Hackers steal the data of millions of AT&T customers

A vendor hack has resulted in the data of millions of AT&T customers being stolen.

AT&T is sending emails to around nine million customers to alert them of the theft of their data.

The attackers did not breach AT&T directly but compromised the systems of a marketing vendor used by the US telecom giant.

All impacted users had CPNI (Customer Proprietary Network Information) stolen, including phone numbers, full names, and email addresses. A smaller...

13 March 2023 | AT&T

Russian hackers disrupt NATO comms used for earthquake relief

Russian hacking group Killnet has claimed responsibility for disrupting communications between NATO and other organisations providing earthquake relief in Turkey and Syria.

The devastating earthquake has claimed at least 28,000 lives and efforts continue to pull victims from the rubble. Countries and NGOs worldwide dispatched resources to provide humanitarian aid, including aircraft with transport and airlift capabilities.

Strategic Airlift Capability (SAC) is a...

13 February 2023 | Networks

CUJO AI: 67% of home networks are targeted every month

CUJO AI’s latest cybersecurity report states that over two-thirds of home networks are targeted by online threats every month.

The cybersecurity firm uses AI-powered software to protect networks. CUJO AI bases its annual reports on anonymised data from the 1.8 billion real-world devices that it defends.

Between 1 May 2002 and 1 November 2022, CUJO says it blocked over two billion threats. The average number of blocked threats swelled to 8,000 per...

2 February 2023 | Networks

Russian and Iranian hackers increase spear-phishing attacks

The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) – a part of GCHQ – has warned that hackers based in Russia and Iran are conducting increased spear-phishing attacks.

Spear-phishing involves sending a malicious electronic communication to get someone to download malware or hand over sensitive information.

The attacks are often highly targeted to make it appear like the communication is from a loved one, friend, colleague, or business that the target knows and...

27 January 2023 | Security

Ukraine signs NATO cybersecurity centre accession

Ukraine has formally signed its accession to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).

The country applied for CCDCOE membership in August 2021. On 4 March 2022, existing CCDCOE members voted unanimously to accept Ukraine into the organisation.

“We have been actively cooperating with the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence for the last year,” said Yurii Shchyhol, Head of the State Special Communications Service of...

24 January 2023 | Legislation & Government

T-Mobile suffers another large data breach

Tens of millions of T-Mobile customers have had their details stolen in the operator’s latest data breach.

T-Mobile says it first identified malicious activity on 5 January 2023 and contained it within a day. However, the operator believes the hackers have been stealing data since 25 November 2022.

Around 37 million postpaid and prepaid customers are impacted by the breach. The hackers used an API to steal the information.

Customer data such as their name,...

20 January 2023 | Networks

Prosecutors charge six individuals for operating large DDoS services

Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and Alaska have charged six individuals for operating “leading DDoS-for-hire services”.

48 internet domains were seized as part of the operation. The FBI is currently seizing websites that allowed users to pay for DDoS services.

Some of the services were disguised as “stresser” services that authorised white hats could use for legitimate network testing against malicious attacks.

However, the FBI determined that...

15 December 2022 | Legislation & Government

Failure to respond to cost of living crisis threatens telecoms sector

The rise in the cost-of-living has driven consumers to re-adjust spending priorities. Telcos’ failure to respond to this changing mindset is now the biggest threat facing the industry, according to the annual EY report, Top 10 risks in telecommunications 2023.

With consumer spending under increasing pressure, EY research shows that 60% of households are worried about rising broadband subscription prices, and nearly half (45%) believe they overpay for content...

8 December 2022 | Research

Pro-Kremlin hackers attack EU Parliament website

Pro-Kremlin hacking group KILLNET has launched a “sophisticated” cyberattack on the EU Parliament website.

The attack was launched after the Parliament designated Russia a state sponsor of terrorism:

https://twitter.com/EP_President/status/1595443471518777345

Users were unable to access the Parliament’s website for a few hours and some parts were rendered inoperable. As of writing, access has been restored.

In a Telegram post, KILLNET claimed...

24 November 2022 | Security

Japan joins NATO cyber defense centre

Japan has become the latest member of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).

While there have been thankfully few cases of conventional warfare on Western territories for decades, in no small part thanks to NATO, the planet has remained locked in a cyber World War.

In April, members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance issued a joint cybersecurity advisory warning of increased attacks on critical infrastructure from Russia. These attacks...

9 November 2022 | Security