Smiths Group, a London-listed engineering firm operating in energy, security, aerospace, and defence, has reported a cybersecurity incident involving unauthorised access to its systems. The company has taken immediate steps to mitigate potential disruptions and contain the breach. In a statement issued to the London Stock Exchange, Smiths Group confirmed the detection of unauthorised activity and outlined measures to protect business continuity, including isolating affected systems and ensuring normal operations are maintained.
The company emphasized its commitment to safeguarding operations, stating that swift action was taken to minimize the impact of the breach. Smiths Group is actively restoring affected systems and assessing the impact on its business operations. However, the company has not provided specific details about the nature of the cyberattack, though indications suggest it may have been a ransomware incident, given the common practice of taking systems offline in such cases.
Following the announcement of the cybersecurity breach, Smiths Group’s share price dropped by nearly 2%. The company is collaborating with cybersecurity experts to assess the extent of the breach and facilitate the restoration of affected systems. While Smiths Group has confirmed adherence to regulatory requirements, it has not disclosed details about the cause of the incident, the exact timing of its discovery, or whether business or customer data was compromised. The company has promised to provide updates “as appropriate.”
This incident is part of a growing trend of cyberattacks targeting organizations across various sectors. Earlier this month, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations specialized agency, confirmed a data breach affecting nearly 12,000 individuals in the aviation sector. The breach exposed approximately 42,000 recruitment records from April 2016 to July 2024, with 11,929 individuals directly impacted.
Similarly, Conduent, a business services company, recently confirmed a cyberattack that caused a system outage. Meanwhile, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) is investigating claims of a data breach after an adversary allegedly accessed documents associated with its developer environment. In the UK, the domain registry Nominet reported a network compromise in early January due to a zero-day vulnerability in Ivanti VPN, which has been linked to cyber espionage activities by the UNC5337 threat group.
Smiths Group, established in 1851, employs over 15,000 people and reported annual revenues of approximately $3.89 billion in fiscal 2024. The company’s Smiths Detection arm develops security screening systems for airports and other ports of entry, while its other divisions support industries such as mining, oil, gas, clean energy, and semiconductor testing. The engineering and manufacturing sectors are prime targets for cybercriminals and nation-state hackers due to their economic importance and the sensitive nature of their work.
For example, in August, Schlatter Group, a Swiss manufacturer of industrial welding machines, fell victim to a criminal cyberattack. Smiths Group, which reported annual revenues of £3.13 billion last year, supplies products to industries including energy, safety, security, aerospace, and defence, making it a lucrative target for cyberattacks.
The cybersecurity incident at Smiths Group highlights the increasing vulnerability of engineering and manufacturing firms to cyberattacks. As cybercriminals and nation-state actors continue to target these sectors, companies must prioritize robust cybersecurity measures to protect sensitive data and maintain business continuity. Smiths Group’s swift response to the breach underscores the importance of proactive incident management, but the incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing challenges in securing critical infrastructure and industrial systems.
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are widely trusted for protecting online privacy, bypassing regional restrictions, and securing sensitive data. However, new research has uncovered serious flaws in some VPN protocols, exposing millions of systems to potential cyberattacks.
A study by Top10VPN, conducted in collaboration with cybersecurity expert Mathy Vanhoef, highlights these alarming issues. The research, set to be presented at the USENIX 2025 Conference, reveals vulnerabilities in VPN tunnelling protocols affecting over 4 million systems worldwide. Impacted systems include:
Tunneling protocols are essential mechanisms that encrypt and protect data as it travels between a user and a VPN server. However, the study identified critical weaknesses in specific protocols, including:
These vulnerabilities allow attackers to bypass security measures by sending manipulated data packets through the affected protocols, enabling unauthorized access and a range of malicious activities, such as:
Advanced encryption tools like IPsec and WireGuard play a crucial role in safeguarding data. These technologies provide strong end-to-end encryption, ensuring data is decoded only by the intended server. This added security layer prevents hackers from exploiting weak points in VPN systems.
The vulnerabilities are not confined to specific regions. They predominantly affect servers and services in the following countries:
Both individual users and large organizations are impacted, emphasizing the need for vigilance and regular updates.
To enhance VPN security, consider these steps:
This research serves as a critical reminder: while VPNs are designed to protect privacy, they are not immune to flaws. Users must remain proactive, prioritize robust security features, and stay informed about emerging vulnerabilities.
By taking these precautions, both individuals and organizations can significantly reduce the risks associated with these newly discovered VPN flaws. Remember, no tool is entirely foolproof — staying informed is the key to online safety.
This is not only an issue of personal privacy but also safety. Many organisations sell address data to brokers, who then distribute their contents to advertisers, identity thieves, or even burglars. Here's the step-by-step process of how to delete your home address off the web.
Share Your Address Only When Necessary
Keep your address private by limiting how often you give out your home address. Share it only when you must, like when opening a bank account or registering to vote. You can use an alternate address elsewhere, for example, when signing up for a gym membership or getting deliveries. That little change makes a big difference to the privacy of your home address online.
Mask Your Address in Mapping Apps
Online maps usually have very clear street views of your home. Thankfully, apps such as Google Maps and Apple Maps can blur your home for privacy. For Google Maps, enter your address, go to Report a Problem, then the areas you'd like to blur. For Apple Maps, write to their team at mapsimagecollection@apple.com, with details of your home, and they will handle it.
