The Register

Probe follows outcry over use of creepy image generation tool

The European Commission has launched an investigation into X amid concerns that its GenAI model Grok offered users the ability to generate sexually explicit imagery, including sexualized images of children.…

US sports brand launches probe after extortion crew WorldLeaks claims it stole huge dataset

Nike says it is probing a possible breach after extortion crew WorldLeaks claimed to have lifted 1.4TB of internal data from the sportswear giant and posted samples on its leak site.…

Cyber sleuths believe Sandworm up to its old tricks with a brand-new sabotage toy

Russia was probably behind the failed attempts to compromise the systems of Poland's power companies in December, cybersecurity researchers claim.…

Big Red says 'sovereign' platform supports decision-making and operational learning at sea

Britain's Royal Navy is using Oracle Cloud edge infrastructure to operate AI-driven defenses on the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.…

Minister dodges cost questions while promising smartphone-free access and 'robust' verification

The UK government has revealed some thinking about digital identity in response to written questions from MPs, while continuing to say next to nothing about the scheme's cost.…

Also, cybercriminals get breached, Gemini spills the calendar beans, and more

infosec in brief  T'was a dark few days for automotive software systems last week, as the third annual Pwn2Own Automotive competition uncovered 76 unique zero-day vulnerabilities in targets ranging from Tesla infotainment to EV chargers.…

Drone, satellite, and other data combined to monitor unwanted vessels

The UK Home Office is spending up to £100 million on intelligence tech in part to tackle the so-called "small boats" issue of refugees and irregular immigrants coming across the English Channel.…

But ex-CISA boss and new RSAC CEO Jen Easterly will be there

exclusive  The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency won't attend the annual RSA Conference in March, an agency spokesperson confirmed to The Register.…

If you skipped it back then, now’s a very good time

You've got to keep your software updated. Some unknown miscreants are exploiting a critical VMware vCenter Server bug more than a year after Broadcom patched the flaw.…

If you're serious about encryption, keep control of your encryption keys

If you think using Microsoft's BitLocker encryption will keep your data 100 percent safe, think again. Last year, Redmond reportedly provided the FBI with encryption keys to unlock the laptops of Windows users charged in a fraud indictment.…

'A lot more' victims to come, we're told

ShinyHunters has claimed responsibility for an Okta voice-phishing campaign during which the extortionist crew allegedly gained access to Crunchbase and Betterment.…

Security chief says criminals are already automating workflows, with full end-to-end tools likely within years

CISOs must prepare for "a really different world" where cybercriminals can reliably automate cyberattacks at scale, according to a senior Googler.…

Fix didn't quite do the job – attackers spotted logging in

Fortinet has confirmed that attackers are actively bypassing a December patch for a critical FortiCloud single sign-on (SSO) authentication flaw after customers reported suspicious logins on devices supposedly fully up to date.…

Direct debits? Maybe February. Birth certificates? Dream on. Council tax bills? Oh, those are coming

Hammersmith & Fulham Council says payments are now being processed as usual, two months after a cyberattack that affected multiple boroughs in the UK's capital city.…

Much owed to the few, but takeup is under 1%

More than 15,000 former members of the UK's armed forces have successfully applied for a digital version of their veterans ID card since its launch in October, according to the Government Digital Service (GDS). …

Teach a crook to phish…

Criminals can more easily pull off social engineering scams and other forms of identity fraud thanks to custom voice-phishing kits being sold on dark web forums and messaging platforms.…

Logging in, not breaking in

Unknown attackers are abusing Microsoft SharePoint file-sharing services to target multiple energy-sector organizations, harvest user credentials, take over corporate inboxes, and then send hundreds of phishing emails from compromised accounts to contacts inside and outside those organizations.…

Admins say attackers are still getting in despite recent patches

FortiGate firewalls are getting quietly reconfigured and stripped down by miscreants who've figured out how to sidestep SSO protections and grab sensitive settings right out of the box.…

Regulators logged over 400 personal data breach notifications a day for first time since law came into force

GDPR fines pushed past the £1 billion (€1.2 billion) mark in 2025 as Europe's regulators were deluged with more than 400 data breach notifications a day, according to a new survey that suggests the post-plateau era of enforcement has well and truly arrived.…

Mind the cyber gap – similar flaws highlighted multiple years in a row

Concerned about the orgs that safeguard your money? The UK's annual cybersecurity review for 2025 suggests you should be. Despite years of regulation, financial organizations continue to miss basic cybersecurity safeguards.…