Ransomware attacks up over 120 percent in two years
Between April 2024 and March 2025, ransomware attacks escalated with unpredictable campaigns across a wide range of industries. The number of publicly disclosed victims also saw a 24 percent increase from the previous year.
A new report from Black Kite shows this follows a steep rise in the previous period with an 81 percent surge, amounting to a 123 percent increase over two years. Ransomware was responsible for 67 percent of known third-party breaches.
Security awareness training programs fall short of business needs
Although 99 percent of organizations responding to a new survey suffered a security incident tied to human error in the past year, the majority state that they struggle to implement effective, scalable security awareness training (SAT) programs that reduce this risk.
The study from Abnormal AI of over 300 security and IT leaders in the US and UK finds that SAT is widely adopted, with 75 percent of organizations requiring employees to complete training at least quarterly.
How ransomware became big business
On today's International Anti-Ransomware Day, cybersecurity company SentinelOne has publishes a blog looking at on how ransomware has evolved over the past 10 years.
It highlights how Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) has matured into a scalable, profit-driven model, with revenue-sharing, affiliate recruitment, and performance incentives fuelling rapid expansion across the cybercrime ecosystem.
AI agents -- how do you get from raw data to meaningful action? [Q&A]
AI agents are here to stay, but there are still some major privacy and data concerns that need to be addressed before the tech goes mainstream.
That's because AI agents are only as good as their data, and right now, that data is fragmented, unsecured, and often unreliable.
Cybersecurity readiness stays low as AI attacks increase
Only four percent of organizations worldwide have achieved the 'mature' level of readiness required to effectively withstand today's cybersecurity threats, even as hyperconnectivity and AI introduce new complexities for security practitioners.
The latest Cybersecurity Readiness Index from Cisco shows 86 percent of organizations faced AI-related security incidents last year. However, only 49 percent of respondents are confident their employees fully understand AI related threats, and 48 percent believe their teams fully grasp how malicious actors are using AI to execute sophisticated attacks.
Why using AI as a replacement for junior developer talent is a mistake [Q&A]
By 2026 it's estimated the IT skills shortage will affect nine out of 10 organizations, an issue that will only be exacerbated by the growing 'silver tsunami' of seasoned professionals retiring from the industry.
This shortage presents a challenge to almost every organization, especially as IT professionals are being asked to usher their company into the digital age and incorporate new technology into existing workflows.
Enterprises rush to adopt AI but struggle to measure its value
New research shows that enterprises are going beyond AI experimentation and into large-scale production but that return on investment is taking a back seat in the process.
The report from Domino Data Lab shows that while 88 percent of organizations report improved ability to move AI from experimentation to production, nearly 60 percent expect less than 50 percent ROI in the rapidly changing areas of machine learning (60 percent) or Gen AI (57 percent).
New edge appliances allow organizations to deploy AI securely
Enterprises and governments share a common interest in safeguarding private information, but often the rollout of AI systems can unwittingly put sensitive data at risk.
Trusted AI specialist Seekr is announcing a new all-in-one AI system -- built for government agencies -- to ensure that AI can be deployed in air-gapped environments, standalone data centers, and contested environments.
Majority of cyber insurance ransomware claims are due to BEC
A new report from cyber insurance specialist Coalition finds the majority of 2024 claims (60 percent) originated from business email compromise (BEC) and funds transfer fraud (FTF) incidents, with 29 percent of BEC events resulting in FTF.
Ransomware claims did stabilize in 2024 but they remain the most costly and disruptive type of cyberattack.
Employee browser activity creates a security blindspot
Thanks to a growth in remote working and the use of SaaS applications enterprise reliance on browsers is growing, but this leaves them open to risks stemming from dangerous employee web behavior.
According to a cybersecurity expert at network security platform NordLayer, some employee activity that may go undetected by security teams can result in confidential data and industry secrets leaks or violations of GDPR.
Enterprises shift to software-based pentesting
The latest State of Pentesting report from Pentera reveals that over 50 percent of enterprise CISOs now report using software-based pentesting to support their in-house testing practices.
Based on research conducted by Global Surveyz, the report notes that 50 percent of CISOs now identify software-based testing as a primary method for uncovering exploitable security gaps within their organizations.
Don't let your child become a victim of autocorrect
Some 22.6 million adults in the UK have experienced autocorrect changing their name, or their name being flagged as incorrect, that's 41 percent of the population.
A new campaign I Am Not A Typo (IANAT), is calling on the tech giants to correct autocorrect and spell-check spell-check to make the technology more inclusive and has released some results of a survey carried out by Censuswide to back up its cause.
The impact of AI in the legal sector [Q&A]
AI is changing many industries. In the legal sector it's altering how businesses operate, automating routine tasks and boosting productivity for lawyers.
We spoke to Alon Shwartz, COO and co-founder of Trellis AI, to find out more about AI’s transformative effect on the legal world.
Technology risks give compliance professionals sleepless nights
A newly released survey of US regulatory compliance professionals shows 63 percent say that technology-driven risk is the most significant market force likely to cause compliance issues for US financial services firms in 2025.
Other forces cited are global economic instability (58 percent), increasing regulatory complexity (48 percent), digital assets and crypto markets (37 percent each) and geopolitical instability (20 percent).
A third of employees keep their AI use secret
A new survey finds that 32 percent of employees who use GenAI tools at work say they're keeping it a secret from their employer.
The research from Ivanti finds that some use discretion when using AI because they like the 'secret advantage' it offers (36 percent); others because they worry their job may be cut (30 percent); and 27 percent have AI-fueled imposter syndrome, saying they don’t want people to question their ability.
Ian's Bio
Ian spent almost 20 years working with computers before he discovered that writing about them was easier than fixing them. Since then he's written for a number of computer magazines and is a former editor of PC Utilities. Follow him on Mastodon
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