Remove Your Address from Search Results
You have the right to request its removal, if it appears on a search engine. Google offers users the ability to track and control personal information online. One can visit their Google Account and navigate to the Results About You section to set alerts and even request removal of the address from certain search results. Remember that Google could retain content from government or business sites.
Know your Social Media Profiles
Review your social media profiles for those instances where you published your house address. Never post a photo with your street or house number. Periodically update your privacy setting to restrict access to your information.
Opt Out from Whitepages
Whitepages is the biggest collection of addresses online. To remove yourself from it, visit their Suppression Request page, search for your profile, and make a suppression request for removal of it. You can easily do this in a few minutes.
Cleaning Up Unused Accounts
Most websites and services save your address whenever you sign up. Accounts you don't use anymore—like old shopping sites or subscription services—and delete them or request that your data be erased. That's fewer chances of a leak or misuse. You could also use a Post Office Box as an alternative.
The use of a post office box can make certain that one private home address does not have to be revealed. You can apply through USPS to lease a box for as low as $15 monthly online. This address could be used for deliveries or other accounts; it conceals your place of residency.
Use a Virtual Mailbox
Added to that is the security factor - virtual mailboxes have a secure option. They scan and forward your mail and allow you to access it online. It's thus comfortable for a frequent traveller, thus anyone who wants to avoid physical mail at his doorstep.
Securing Your Address with a VPN
Finally, make use of a virtual private network (VPN) to encrypt your internet data. Also, keep the physical location private. It conceals where you are physically based as you go online. Many browsers also have this built-in VPN option for additional security as well.
Removing your home address from the internet may take some effort, but the peace of mind it brings is worth it. By following these steps, you can protect your privacy and stay safer in an increasingly connected world.
Recent warnings from U.S. authorities highlight that North Korean IT workers are infiltrating tech and crypto companies, channeling their earnings to support the state's nuclear weapons program. A 2024 UN report states these workers generate up to $600 million annually for Kim Jong Un's regime.
Hiring these workers, even unintentionally, violates U.N. sanctions and is illegal in the U.S. and many other countries. It also poses a significant security risk, as North Korean hackers often use covert workers to target companies.
North Korea's cyber operations are nothing new, but their infiltration into the crypto industry represents a new frontier. Using fake identities and fabricated work histories, North Korean IT workers managed to secure positions in over a dozen blockchain firms. These operatives, often disguised as freelancers from countries like South Korea, Japan, or China, have leveraged the decentralized nature of the crypto industry to mask their origins and intentions.
The crypto industry's decentralized and often anonymous nature makes it an attractive target for cybercriminals. The article reveals how North Korean operatives exploited this blind spot, slipping through the cracks of standard vetting procedures. They infiltrated companies by providing fake credentials and using VPNs to obfuscate their actual locations. This tactic allowed them to access sensitive information and potentially manipulate blockchain networks.
North Korea's entry into the crypto industry is part of a broader strategy to circumvent international sanctions. By infiltrating blockchain firms, North Korean operatives can siphon off funds, conduct illicit transactions, and launder money. The stolen assets are then funneled back to the regime, bolstering its finances and supporting its nuclear ambitions.
The infiltration severely affects the targeted firms, exposing them to legal risks and undermining their credibility. It also raises broader concerns about the security of the crypto industry. To combat this threat, companies must adopt more stringent vetting processes, enhance cybersecurity measures, and collaborate with international agencies to identify and neutralize such threats.
Tor is a privacy software used for keeping your identity secret by rerouting your web traffic through several nodes (computers) worldwide, which makes it difficult to track where the user traffic is coming from. In a change of events, an investigative report warned that law enforcement from Germany and across the have collaborated to deanonymize users via timing attacks.
The Tor project, however, is trying to assure users that the network is still safe. The team behind Tor assures proper measures are followed for users using the latest versions, stressing that timing attacks is an old technique and solutions can mitigate it.
Known for its privacy services, Tor is generally used by journalists and activists while communicating with sources to avoid censorship in countries that curb press freedom. The project boasts a long list of genuine users, but because of its secrecy, threat actors also use Tor to host illegal marketplaces and avoid law enforcement.
German portal Panorama has issued an investigative that says court documents revealed that law agencies use timing analysis attacks via Tor nodes in large numbers to track and arrest the main culprits behind the child abuse platform “Boystown.”
In the Tor timing attack, the users are deanonymized without abusing any vulnerabilities in the tool, the focus is on noticing the timing of data entering and exiting the network.
If the threat actor is controlling the Tor nodes or tracking exit and entry points, they can compare the entry and exit time data, and in case of a match, use the data to trace the traffick back to a particular user.
If the attacker controls some of the Tor nodes or is monitoring the entry and exit points, they can compare the timing of when data enters and leaves the network, and if they match, they can trace the traffic back to a particular person.
The Tor Project is not happy about not getting access to the court documents that can help them understand and verify security-related questions. “We need more details about this case. In the absence of facts, it is hard for us to issue any official guidance or responsible disclosures to the Tor community, relay operators, and users,” reads the Tor statement.