The increasing reliance on mobile phones by both Russian and Ukrainian forces has transformed the battlefield, with devices serving as both vital tools and potential liabilities. The disclosure has led to a warning by cyber analysts of a shift in Russian cyber tactics to exploit mobile phone weaknesses. The Kremlin has also proposed a strict new law punishing soldiers for carrying phones in combat zones in a bid to clamp down on their use on the battlefield. Dan Black, Manager of Cyber Espionage Analysis at Mandiant, described how Russia’s cyber strategy has moved from high-profile, destructive attacks on civilian infrastructure…

North Korean spy chiefs are hacking into hospital computers to extort ransom payments which are then used to fund more cyber attacks, a new threat report warns. The communist state is using the attacks to fuel its nuclear ambitions, with the report from intelligence agencies in the US, UK, and South Korea, detailing a global espionage operation aimed at stealing critical technology. The state-sponsored cyber group, identified as Andariel, is waging a campaign against organisations involved in defence, aerospace, nuclear, and engineering worldwide. Andariel, also known as Onyx Sleet and APT45, operates within North Korea’s 3rd Bureau, the unit responsible…

F-16 fighters could soon be taking part in combat operations inside Ukraine’s airspace providing a well-timed significant boost to its air defences.Described by experts as the “world’s most agile fighter” – and a much hyped element of this the Nato summit in Washington – the US-made jet will be used primarily to shoot down the barrage of cruise missiles, deadly glide bombs and drones used by Russia to target Ukraine’s power infrastructure.Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said they are essential to help Ukrainians push back against Russia’s aerial dominance and “unblock the skies”.Russian forces have been preparing for the Ukrainian…

Confusion surrounds the intelligence which led to the arrest of 95 Libyans at a military training camp in South Africa. Government officials claim that the country’s intelligence officers were responsible for the raid on the camp in White River in the Mpumalanga province, but National Security News has learned that the arrests were due to a tip-off from the United States. Kobus Marais, a former shadow minister of the opposition Democratic Alliance, suspects that this situation mirrors a previous incident where the U.S. warned South Africa about allegedly selling weapons to Russia, which involved the Lady R ship docking in Simon’s Town and…

This is a war and the good guys must win. The alternative is unthinkable, writes former Sars executive JOHANN VAN LOGGERENBERG.

It certainly isn’t entirely unpredictable that something would happen at the Summer Olympics in Paris. Let’s hope this is the last one and not a strategy.

Traditional background checks for employees are not good enough anymore as sophisticated state actors use stolen identities and artificial intelligence to get around security checks. Even a cyber security training firm discovered their new software engineer was actually a North Korean hacker. The hacker was exposed after he attempted to load information-stealing malware onto company systems. Alberto Casares, the chief technology officer at the cyber security company Constella Intelligence, told National Security News that this threat is not new and “underscores the sophistication and persistence of state-backed actors.” He explained: “The evolving landscape of cyber threats, including the recent case,…

Widely available AI programs coupled with easily accessible materials could allow anyone to build a lethal robot in their own homes for as little as $1,000, according to military science experts. This unprecedented ease of access to weaponised autonomous technology raises serious national security concerns, with researchers at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) pointing to this as the type of weapon most likely to fall into the wrong hands and proliferate. Paul O’Neill, Senior Research fellow at RUSI, told National Security News that these types of weapons “represent a very high proliferation risk.” He explained: “Our work suggests that…

“There is a very real potential that we will be involved in a shooting conflict within the next three years, but I hope I am wrong,” Col Ingram remarked.  

Anti-virus systems, like CrowdStrike which brought millions of Windows devices down, pose a potential security threat due to their trusted nature, according to Professor John Walker, a cyber consultant, who spoke to National Security News.  Continuous updates, he said, increase the chance of a faulty one slipping through and that anti-virus software is often seen as “secure’ by default leading to less scrutiny of updates. Walker said: “From this point forward the world of cyber security needs to rethink what ‘trust’ really means in a very new light.” “I would also add that this puts a whole new prospective on…

22 cases of MPOX have been identified in South Africa leading to three deaths. 16 patients have recovered and three are considered as ‘active cases.’

The effect of the outage is so widespread because Crowdstrike is the largest endpoint solution provider globally. Approximately 70% of the world’s desktop computers run on Microsoft Windows.