Graham Cluely Security Blog

In our latest episode we discuss how a woman hid under the bed after scammers told her she was under "digital arrest", how hackers are hijacking YouTube channels through malicious sponsorship deals, and how one phone company is turning the tables on fraudsters through deepfake AI. All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of the award-winning "Smashing Security" podcast by computer security veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, joined this week by special guest Maria Varmazis.

In episode 25 of The AI Fix, humanity creates a satellite called Skynet and then loses it, Graham folds proteins in the comfort of his living room, a Florida man gets a robot dog, Grok rats on its own boss, and a podcast host discovers Brazil nuts. Graham meets an elderly grandmother who's taking on the AI scammers, our hosts learn why Google is listening to phone calls, and Mark looks at how OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing to prevent “large scale devastation” by their own AIs. All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of "The AI Fix" podcast by Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley.

Cybercriminals have adopted a novel trick for infecting devices with malware: sending out physical letters that contain malicious QR codes. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

ShrinkLocker is a family of ransomware that encrypts an organisation's data and demands a ransom payment in order to restore access to their files. It was first identified by security researchers in May 2024, after attacks were observed in Mexico, Indonesia, and Jordan. Read more in my article on the Tripwire State of Security blog.

Jack Teixeira, the 22-year-old former Air National Guardsman who leaked hundreds of classified documents online, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison. Teixeira, who served as an IT specialist at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, was arrested in April 2023 after abusing his privileged position to share highly-sensitive documents with friends he had met via a Discord server focused on video gaming and guns. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

Arion Kurtaj, a teenager from the UK, amassed a fortune through audacious cybercrimes. From stealing Grand Theft Auto 6 secrets to erasing Brazil's COVID vaccination data, his exploits were legendary. But his hacking spree took a bizarre turn when he was placed under police protection... in a Travelodge outside Oxford. Plus Bengal cat lovers in Australia should be on their guard, as your furry feline friends might be leading you into a dangerous trap., and there's yet more headaches for troubled 23andMe. All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of the "Smashing Security" podcast by cybersecurity veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault, joined this week by Thom Langford.

In episode 24 of The AI Fix, Mark makes an unforgivable error about the Terminator franchise, our hosts wonder if a "seductive" government chatbot will make it easier to talk about tax, a radio station abandons its three month AI experiment after a week, and OpenAI parks its tanks on Google’s lawn. Graham gets cosmic and wonders why we aren’t surrounded by advanced alien AIs, our hosts argue about whether the moon landings or the invention of the cheese sandwich were more consequential events in human history, and Mark tells Graham that artificial superintelligence is just around the corner. All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of "The AI Fix" podcast by Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley.

Scammers have leapt at the opportunity to exploit vulnerable UK residents by sending bogus messages telling them they need to take action to receive help with their winter heating bills. Read more in my article on the Tripwire State of Security blog.

SelectBlinds, a popular online retailer of blinds and shades, has disclosed a security breach that has impacted 206,238 of its customers. Hackers successfully managed to embed malware onto the company's website, capable of stealing sensitive information, including credit card details, names, addresses, phone numbers, and login credentials. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

A Facebook friend request leads to arrest, Twitter scams ride again via promoted ads, and adult websites expose their members. Oh, and Graham finds out what Rule 34 is. All this and more is discussed in the latest edition of the award-winning "Smashing Security" podcast by computer security veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault.

In episode 23 of The AI Fix, an AI finds a new way to make life difficult for women in STEM, Graham reveals his brilliant idea for treating any medical emergency, a beloved chat show host returns from the grave, and our hosts learn that computer viruses were almost called computer weeds. Graham tells Mark a story involving a murder, a moth, and an AI journalist, and Mark pits his co-host against the world's most advanced computer program in a maths Olympiad. All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of "The AI Fix" podcast by Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley.

A disgruntled former Disney employee is facing charges that he hacked into the company's restaurant menu systems and wreaked havoc on its digital displays that could have potentially put lives at risk. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

As the United States of Americas enter the final days of the race for the White House, the FBI has warned that fraudsters are using the presidential election campaign to scam citizens out of their savings and personal data. Read more in my article on the Tripwire State of Security blog.

In this week's episode your hosts practice standing on one leg, Carole gives Graham a deepfake quiz, and we investigate how Strava may be exposing the movements of world leaders. All this and more is discussed in the latest edition of the award-winning "Smashing Security" podcast by computer security veterans Graham Cluley and Carole Theriault.

In episode 22 of "The AI Fix", our hosts encounter a bowl of buttermilk king crab ice cream prepared by a baby hippo, a TV station finds an even better way to generate programme ideas than using a tank full of manatees, and Elon Musk does the world's most expensive Blade Runner cosplay. Graham discovers a robot tongue and ponders the implications of AIs with an appetite, and Mark explains ASCII smuggling — a prompt injection attack that uses completely invisible characters. All this and much more is discussed in the latest edition of "The AI Fix" podcast by Graham Cluley and Mark Stockley.

One of the largest internet providers in France, Free S.A.S, has confirmed that it recently suffered a cybersecurity breach after a hacker attempted to sell what purported to be stolen data from the organisation on the dark web. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

A US $10 million reward is being offered to anyone who has information about four members of an Iranian hacking group. The US government's Rewards for Justice initiative is making the reward available for information about four men believed to be members of Shahid Hemmat, a hacking gang backed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC). Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog.

Historically, Mac users haven't had to worry about malware as much as their Windows-using cousins. But that doesn't mean that Mac users should be complacent. And the recent discovery of a new malware strain emphasises that the threat - even if much smaller than on Windows - remains real. Read more in my article on the Tripwire State of Security blog.