Graham Cluley
Cybersecurity keynote speaker
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The ransomware negotiator who was working for the other side
When a company falls victim to a ransomware attack, it is not uncommon for it to turn to experts for help. Specialist ransomware negotiation firms handle communications with criminal gangs on a victim's behalf. What victims don't expect is that their trusted negotiator might be separately sharing details of the victim's cyber-insurance policy and negotiation strategy directly with the attackers themselves. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Invited to a “job interview” with Netflix or OpenAI? Beware! Your Google password could be at risk
Have you received an email from a recruiter at Adobe, Netflix, or OpenAI offering you an exciting new marketing role? Well, before you start brushing up your interview technique, take a closer look at who is really behind it. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Smashing Security podcast #475: JadePuffer – the AI that ran a ransomware attack all by itself
A 15-year-old boy asked a chatbot for help - and cancelled nearly 47,000 anime streaming subscriptions in under four hours. Meanwhile, researchers have documented the first fully autonomous, agentic AI-driven ransomware attack, "JadePuffer". What does this tell us about the future of cybersecurity? Also, Apple's "Hide My Email" feature turns out to hide rather less than it promises - despite Apple knowing it has a problem for over a year. All this and more in this episode of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Zoë Rose. -
Two arrested over credit card phishing – as the Netherlands is named Europe’s worst for payment fraud
Two young men have been arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion of running a phishing operation that harvested the credit card details of unsuspecting victims. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
The Gentlemen ransomware: what you need to know
Who Are The Gentlemen? Despite the impeccably polite name, there is nothing polite or refined about this particular gang of cybercriminals. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog. -
Smashing Security podcast #474: Polymarket can predict the future. So how did it miss this hack?
Polymarket has built an entire business on predicting the future. So how did it manage to spectacularly fail to predict its own hack? Plus, the Google engineer with a million-dollar secret, and the curious case of the airport hairdryer. Meanwhile, "FortiBleed" sees 75,000 Fortinet firewalls thrown wide open - and the real damage is going to roll on for years. All this and more in episode 474 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Quentyn Taylor. -
Scammers race to cash in on Venezuelan earthquake disaster
Scammers wasted no time exploiting Venezuela's devastating earthquake, with researchers uncovering 212 newly-registered relief-themed domains in just five days. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
USB drives carrying China-linked malware infected Japanese military networks for nearly a year
Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Smashing Security podcast #473: How a hacker could have Rickrolled the entire World Cup
A polite caller from your bank says there is a problem with your account. Don't worry - they'll send someone round to help. They'll even take your cards away to keep them safe. The scam has run rampant, until Dutch police plastered blurred photos of 100 suspects across billboards, supermarkets, and TikTok, with a two-week ultimatum to turn themselves in... or else. Meanwhile, a security researcher called Bob DaHacker got her hands on the live broadcast controls for every match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. She could have Rickrolled the entire planet, but actually spent days trying to find anyone at FIFA who would pick up the phone. Plus! Don't miss our featured interview with Black Kite's Jeffrey Wheatman exploring ransomware and extortion attacks across Europe. All this and more in episode 473 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Danny Palmer. -
Hacker hijacks Brazil’s national alert system, sending “misanthropy” to millions of phones
Emergency alert systems work because people believe them. Every time one of these systems issues a false alert - whether through negligence or a deliberate attack - trust erodes. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Apple’s Hide My Email tweak leaves privacy fans fuming
Apple has long marketed itself as the privacy-first tech giant. So why is it making a change to Hide My Email that will make it easier for websites to block anonymous sign-ups - and harder for you to stay private online? Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Imposter scams cost Americans $3.5 billion in 2025 – and it’s getting worse
Someone is pretending to be your bank, your government, or your local planning office. And according to the FTC, they're making billions doing it. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog. -
Smashing Security podcast #472: AI gets hacked, and BitLocker gets bypassed
What if your AI coding assistant could be tricked into stealing your own company's secrets - by reading a single booby-trapped bug report? No phishing email. No malware. No password ever stolen. Just an AI doing exactly what it was told. Meanwhile, someone themselves Nightmare Eclipse has decided to teach Microsoft a lesson. The result? Three zero-days dropped on the internet, one of which lets a thief with a USB stick walk straight past BitLocker. Microsoft is furious. Plus don't miss our featured interview with Son Nguyen Kim of Proton Pass, who explains why plugging AI agents into your email and calendar without thinking twice is rather like hiring a new employee with the keys to everything - and skipping the background check. All this and more in episode 472 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest Paul Ducklin. -
Maine forced to take down data breach portal after fake notices filed with authorities
The US state of Maine has taken its public data breach notification portal offline after someone submitted fraudulent breach disclosures impersonating two well-known technology companies. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Privacy own-goal: World Cup blunder leaks Lionel Messi’s passport details
Argentina's World Cup squad had their passport numbers leaked before a ball was kicked - not by hackers, but by someone who failed to redact a document properly. document. It's a mistake that has been made many times in the past... Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Silent Ransom Group: what you need to know
Most extortion gangs hide behind a keyboard. Silent Ransom Group will phone your staff pretending to be IT support - and if that fails, send someone to your office in person to plug in a USB stick. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog. -
Smashing Security podcast #471: This AI worm just rewrote its own rules
Researchers at the University of Toronto have built a worm that thinks for itself. Using free off-the-shelf AI models it works out how to break into each new computer it encounters, and hijacks the powerful ones to host its own AI brain. And then the researchers discovered their creation had quietly removed the list of machines it wasn't supposed to attack. Meanwhile, Meta's shiny new AI customer support agent has been cheerfully helping hackers help themselves to other people's Instagram accounts. Just keep asking, politely but firmly, to have a password reset sent to a different email address - and the AI will eventually agree. All this and more in episode 471 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity expert and keynote speaker Graham Cluley, and special guest James Ball. -
Why schools remain one of cybercriminals’ favourite targets
Schools on both sides of the Atlantic have been revealed in recent days to have been hit by hackers, reminding all of us that ransomware gangs see educational instituions as targets all year round. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Got a LinkedIn message from a recruiter? It might be Chinese intelligence, warn FBI and MI5
If you've ever received an out-of-the-blue message via LinkedIn from a recruiter offering some well-paid consultancy work, intelligence agencies have a message for you: be very careful. Read more in my article on the Hot for Security blog. -
Meta’s own AI chatbot to blame for Instagram accounts being stolen in seconds
Hackers have been hijacking Instagram accounts at scale by exploiting Meta's AI support chatbot. And, as if that weren't bad enough, the technique required no technical skill whatsoever. Read more in my article on the Fortra blog.
