Addressing the data protection challenges of rolling out AI [Q&A]
Artificial intelligence is transforming the way that many areas of business operate. But with the benefits also come new risks to corporate data.
We spoke to Rohan Sathe, CEO and co-founder of Nightfall AI, to find out how AI risks exposing sensitive information and what companies can do to protect themselves.
Q3 ransomware attacks up 36 percent year-on-year
New data from BlackFog shows publicly disclosed ransomware attacks continued to set new records in the third quarter of this year, with 270 attacks -- a 36 percent increase compared to the same quarter in 2024 (198 attacks). This also represents a 335 percent increase since Q3 2020, underscoring the continued rise in attacks over the last five years.
Between July and September, publicly disclosed attacks were attributed to 54 ransomware groups. As in Q2, the Qilin ransomware gang was the most active, responsible for 20 incidents during the period. Notably, approximately 40 percent (107) of reported attacks have not yet been attributed to any known ransomware group.
Gen Z targeted by AI-driven extortion scams
New research looking at high pressure extortion scams reveals that Gen Z is being particularly impacted by AI-powered threats. All mobile users are at risk, however, with one in three having been targeted by an extortion scam, often threatening to expose pictures or browsing history, and nearly one in five falling victim.
The research from Malwarebytes shows a distinct target profile for extortion. 69 percent of victims and 64 percent of targets are Gen Z or Millennial (compared 52 percent of victims and 40 percent of targets of other types of scams). 65 percent of victims and 60 percent of targets are male (vs. 48 percent/45 percent)
Google steps up the fight against scams with new tools and more education
Scams and fraud are an ever present threat on the internet and the rise of AI means that they’re getting harder to spot with the old giveaways of bad grammar and dodgy attachments largely eliminated.
Google is announcing a range of new tools and initiatives to help people remain safe online. These include improved app features, new account recovery tools and better education and awareness programs.
Open source malware up 140 percent
The latest OS Malware Index from Sonatype shows a 140 percent surge in open source malware as attackers target data and trusted dependencies.
The index is compiled from analysis of 34,319 open source malware packages discovered by Sonatype across major open source registries including npm, PyPI, Hugging Face, and more. This quarter’s count brings the total number of malicious packages Sonatype has discovered to 877,522 since 2019.
Recovering and rebuilding trust after a cyberattack [Q&A]
However good your defenses, cyberattacks can still happen. However, in many cases, the aftermath can be worse than the attack itself, as enterprises struggle to calm nerves and reassure staff, customers, and shareholders.
We spoke with Daniel Tobok, CEO of incident response specialist CYPFER, to discuss how organizations can recover from a cyberattack and why the leadership's response is vital.
Parents worry about children falling for online scams but fail to monitor usage
A new study of over 1,000 US parents with children at home between the ages of two and 20 finds that 35 percent of families have experienced a phishing scam via text, email or chat, and 25 percent have had a game or social media account hacked.
The report from Bitwarden finds that children as young as three to five are already using the internet, and 42 percent of parents in this age group say their child has unintentionally shared personal information. Nearly 80 percent of kids ages three to 12 have their own tablet, making device access nearly universal by early elementary school.
Organizations face more AI-powered fraud attacks but privacy tools make detection harder
A new study from fraud prevention specialist Fingerprint finds 41 percent of over 300 fraud and technology leaders surveyed say their organizations are already facing AI-powered attacks.
These sophisticated threats, which range from generative AI phishing schemes to automated bot attacks, are creating a significant operational crisis. According to the report, 93 percent of fraud teams have seen noticeable operational impacts, with 38 percent of organizations citing higher costs from manual review and triage as a top business concern.
Who’s paying the price of cybercrime?
Cybercrime has become a global epidemic, with costs soaring across sectors and borders. But who’s paying the price and how has that changed since the turn of the century?
Researchers from vpnMentor have analyzed 25 years of FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) data along with a review of major global incidents to discover the cost of cybercrime and how it’s evolving.
Ransomware attacks on healthcare businesses increase 30 percent
New research from Comparitech, based on data from its worldwide ransomware tracker, finds a 30 percent rise in ransomware attacks on healthcare businesses in the first nine months of 2025.
It recorded 293 ransomware attacks on hospitals, clinics, and other direct care providers -- a similar number to 2024 -- but there were a further 130 attacks on businesses operating within the healthcare sector, such as pharmaceutical/medical manufacturers, medical billing providers, and healthcare tech companies.
SMBs vulnerable to AI-powered cyberattacks and complacent about ransomware
A new report from Cork Protection looks at the security challenges facing small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), backed up by comment from a range of industry leaders. Challenges include an asymmetric threat landscape, defined by the misuse of artificial intelligence and relentless exploitation of human vulnerabilities.
Among the findings are that AI-powered adversaries are launching automated, sophisticated campaigns at unprecedented scale. Also the financial fallout of a breach now extends far beyond ransom, often resulting in business-ending costs.
Cyber skills gap leads to escalating security risks
A shortage of skilled cyber professionals is leading to critical security roles being unfilled at a time when they are needed most, according to a new skills gap report from Fortinet.
Organizations are turning increasingly to AI to strengthen their cybersecurity postures and fill gaps, but they also acknowledge that AI may be used against them as an engine of new or improved cyberattacks, especially given the lack of AI skillsets across teams.
Poor API security practices could put agentic AI deployments at risk
A new report exposes a disconnect between rapid API adoption and immature security practices, which threatens the success of critical AI and automation initiatives.
The study from Salt Security, based on responses from over 380 professionals tasked with managing APIs, finds 80 percent of organizations lack continuous, real-time API monitoring, leaving them blind to active threats targeting AI agents.
AI assistance delivers gains for SOC analysts
Security Operations Centers are inundated with thousands of alerts each day, most of which are false positives or low-severity issues. This flood of noise leads to alert fatigue, forcing SOC analysts to waste valuable time on false alarms instead of focusing on genuine threats.
A new study from Dropzone AI looking at SOC analyst performance across 148 security analysts shows that AI can improve effectiveness. AI assisted investigations were 22–29 percent more accurate than those in the unassisted control group.
Enterprises face increasing challenges with certificate management
A report released today finds that approximately 60 percent of businesses are using three
or more secure sockets layer (SSL) providers and suggests a lack of centralized processes for SSL certificate management.
The study from domain security company CSC analyzed usage trends and patterns for more than 802,000 digital certificates linked to 2.4 million domains. It finds domain validated (DV) certificates account for three-quarters (73.4 percent) of certificates while organization validation (OV) certificates represent nearly a quarter (24.6 percent). Extended validation (EV) certificates account for less than two percent (1.9 percent).
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