The threat to the UK from International Terrorism is SEVERE
The threat to Great Britain from Irish Republican Terrorism is MODERATE
Threat levels are designed to give a broad indication of the likelihood of a terrorist attack.
LOW means an attack is unlikely
MODERATE means an attack is possible, but not likely
SUBSTANTIAL means an attack is a strong possibility
SEVERE means an attack is highly likely
CRITICAL means an attack is expected imminently
BRIEFING
Some of the most cutting-edge weapons in the US's military arsenal can be "easily hacked" using "basic tools", a government report has concluded. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found "mission-critical" cyber-vulnerabilities in nearly all weapons systems tested between 2012 and 2017. That includes the newest F-35 jet as well as missile systems.
China has stepped up its thefts of American trade secrets through hacking in the past year after a lull during the end of the Obama administration, according to a new report by a leading cybersecurity firm. "The big headline really is that China is back," said Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of CrowdStrike, which published a midyear report Tuesday describing its observations of Chinese hacks into biotechnology, defense, mining, pharmaceutical, professional services and transportation firms.
A newly uncovered and likely state-backed hacking operation is attacking governments and military organisations, using publicly available tools to execute a targeted cyber-espionage campaign. Dubbed Gallmaker, the group has been active since at least December 2017 and doesn't use malware to gain access to and control Windows systems; instead using tools like Metasploit and PowerShell to gain access to information in targeted attacks.
Facebook has said it will not provide identity fraud protection for the victims of its latest data breach. On Friday it revealed 14 million users had highly personal information stolen by hackers.
Google is shutting down much of its social network, Google+, after user data was left exposed. It said a bug in its software meant information that people believed was private had been accessible by third parties.
Heathrow Airport has been fined £120,000 by the Information Commissioner's Office for "serious" data protection failings. It comes after a staff member lost a USB stick last October containing "sensitive personal data", which was later found by a member of the public.
On Thursday 4th October, the US Justice Department announced charges against seven alleged Russian military intelligence officers accused of hacking doping agencies and other international organisations.
Answering a booby-trapped video call via the WhatsApp messaging service could force the app to crash and close, a security expert has found. The bug was a "big deal" said researcher Tavis Ormandy, who is part of the team that found it.
The CIP Weekly Cyber Security Brief is published in partnership with Dilitas.com, and is gathered from current, open source data supplied through contacts within diplomatic posts, law enforcement agencies & UK intelligence services.