THREAT LEVELS
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
Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky Lab is moving key parts of its business out of Moscow in a bid to address the risks arising from its exposure to the Russian intelligence services.
The data protection watchdog says the Metropolitan Police's database of gang members has been illegally sharing information on hundreds of victims who aren't involved in gang crimes. The workings of the database - called the gangs matrix - is also potentially racially discriminatory, the Information Commissioner's Office said.
One of Britain’s top police officers says intelligence-sharing allies including Australia need to join forces and push technology giants harder for help to decrypt the messages of terrorists, tackle crime gangs and fight child exploitation. Lynne Owens, the director-general of Britain’s National Crime Agency, has also warned there is a risk that the impact of terrorism through social media and 24-hour news means fighting organised crime is under-resourced even though it kills more people.
A Russian IT specialist claims that he was asked by the Russian Security Service to provide back door access to the system issuing visas for Russians to travel to Britain.
Micro-blogging site Twitter has confirmed that a third party software provider is responsible for the series of cryptocurrency-related hacking on its platform. A Twitter spokesperson said attackers exploited a third-party marketing solution to blast fake Bitcoin giveaway links from a slew of verified accounts.
Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila has said the GPS signal in his country's northern airspace was disrupted during recent Nato war games in Scandinavia. He said he believed the signal had been jammed deliberately and that it was possible Russia was to blame because it had the means to do so.
The Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) in Zambia have arrested three individual directors of the cryptocurrency firm Heritage Coin Resources Limited on the charge of laundering approximately 28,000,000 kwachas, the country’s official currency. This is equivalent to more than $2.3 million in USD.
A location-tracking smartwatch worn by thousands of children has proven relatively easy to hack. A security researcher found the devices neither encrypted the data they used nor secured each child's account. As a result, he said, he could track children's movements, surreptitiously listen in to their activities and make spoof calls to the watches that appeared to be from parents.
A Phoenix man was convicted Tuesday of hacking into the computers of a company that provides consulting services to Native American tribal governments. Nikishna Polequaptewa, 36, was found guilty by a federal jury in Los Angeles on one count of unauthorized impairment of a protected computer and causing over $50,000 in loss, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California announced.
Victims of courier fraud have lost more than £6.1 million in the past year as conmen pose as police officers and bank officials to steal cash.
Two students thought to have been used as "mules" by criminals have been sentenced for money laundering. Abdi Mohamed and Nyanjura Biseko, both 22, pleaded guilty after more than £10,000 of fraudulently obtained money was transferred into their accounts. Sussex Police believe the pair were used as "money mules" and said the case highlights how students are being "targeted and used to launder money".
A car repair worker has been sentenced to jail for stealing customers' personal data from his former employer. Mustafa Kasim stole accident information and the names, phone numbers and vehicle details of those involved.
Four men have been convicted of organised crime in West Lothian, including people smuggling, money laundering, and fraud. They were accused of bringing Latvian people into the UK between 2012 and 2016.
Investigators raided Belgian soccer club Royal Excel Mouscron on Wednesday and detained three people suspected of funnelling illicit funding from offshore companies and illegally obtaining a licence to operate as a professional club, prosecutors said.
Danske Bank’s (DANSKE.CO) 200 billion euro ($225 billion) money laundering scandal might be the “tip of the iceberg” and investigators should examine whether major Western banks played a role, a lawyer for the whistleblower said.
The head of Poland's financial regulatory body resigned Tuesday following a report alleging that he had sought a multimillion dollar bribe from the owner of a troubled bank in exchange for favours.
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.