Cyber attack

Ransomware key to unlock customer data from REvil attack

US IT firm Kaseya - which was the first to be targeted earlier this month - said it got the key from a “trusted third party”.

Ransomware is malicious software that steals computer data and scrambles it so the victim cannot gain access.

The hackers then ask for payment in return for releasing the files.

Kaseya’s decryptor key will allow customers to retrieve missing files, without paying the ransom.

The company’s spokeswoman Dana Liedholm declined to answer whether Kaseya had paid for access to the key.

China accused of cyber-attack on Microsoft Exchange servers

The attack targeted Microsoft Exchange servers, affecting at least 30,000 organisations globally.

Western security services believe it signals a shift from a targeted espionage campaign to a smash-and-grab raid, leading to concerns Chinese cyber-behaviour is escalating.

The Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS) has also been accused of wider espionage activity and a broader pattern of "reckless" behaviour.

China has previously denied allegations of hacking and says it opposes all forms of cyber-crime.

Air India cyber-attack: Data of millions of customers compromised

The breach was first reported to the company in February. Details including passport and ticket information as well as credit-card data were compromised.

But Air India said security details for credit cards - CVV or CVC numbers - were not stored on the server targeted.

It is not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

The airline, a member of the Star Alliance network, said the breach involved all information registered between 26 August 2011 and 20 February 2021.

Air India said no subsequent unauthorised activity had been detected.

Irish health services hit by cyber attack

It said it had taken the precaution of closing down its systems to further protect them, and to allow it to assess the situation.

Irish broadcaster RTÉ said Dublin's Rotunda Hospital has cancelled most outpatients visits on Friday.

All gynaecology clinics are cancelled.

However, it said those with any urgent concerns should attend as normal.

The maternity hospital says all outpatient visits are cancelled, unless expectant mothers are at 36 weeks pregnant or later.

Channel Nine cyber-attack disrupts live broadcasts in Australia

The broadcaster said it was unable to air several shows on Sunday, including Weekend Today.

Nine said it was investigating whether the hack was "criminal sabotage or the work of a foreign nation".

Australia's Parliament was also investigating a possible cyber-attack in Canberra on Sunday.

Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said access to IT and emails at Parliament House had been cut as a precaution. He said this was done in response to issues affecting an "external provider", without elaborating.

Honda's global operations hit by cyber-attack

"Honda can confirm that a cyber-attack has taken place on the Honda network," the Japanese car-maker said in a statement.

It added that the problem was affecting its ability to access its computer servers, use email and otherwise make use of its internal systems.

"There is also an impact on production systems outside of Japan," it added.

"Work is being undertaken to minimise the impact and to restore full functionality of production, sales and development activities."

NHS cyber-defender Marcus Hutchins charged in US

Marcus Hutchins, 23, has been accused of involvement with Kronos - a separate piece of malware used to steal banking logins from victims' computers.

Fellow cyber-security researchers have expressed surprise at the indictment.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre has said that it was aware of the situation.

WannaCry spread rapidly through computer systems around the world, in an unprecedented outbreak that began on 12 May.

Shortly afterwards, Mr Hutchins was thrust into the limelight after he found a way to stop it from spreading.

Cyber-attack 'unprecedented' in scale

Europol has also warned a "complex international investigation" was required "to identify the culprits".

It's emerged that the tools used in the attack appear to have been stolen from the US National Security Agency.

There have been reports of infections in as many as 100 countries, including several in New Zealand, a live-tracking map of the attack showed.

European countries, including Russia, were among the worst hit.

Although the spread of the malware - known as WannaCry and variants of that name - appears to have slowed, the threat is not yet over.

Cyber attack knocks nearly a million routers offline

Last month, the Mirai botnet knocked the entire Internet offline for a few hours, crippling some of the world's biggest and most popular websites.

Now, more than 900,000 broadband routers belonging to Deutsche Telekom users in Germany knocked offline over the weekend following a supposed cyber-attack, affecting the telephony, television, and internet service in the country.

Chinese firm acknowledges inadvertent role in cyberattack

A Chinese firm that makes components for surveillance video cameras now admits their technology was used, in part, to carry out the unprecedented strike.

XiongMai Technologies acknowledged that a piece of malware known as "Mirai" that's spreading around the internet targets vulnerabilities in their products.

"Mirai is a huge disaster for the 'Internet of Things,'" XiongMai representative Cooper Wang told CNNMoney in an email. "[We] have to admit that our products also suffered from hackers' break-in and illegal use."