Graham Cluley

A 28-year-old Russian man has been arrested by German police, suspected of being a key member of the Qilin ransomware gang. Detectives have linked the man to the attack against blood-testing firm Synnovis, that disrupted London hospitals, and resulted in the death of a patient. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

There must have been red faces in the social media department of Ireland’s police headquarters after two of its accounts were hijacked this week. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

Krybit is a fast-growing ransomware gang that was hacked by a rival, hit back, and is still extorting victims. Find out how it works, who it has targeted, and what organisations can do to protect themselves. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog.

A ransomware negotiator attended a cybersecurity conference, only to be arrested by the FBI in connection with its investigation into the ShinyHunters gang. Meanwhile, hackers get the keys to ASOS’s app and the chance to message every single customer. What did they say? And how did the company respond? We have thoughts. All this and more is discussed in episode 488 of the “Smashing Security” podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Paul Ducklin.

The hacker behind a high-profile string of leaks involving the upcoming release of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) 6 videogame has threatened to release a complete, playable build. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

The US State Department is offering up to US $10 million for information about the whereabouts of Zhang Yu, a 44-year-old Chinese national who is accused of being a key figure in China’s state-sponsored hacking group, Hafnium. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

Microsoft’s Twitter account, with its 13 million followers, was hijacked by a paperclip. There was no ransomware or data theft, just Clippy, a dodgy crypto coin, and a corporate apology that wasn’t from Microsoft either. Meanwhile, UK losses from hacked email and social media accounts have rocketed by 417%, as scammers pose as your friends to flog you tickets to gigs that don’t exist. Plus, Hack The Box’s Christine Bartlett joins us for a featured interview to ask what happens when AI agents join your security team, and whether anyone has thought to give them a performance review.

N0n is a newly-emerged cyber extortion gang. The group was first spotted in the middle of September 2026, and within days it had published on its dark web leak site details of what it claimed to be around a dozen victims. Since then, the tally has continued to grow. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog.

The FBI has a very simple message for the ShinyHunters gang: give yourselves up. On Tuesday, FBI cyber division assistant director Brett Leatherman released a video, thanking the Dutch police for arresting a 24-year-old man they believe to be a member of the group, and and who is separately suspected of attempting to arrange two murders. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

An alleged key figure in the ShinyHunters cybercrime group has been arrested in the Netherlands, and – in a sinister twist – the 24-year-old suspect is also being investigated for attempting to arrange two murders. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

A Pentagon personnel database was breached for nine months without anyone noticing. Over three million people are affected. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

A court in Zurich has sentenced a Ukrainian man to 12 years and nine months in prison, and banned him from Switzerland for ten years, for developing ransomware that blackmailed companies around the world. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

A store in Auckland vibe-coded itself a new website. Within hours, its inventory had somehow expanded to include a pair of crusty socks, an $850 banana, and all of New Zealand’s national parks. What could possibly have gone wrong? Meanwhile, a hacker collective backed a truck into one of the license-plate-reading Flock safety cameras popping up on American street corners, and took a very close look inside. All this and more in episode 486 of the “Smashing Security” podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Dave Bittner.

An oil tanker bound for Texas was boarded mid-voyage by the US Coast Guard and FBI last month, after its network may have been compromised by malicious hackers. According to the US Coast Guard, the supertanker was boarded after indications that the network “may have been compromised by a foreign actor.” Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

Researchers wanted to test if LG’s smart TVs come with any security risks – but their lawyers noticed a snag: the terms and conditions would forbid it. So they came up with a solution. They got plastered before setting up the TV, on the reasoning that you can’t be legally bound to a contract you agreed to while drunk. What they discovered will make you look at your TV rather differently… Meanwhile, awful Android malware with the audacious name “Awesome” (in Indonesian) is doing the rounds, stealing your data, demanding a ransom, and then giving you a “jump scare”… Plus, in our featured interview, Andy Hornegold of Intruder explains why the mid-market is where cybercriminals are having the most fun right now – and how AI is helping attackers get from “first foot in the door” to “full ransomware disaster” in less than a working day. All this and more in episode 485 of the “Smashing Security” podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Lianne Potter.

44-year-old Kenneth Carter from Portland, Oregon, used to work in an AT&T retail store. But now he has been sentenced to 16 months in a federal prison. That should be plenty of time for him to rue the day he agreed to increase his monthly income by helping a SIM swap gang in their attempt to steal over half a million dollars. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

Here’s a tip for any budding cybercriminals out there. If you’re going to steal a quarter of a billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency, maybe don’t broadcast on a group chat every time you buy a Lamborghini, or blow half a million dollars on a single night out at a nightclub. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

When a chap called Matt noticed his Bluetooth headphones wouldn’t switch to his phone, he was surprised to realise the reason was a single AliExpress webpage sitting open in his browser – playing nothing at all, at zero volume. And yet somehow his hardware could hear it. Audio fingerprinting is one of the sneakiest tracking tricks on the web. Meanwhile, the intelligence agencies of the “Five Eyes” (not Five Guys) have got together and published advice on how companies should communicate after a cyber attack. The summary? For the love of God, stop calling every breach “sophisticated.” All this and more in episode 484 of the “Smashing Security” podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Danny Palmer.

CRPx0 is a cybercrime operation that started off operating a scam before pivoting into a fully-blown ransomware and cryptocurrency business. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog.

Location data sold by the ad industry has reportedly helped adversaries target US troops. The Pentagon has responded by switching off ad tracking on its devices – and you can do the same on yours. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.