BotNet News

The Cyberthreat News section covers the latest cybersecurity-related news and developments around the globe. This includes stories involving hacking, ransomware, state-sponsored espionage, cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, and more. This section also examines how journalists perceive and adapt to digital threats, and how such attacks affect their ability to conduct journalism in the public interest.

September 2023: Russian cybercriminals breached the International Criminal Court’s IT systems amid an ongoing probe into Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

October 2022: Pro-Russian hackers hacked into an aviation security company, stealing passenger data and gaining access to a database with details of aircrafts, according to researchers. The attack was reportedly in retaliation for the company’s reporting on the Ukraine crisis.

November 2023: A ransomware attack wiped four months worth of Sri Lankan government data. The attack also disrupted the country’s airport, telecommunications and other services.

December 2022: Chinese state-sponsored hackers were able to modify routers in Japan and the U.S. by inserting firmware implants that allow them to establish covert networks inside the target systems. The hackers could then use these implants to spy on industrial, commercial and military sectors in both countries.

January 2024: Russia attacked 65 Australian government departments and agencies in one of the largest government cyberattacks, stealing 2.5 million documents from an Australian law firm that services government clients. The hacks also included a password spray attack that compromised the personal emails of senior police officers and officials.

North Korean-linked hackers targeted people with expertise in policy issues in a phishing campaign, sending emails requesting interviews and stealing their login credentials. The hackers then allegedly leaked the information to discredit the targets.