Read also: Poly Network hacked for the second time in two years, a massive phone scam disrupted and more.

Attackers are increasingly using images in phishing to evade text-based security filters, according to researchers at INKY.

Email-based social engineering attacks have risen by 464% this year compared to the first half of 2022, according to a report by Acronis. Business email compromise (BEC) attacks have also increased significantly. “One out of 76, or 1.3%, of the received emails were malicious,” the researchers write. “Phishing remains the number one threat, with these attacks making up 73% of the total.

Hey, did you get that sketchy email? You know, the one from that malicious hacker always trying to fool us into clicking on some malware? Boy, these criminals are relentless. Wait, what? You clicked on it? Uh-oh... A hypothetical scenario, but one that plays out every day in organizations across the globe. The truth is that it is a very real scenario that offers a good opportunity to dive deeper into the topic of email security.

There's good news for any business which has fallen victim to the Akira ransomware. Security researchers at anti-virus company Avast have developed a free decryption tool for files that have been encrypted since the Akira ransomware first emerged in March 2023. The ransomware has been blamed for a number of high profile attacks - including ones against universities, financial institutions, and even a daycare centre for children.

A selection of this week’s more interesting vulnerability disclosures and cyber security news. As always with leaks, time will tell if any data shows up confirming it or not. On the flip side, such a juicy trove could just be a scam directed at hackers.

While generative AI offers powerful tools for cyber defenders, it’s also enabled cyber attackers to innovate and up the ante when it comes to threats such as malware, vulnerability exploitation and deep fake phishing. All this and we’re still just in the early days of the technology.

ChatGPT knows a lot about Len Noe, CyberArk’s resident technical evangelist, white hat hacker and biohacker. The biohacker piece of his title is a nod to the fact that Noe is transhuman (you might call him a cyborg and be right), which is why his grandkids call him “Robo Papa.” ChatGPT knows all of this.

IONIX has won two prestigious 2023 Globee® Awards, which include a Silver in the 3rd Annual Globee® Information Technology (IT) Awards for Best Attack Surface Management Product and a Silver in the 3rd Annual Globee® Disruptor Award for Cyber Security Software. These awards come on the heels of a Gold 2023 Globee® Cybersecurity Award for Best Security Software.

Cyber risk uncertainty is growing. Despite massive spending worldwide to the tune of $173 billion, cyber attacks keep occurring. Ransomware attacks—a type of cyberattack that encrypts an organization's network or locks users out of their devices and requires a ransom before restoring access—are costing companies 20 days of downtime on average. Within the next few years, nearly half of companies worldwide will experience cyber attacks on their software supply chains.