Encryption

Cyber attacks and ransomware rise globally in early 2025

Cyber attacks have surged by 47% globally in the first quarter of 2025, with organisations facing an average of 1,925 attacks each week.

Check Point Software, a cybersecurity firm, warns that attackers are growing more sophisticated and persistent, targeting critical sectors like healthcare, finance, and technology with increasing intensity.

Ransomware activity alone has soared by 126% compared to last year. Attackers are no longer just encrypting files but now also threaten to leak sensitive data unless paid — a tactic known as dual extortion.

Instead of operating as large, centralised gangs, modern ransomware groups are smaller and more agile, often coordinating through dark web forums, making them harder to trace.

The report also notes that cybercriminals are using AI to automate phishing attacks and scan systems for vulnerabilities, allowing them to strike with greater accuracy. Emerging markets remain particularly vulnerable, as they often lack advanced cybersecurity infrastructure.

Check Point urges companies to act decisively by adopting proactive security measures, investing in threat detection and employee training, and implementing real-time monitoring. Waiting for an attack instead of preparing in advance could leave organisations dangerously exposed.

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Customer data stolen in cyber attacks on Cartier and North Face

Fashion brand The North Face and luxury jeweller Cartier have confirmed recent cyber attacks that exposed customer data, including names and email addresses.

Neither company reported breaches of financial or password information.

North Face identified the attack as a credential stuffing attempt, where previously stolen passwords are used to break into other accounts.

Affected customers are being advised to change their login details, while the company’s owner, VF Corporation, continues recovering from an earlier incident.

Cartier said the breach allowed brief access to limited client data but insisted that it quickly secured its systems.

Retailers such as Adidas, Victoria’s Secret, Harrods, and M&S have all been hit in recent months, prompting warnings that the industry remains an attractive target for cyber criminals.

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WhatsApp fixes deleted message privacy gap

WhatsApp is rolling out a privacy improvement that ensures deleted messages no longer linger in quoted replies, addressing a long-standing issue that exposed partial content users had intended to remove.

The update applies automatically, with no toggle required, and has begun reaching iOS users through version 25.12.73, with wider availability expected soon.

Until now, deleting a message for everyone in a chat has not removed it from quoted replies. That allowed fragments of deleted content to remain visible, undermining the purpose of deletion.

WhatsApp removes the associated quoted message entirely instead of keeping it in conversation threads, even in group or community chats.

WABetaInfo, which first spotted the update, noted that users delete messages for privacy or personal reasons, and leave behind quoted traces conflicted with those intentions.

The change ensures conversations reflect user expectations by entirely erasing deleted content, not only from the original message but also from any references.

Meta continues to develop new features for WhatsApp. Recent additions include voice chat in groups and a native interface for iPad. The company is also testing tools like AI-generated wallpapers, message summaries, and more refined privacy settings to enhance user control and experience further.

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NSO asks court to overturn WhatsApp verdict

Israeli spyware company NSO Group has requested a new trial after a US jury ordered it to pay $168 million in damages to WhatsApp.

The company, which has faced mounting legal and financial troubles, filed a motion in a California federal court last week seeking to reduce the verdict or secure a retrial.

The May verdict awarded WhatsApp $444,719 in compensatory damages and $167.25 million in punitive damages. Jurors found that NSO exploited vulnerabilities in the encrypted platform and sold the exploit to clients who allegedly used it to target journalists, activists and political rivals.

WhatsApp, owned by Meta, filed the lawsuit in 2019.

NSO claims the punitive award is unconstitutional, arguing it is over 376 times greater than the compensatory damages and far exceeds the US Supreme Court’s general guidance of a 4:1 ratio.

The firm also said it cannot afford the penalty, citing losses of $9 million in 2023 and $12 million in 2024. Its CEO testified that the company is ‘struggling to keep our heads above water’.

WhatsApp, responding to TechCrunch in a statement, said NSO was once again trying to evade accountability. The company vowed to continue its legal campaign, including efforts to secure a permanent injunction that would prevent NSO from ever targeting WhatsApp or its users again.

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184 million passwords exposed in massive data breach

A major data breach has exposed over 184 million user credentials, including emails, passwords, and account details for platforms such as Google, Microsoft and government portals. It is still unclear whether this was due to negligence or deliberate criminal activity.

The unencrypted, unprotected database was discovered online by cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler, who confirmed many of the credentials were current and accurate. The breach highlights ongoing failures by data handlers to apply even the most basic security measures.

Fowler believes the data was gathered using infostealer malware, which silently extracts login information from compromised devices and sells it on the dark web. After the database was reported, the hosting provider took it offline, but the source remains unknown.

Security experts urge users to update passwords across all platforms, enable two-factor authentication, and use password managers and data removal services. In today’s hyper-connected world, the exposure of such critical information without encryption is seen as both avoidable and unacceptable.

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Colt, Honeywell and Nokia to trial quantum cryptography in space

Colt Technology Services, Honeywell, and Nokia have joined forces to trial quantum key distribution (QKD) via satellites to develop quantum-safe networks. The trial builds on a previous Colt pilot focused on terrestrial quantum-secure networks.

The collaboration aims to tackle the looming cybersecurity risks of quantum computing, which threatens to break current encryption methods. The project seeks to deliver secure global communication beyond the current 100km terrestrial limit by trialling space-based and subsea QKD.

