APWG's Q4 2024 Phishing Activity Trends Report, published March 19th, revealed that more than eight in ten Business Email Compromise (BEC) attacks last quarter were sent by attackers favoring Google's free webmail service. By comparison, only 10% used Microsoft's free email web app, Outlook.com.The report, published quarterly, is a product of the phishing incidents reported to the APWG annually by...

According to the NIS Directive, Member States should adopt a common set of baseline security requirements to ensure a minimum level of harmonized security measures across the EU and enhance the overall level of security of operators providing essential services (OES) and digital service providers (DSP). The NIS Directive sets three primary objectives:to improve the national information security...

DDoS attacks have long been dismissed as blunt instruments, favored by script kiddies and hacktivists for their ability to overwhelm and disrupt. But in today's fragmented, hybrid-cloud environments, they've evolved into something far more cunning: a smokescreen. What looks like digital vandalism may actually be a coordinated diversion, engineered to distract defenders from deeper breaches in...

Oh dear, what a shame, never mind. Yes, it's hard to feel too much sympathy when a group of cybercriminals who have themselves extorted millions of dollars from innocent victims have found themselves dealing with their own cybersecurity problem. And that's just what has happened to the notorious LockBit ransomware gang, which has been given a taste of its own medicine. The infamous ransomware-as-a...

Tripwire's April 2025 Patch Priority Index (PPI) brings together important vulnerabilities for Microsoft and Google.Up first on the list are patches for Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) and Google Chromium that resolve 11 issues including remote code execution and improper implementation vulnerabilities.Next on the list are patches for Microsoft Office, Excel, Word, and OneNote. These patches...

Cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, posing very real risks to organizations, and nowhere is this risk more pronounced than in entities that handle a nation’s critical infrastructure, as these attacks put public health and safety at risk, harm the environment, or disrupt critical services.The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region plays a vital role in the petroleum industry, with Saudi Arabia...

The mechanisms and dangers of email phishing are well known, as are the best practices for hardening organizations against it. Its spin-off, called vishing, is nothing new, but it’s both rapidly evolving, and unlike the more mainstream counterpart, too often overlooked by security professionals. According to the CrowdStrike 2025 Global Threat Report, these offbeat attacks saw a 442% increase in...

The cyber workforce gap is one of the most pressing and persistent challenges facing the cybersecurity industry. In 2024, ISC2 found that the gap amounted to 4.8 million people globally, up 19% from the previous year. Both public and private sector organizations – including the UK’s NCSC and the SANS Institute – have introduced countless initiatives in an attempt to close the cyber workforce gap,...

Cyber incidents are always going to be present. Regardless of whether you’re working for a startup or a corporation, malicious software can target you and your business. This is why it’s important to work closely with cybersecurity incident response teams and have such protocols in place.The lifecycle of a cybersecurity incident starts way before it happens with good preparation. However, the...

Let’s face it: your inbox is a warzone. Email security is a constant battle between evolving threats and the defenses designed to stop them. Every day, attackers bombard user inboxes with increasingly sophisticated phishing attempts, malware, and social engineering attacks. So, how do we win the battle? It’s not as simple as slapping on a piece of software; it’s about implementing a multi-layered...

According to the 2024 State of Ransomware report by Sophos, there was a 500% increase in ransom bills in the last 12 months. Moreover, an analysis by Comparitech revealed 181 confirmed ransomware incidents targeting healthcare providers in 2024, with 25.6 million records compromised. Meanwhile, there were 42 more confirmed attacks on healthcare organizations not involved in direct care provision....

The FBI is set to report that ransomware was the most pervasive cybersecurity threat to US critical infrastructure during the year of 2024. As Reuters reports, complaints of ransomware attacks against critical sectors have jumped 9% over the previous year. The annual report from the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) will reveal that the likes of manufacturing, healthcare, government...

Ransomware has evolved from a distant “I hope it doesn’t happen to us” threat to an insidious, worldwide crisis. Among the sectors most affected is manufacturing, which has found itself more and more in attackers’ crosshairs. Manufacturing has long viewed itself as immune to digital crime, but ransomware attackers have belied this belief. Industrial operations rely heavily on Industrial Internet...

New cybersecurity legislation is coming thick and fast. And for good reason: cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, systems are becoming more connected, and geopolitical relationships are becoming more fraught. One of the most recent bipartisan legislations – the US Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2025 – is designed to modernize cybersecurity standards in...

Technology is transforming the way financial scams operate, making them more sophisticated, automated, and harder to detect. From deepfake impersonations to cryptocurrency fraud and tech support scams, bad actors are leaving no stone unturned and are leveraging every advanced tool at their disposal to manipulate victims and steal their assets.This blog will look at how fraudsters are weaponizing...

Africa has made huge strides in digital transformation in the past few years. For example, over 160 million Africans gained broadband internet access between 2019 and 2022. As the continent embraces digitalization, cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly pressing concern. Recognizing the need for a coordinated approach to cybersecurity, Smart Africa recently launched the African Network of...

The recent Bybit hack, in which bad actors swooped in and made off with $1.5 billion worth of Ethereum, has sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency industry. As one of the largest digital heists in history, it lays bare the vulnerabilities in crypto exchange security and the persistent threats from sophisticated actors. And yes, Bybit has assured its customers that their funds will be covered;...

In July 2024, as the Republican National Committee (RNC) geared up for its national convention in Milwaukee, Chinese hackers infiltrated the RNC's email system. According to The Wall Street Journal, attackers maintained access for several months, trying to get their hands on intelligence on how the GOP planned to address Taiwan in its party platform. Microsoft alerted top party officials about...

Third parties have long been the hidden heroes of the payment card industry, providing specialized, streamlined support to merchants looking to host a website or spin up an app. But that convenience is not without a cost.According to PCI DSS 4.0 compliance standards, although merchants are free to use third parties, the responsibility for any incurred security liability will be all theirs. When a...

The healthcare industry is a prime target for cyberattacks due to the significant value of medical data and the critical nature of patient care. Unlike other sectors, healthcare organizations must balance cybersecurity with the need for immediate access to life-saving information. Ransomware attacks, in particular, have surged, with cybercriminals exploiting outdated systems, unpatched...