Chinese hackers using everyday devices to target UK firms, warns cybersecurity agency
British businesses are being urged to step up their vigilance against a China-linked hacking ploy that uses everyday devices for espionage.The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and agencies in nine other countries have warned of persistent attempts by Beijing-backed groups to hack equipment such as wifi routers to launch cyber-attacks.Known as “covert networks” or “botnets”, they typically target vulnerable equipment – for instance devices that have not had a software update or are old – as a base for staging activities such as surveillance and data theft.The NCSC said the technique was used by the majority of China-linked hackers.Richard Horne, the centre’s chief executive, said on Wednesday that China’s intelligence and military agencies had an “eye-watering level of sophistication in their cyber-operations”.
Speaking at his NCSC’s annual conference in Glasgow, he said: “We face more than just a capable cyber-threat but a peer competitor in cyberspace,”The advisory notice from the NCSC and cyber-agencies in countries including the US, Australia, Canada and Germany warns there has been a “major shift” in Chinese tactics to using devices linked to the internet as a means of obscuring where an attack comes from,The most commonly hijacked devices are routers but printers and web cameras are also vulnerable,Security officials compare routers to virtual private networks, which allow web users to obscure their location,They say a household’s wifi router could be used as a conduit for attacking an unrelated major company.
While the NCSC guidance is not directed at members of the public who might be unwittingly providing a launchpad for espionage, it urges companies and organisations to take a number of steps such as mapping out their IT systems, including connections to consumer broadband networks.It also recommends multifactor authentication – where users are asked to give another form of verification along with their password – for members of staff trying to access a system remotely.They also advise limiting network connections to external devices.The centre said in the advisory notice published on Thursday: “The NCSC believes that the majority of China-nexus threat actors are using these networks, that multiple covert networks have been created and are being constantly updated, and that a single covert network could be being used by multiple actors.These networks are mainly made up of compromised small office home office routers, as well as internet of things [connected devices] and smart devices.
”A China-backed group, dubbed Volt Typhoon by western authorities, has been flagged by agencies as a user of covert networks and has quietly burrowed into key US infrastructure including rail, aviation and water systems.The NCSC said these covert networks were now built and maintained by private Chinese companies.In one example, a Chinese business created a covert network by infecting 200,000 devices worldwide.This year, Google announced it had disrupted a “residential proxy” network where cybercrime groups and state actors used hacked household and IT devices to launch attacks.
Tesla reports mixed financial results as Musk pivots automaker to AI and robots
Tesla reported its first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, disclosing some better-than-expected results but faltering in some key areas. The report failed to significantly buoy Tesla’s stock, which has limped along this year while its CEO, Elon Musk, has tried to sell the company’s new vision of humanoid robots and self-driving robotaxis. Its core car business has struggled in the face of competition from Chinese counterparts and backlash against his close involvement with the Trump administration.“There remains significant effort and hard work to realize our mission of Amazing Abundance,” Tesla said in its report, while claiming that demand for its vehicles was rebounding.Tesla revealed earnings of 41 cents a share on Wednesday after market close, more than the 37 cents per share that Wall Street expected
What is Mythos AI and why could it be a threat to global cybersecurity?
Anthropic has ruled out releasing its latest AI model, Claude Mythos, to the public because of the threat it poses to global cybersecurity.However, the US tech startup behind the Claude chatbot confirmed on Wednesday it was investigating a report that a group of people had gained unauthorised access to Mythos. The alleged incident has raised concerns over the pace of development and the ability of tech companies to keep their riskiest products out of the public domain. Here, we examine Mythos and its potential impact.Mythos is an AI model – the underlying technology that powers tools such as chatbots – that, according to Anthropic, represents a serious potential threat to any organisation’s cybersecurity
‘Get back to work’: Amazon faces fresh scrutiny over workplace safety record
Amazon, one of the world’s largest employers, has for years faced scrutiny over its safety record. When Billy Foister, a 48-year-old worker, died after a heart attack inside one of the tech giant’s warehouses in September 2019, managers were accused of telling staff to “get back to work”.When another worker died this month at a distribution center in Troutdale, Oregon, an Amazon spokesperson claimed they had collapsed from an “existing medical issue”. They denied a report that a nearby employee was told: “Please get back to work.”As Donald Trump’s administration continues to overhaul federal government oversight of workplace safety, workers inside Amazon and labor advocates say the company’s injury rates, and how it treats injured workers, remain a problem
Anthropic investigates report of rogue access to hack-enabling Mythos AI
The AI developer Anthropic has confirmed it is investigating a report that unauthorised users have gained access to its Mythos model, which it has warned poses risks to cybersecurity.The US startup made the statement after Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that a small group of people had accessed the model, which has not been released to the public because of its ability to enable cyber-attacks.“We’re investigating a report claiming unauthorised access to Claude Mythos Preview through one of our third-party vendor environments,” said Anthropic.Bloomberg said a “handful” of users in a private online forum gained access to Mythos on the same day Anthropic said it was being released to a small number of companies including Apple and Goldman Sachs for testing purposes.It reported that the unnamed users got to Mythos through access that one of them had as a worker at a third-party contractor for Anthropic and by deploying methods used by cybersecurity researchers
AI hallucinations found in high-profile Wall Street law firm filing
The elite Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell has told a court that a major filing it made in a high-profile case contained errors resulting from hallucinations generated by artificial intelligence.Andrew Dietderich, the co-head of the firm’s global restructuring group, apologised in a letter to the New York federal judge Martin Glenn on Saturday for the string of mistakes, which included inaccurate citations.The errors, uncovered by the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner (BSF), which was also working on the case, included misquoting the US bankruptcy code and citing cases incorrectly in a filing made on 9 April.In multiple instances, S&C, which employs more than 900 lawyers and has one of the top reputations for corporate work in the US, filed inaccurately summarised conclusions made in other cases using AI.“We deeply regret that this has occurred,” said Dietderich in the letter
‘An element of exploitation’: the world of TikTok child skincare influencers
In a TikTok video a young girl – her age anywhere between 10 and 15 – sits unboxing package after package of products she says were sent to her by skincare brands. She calls it a “PR haul”.In another video, a 16-year-old opens a box of products she received from a well known brand. She says: “I know I have younger people watching,” before reading out a note from the brand that says: “Can’t wait for you to share your thoughts.”This is the rapidly growing world of children’s skincare, in which online influencers as young as 13 accept free products from brands and promote them to their followers
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