Low-Earth orbit satellites will explore QKD over ultra-long distances, including transatlantic spans. The initiative is designed to support sectors that handle sensitive data, such as finance, healthcare, and government, by offering encryption solutions resistant to quantum threats.

Leaders from all three companies emphasised the urgency of developing safeguards to protect against future threats. A joint white paper, The Journey to Quantum-Safe Networking, has been released to outline the risks and technical roadmap for this new frontier in secure communications.

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China creates AI to detect real nuclear warheads

Chinese scientists have created the world’s first AI-based system capable of identifying real nuclear warheads from decoys, marking a significant step in arms control verification.

The breakthrough, developed by the China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), could strengthen Beijing’s hand in stalled disarmament talks, although it also raises difficult questions about AI’s growing role in managing weapons of mass destruction.

The technology builds on a long-standing US–China proposal but faced key obstacles: how to train AI using sensitive nuclear data, gain military approval without risking secret leaks, and persuade sceptical nations like the US to move past Cold War-era inspection methods.

So far, only the AI training has been completed, with the rest of the process still pending international acceptance.

The AI system uses deep learning and cryptographic protocols to analyse scrambled radiation signals from warheads behind a polythene wall, ensuring the weapons’ internal designs remain hidden.

The machine can verify a warhead’s chain-reaction potential without accessing classified details. According to CIAE, repeated randomised tests reduce the chance of deception to nearly zero.

While both China and the US have pledged not to let AI control nuclear launch decisions, the new system underlines AI’s expanding role in national defence.

Beijing insists the AI can be jointly trained and sealed before use to ensure transparency, but sceptics remain wary of trust, backdoor access and growing militarisation of AI.

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Japan to develop new cybersecurity strategy and measures

The Japanese government is preparing to develop a new cybersecurity strategy within the year, aiming to address growing digital threats targeting both public institutions and private enterprises. As part of the forthcoming strategy, the government plans to transition its internal communications systems from public-key cryptography to post-quantum cryptography, which is considered more resilient against potential cyberattacks enabled by quantum computing technologies.

In a recent development, Defence Minister Gen Nakatani met with Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovile Šakalienė in Tokyo, where both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral cooperation on cybersecurity. A Japanese Ministry of Defence expert will be sent to Lithuania in June to engage with local specialists, who are recognised for their expertise in managing persistent cyber threats, particularly those attributed to Russian state-linked actors.

The agreement follows an earlier announcement that Japan intends to expand its pool of specialist cybersecurity personnel from the current 24,000 to at least 50,000 by 2030. The target was introduced in response to a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) panel recommendation that the country needs approximately 110,000 skilled cybersecurity professionals to meet growing demand.

Under new regulatory measures due to take effect in 2026, the government will also begin inspecting the cybersecurity practices of private companies. Firms failing to meet the established standards may risk losing access to state subsidies.

Earlier this year, the parliament passed a new law enabling active cyberdefence measures, allowing authorities to legally monitor communications data during peacetime and neutralise foreign servers if cyberattacks occur.

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Croatia urged to embed human rights into AI law

Politiscope recently held an event at the Croatian Journalists’ Association to highlight the human rights risks of AI.

As Croatia begins drafting a national law to implement the EU AI Act, the event aimed to push for stronger protections and transparency instead of relying on vague promises of innovation.

Croatia’s working group is still forming key elements of the law, such as who will enforce it, making it an important moment for public input.

Experts warned that AI systems could increase surveillance, discrimination, and exclusion. Speakers presented troubling examples, including inaccurate biometric tools and algorithms that deny benefits or profile individuals unfairly.

Campaigners from across Europe, including EDRi, showcased how civil society has already stopped invasive AI tools in places like the Netherlands and Serbia. They argued that ‘values’ embedded in corporate AI systems often lack accountability and harm marginalised groups instead of protecting them.

Rather than presenting AI as a distant threat or a miracle cure, the event focused on current harms and the urgent need for safeguards. Speakers called for a public register of AI use in state institutions, a ban on biometric surveillance in public, and full civil society participation in shaping AI rules.

A panel urged Croatia to go beyond the EU Act’s baseline by embracing more transparent and citizen-led approaches.

Despite having submitted recommendations, Politiscope and other civil society organisations remain excluded from the working group drafting the law. While business groups and unions often gain access through social dialogue rules, CSOs are still sidelined.

Politiscope continues to demand an open and inclusive legislative process, arguing that democratic oversight is essential for AI to serve people instead of controlling them.

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AT&T hit by alleged 31 million record breach

A hacker has allegedly leaked data from 31 million AT&T customers, raising fresh concerns over the security of one of America’s largest telecom providers. The data, posted on a major dark web forum in late May 2025, is said to contain 3.1GB of customer information in both JSON and CSV formats.

Instead of isolated details, the breach reportedly includes highly sensitive data: full names, dates of birth, tax IDs, physical and email addresses, device and cookie identifiers, phone numbers, and IP addresses.

Cybersecurity firm DarkEye flagged the leak, warning that the structured formats make the data easy for criminals to exploit.

If verified, the breach would mark yet another major incident for AT&T. In March 2024, the company confirmed that personal information from 73 million users had been leaked.

Just months later, a July breach exposed call records and location metadata for nearly 110 million customers, with blame directed at compromised Snowflake cloud accounts.

AT&T has yet to comment on the latest claims. Experts warn that the combination of tax numbers and device data could enable identity theft, financial scams, and advanced phishing attacks.

For a company already under scrutiny for past security lapses, the latest breach could further damage public trust.

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