came out the year you turned 16? 1986, in rock, not a lot that was unarguably “perfect”, so this one stands out.

Update: Microsoft has released security updates that fully protect customers using all supported versions of SharePoint affected by CVE-2025-53770 and CVE-2025-53771. Customers should apply these updates immediately. Full guidance and detection details: msft.it/6010sDzSE.

Me in 1985 #LiveAid40

Right then, who’s going to nominate me for an MBE? I see it’s all the rage in cyber these days.

What is a “Poser”? Someone who chooses the mask over the mirror. So full of expectation, they never considered the graft those dreams demand. When, eventually, they finally realise that it’s all now out of reach forever, they choose the lie instead. First to themselves. Then to everyone else.

Happy Sunday Funday folks!

Absolutely worth sharing. I saved my young son from drowning, I’ll never forget it. Ever. DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. Pass it on.

My wife just now “Hey Siri, can sharks smell farts?”

Quick! Someone tell NASA, I’ll do it for a bag of chips and a cuppa.

Yesterday I was swapping phone numbers with Rory Stewart, today I was helping Courtney Love pick out music magazines for her flight. Funny old thing, life.

First time in my life today, someone told me “Your eyebrows look very on point today” #InfosecMaleGrooming #SmallVictories #AgingSucks

Rest in Peace Alan Yentob, one of the most influential BBC controllers and a cultural force. Will never forget sitting, smoking a joint, with Joe Strummer when Alan wandered over for a chat. Some days are just too bizarre to exist!

Started pulling breach stats late last year. Thought 1.4B exposed identities in 2024 was bad enough. By the end, it was 2.45B. And that’s a lowball! The blog isn’t just about numbers, it’s about why healthcare keeps getting hammered, and what needs to change. #cybersecurity #healthcare #databreach

SAP Vulnerability Exploited by Chinese Threat Actor Our latest research at Forescout’s Vedere Labs reveals a critical SAP vulnerability actively exploited in the wild by a Chinese threat actor. We provide analysis and recommendations to mitigate the risk.

Exclusive: Co-op hackers stole 'significant' amount of data. I spoke to the DragonForce hackers holding Co-op to ransom. They have a huge amount of customer and employee data and are trying to extort Co-op. Co-op now admits the hack is far worse than previously thought www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Floor Is Lava - a game for all the family that dates all the way back to ancient Rome.

Today we lost Mike Peters. An incredible voice and wonderful lyricist. He, and his band, never got the recognition they deserved. 30 years fighting cancer himself and campaigning for others. Rest well. Mike.

Complacency is the enemy of security — and power grids. It wasn’t a cyberattack It was the wrong kind of inertia The grid was built for big turbines that stabilized it. Renewables use inverters — most just follow the grid, not resisting fluctuations. We changed the technology, but not the system.

It’s Śmingus-Dyngus today in Poland, and the Fire Service didn’t disappoint!