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.

Cyber criminals are weaponising advanced chatbots and AI technologies to amplify their attacks, marking a significant escalation in the digital arms race. Experts warn that these powerful AI tools are being deployed at a record scale and speed, creating a challenge for cyber security defenders worldwide. Recent findings by Intel741, a cyber security company, highlight the increase in the use of AI among threat actors from the previous years. From document fraud and business email compromise (BEC), to writing malicious code for malware and deepfakes, their new report shows how criminals are using AI to make their operations more efficient.…

The MK Party has a preponderance of large influential anonymous accounts, more so than most other communities, but they’ve been there for years.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine, up to 18 serving and former members of the Russian high command have died – many in unexplained circumstances. National Security News lists the Russian generals and senior politicians – some of whom fell out of favour with President Vladimir Putin – who have died in the last two years from suicide, shootings, falls from windows, and plane crashes. Magomed Khandayev – 9 July 2024 Khandayev, 61, was head of the State Expertise Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defence, a unit responsible for evaluating and approving the design and construction of…