Subject: DDoS Attacks Now Key Weapons in Geopolitical Conflicts, NETSCOUT Warns
Source: TechRepublic
https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-ddos-cyberattacks-political-conflicts-netscout/
- DDoS attacks surge during political crises
- AI and botnets make attacks deadlier
- Why DDoS attacks are so dangerous now
- What’s being done to mitigate DDoS attacks?
Cyberattacks aren’t just about stealing data anymore — they’ve evolved into a key weapon in geopolitical fights, crippling vital infrastructure, and shaking public trust in governments. A new report by NETSCOUT reveals that hackers are increasingly using Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt elections, protests, and policy debates, turning digital sabotage into a tool of modern warfare.
The company’s Second Half 2024 DDoS Threat Intelligence Report sheds light on how cybercriminals and hacktivist groups have turned DDoS attacks into a dominant form of cyberwarfare, strategically targeting critical systems during periods of national instability.
In addition, NETSCOUT revealed that nearly nine million DDoS attacks were recorded in just the second half of 2024 — a 12.7% increase from the first half. Regions such as Latin America and Asia Pacific were among the largest hit, experiencing approximately 30% and 20% increases, respectively.
Source: tech.co
https://tech.co/news/what-ddos-attack-how-prevent
According to new data released by Netscout, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks are on the rise. There were 17 million such attacks in 2024 – up from 13 million the year before. It’s an astonishing rise that has big implications for your business. But what exactly is a DDoS attack? And how can I prevent it from happening to my business? In this guide, we’ve put together some helpful tips on how you can avoid falling foul of one of these sophisticated and damaging cybersecurity breaches.
Read on to find out what you can expect if your company suffers a DDoS attack, how to prevent it, and how you can mitigate the damage if the worse happens.
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Source: Android Central
https://www.androidcentral.com/apps-software/google-maps/google-maps-doubles-down-on-preventing-fake-reviews
With the help of AI, it can better detect businesses that try to cheat the system. What you need to know:
- Google is going after businesses that try to cheat the system with fake five-star reviews.
- In its recent report, Google said it has trained Gemini to detect businesses that try to cheat the system by buying fake five-star reviews.
- Additionally, it is issuing warnings to repeat offenders within the Google Maps app while temporarily disabling reviews for some.
“This new model has already helped us block thousands of suspicious Business Profile edits this year,” the company said in the post.
Source: Android Headlines
https://www.androidheadlines.com/2025/04/large-number-of-us-adults-view-ai-as-a-threat-report.html
Summary: A recent survey by the Pew Research Center revealed that a large number of US adults view AI as a threat. 43% of those surveyed fear its potential harm, while 24% believe the tech will benefit them. The report also reveals that 17% remain optimistic about AI’s impact on the US over the next 20 years. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been among the hot topics in the tech industry. Every now and then, we hear about companies making improvements to their AI products, making them even more useful. While companies tend to stress the benefits of AI, industry experts often see it as a threat to humanity. Now, a new survey report largely talks about the same, revealing that a large number of US adults also think of AI as a threat.
A new survey report reveals that adults in the US view AI as a threat – Last week, the Pew Research Center published the findings of a new survey called “How the US Public and AI Experts View Artificial Intelligence.” The findings published in the survey report are rather more negative than what you may have thought.
Source: The Hacker News
https://thehackernews.com/2025/04/explosive-growth-of-non-human.html
GitGuardian’s State of Secrets Sprawl report for 2025 reveals the alarming scale of secrets exposure in modern software environments. Driving this is the rapid growth of non-human identities (NHIs), which have been outnumbering human users for years. We need to get ahead of it and prepare security measures and governance for these machine identities as they continue to be deployed, creating an unprecedented level of security risk. This report reveals an astounding 23.77 million new secrets were leaked on GitHub in 2024 alone. This is a 25% surge from the previous year. This dramatic increase highlights how the proliferation of non-human identities (NHIs), such as service accounts, microservices, and AI agents, are rapidly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
The Non-Human Identity Crisis
NHI secrets, including API keys, service accounts, and Kubernetes workers, now outnumber human identities by at least 45-to-1 in DevOps environments. These machine-based credentials are essential for modern infrastructure but create significant security challenges when mismanaged.
Most concerning is the persistence of exposed credentials. GitGuardian’s analysis found that 70% of secrets first detected in public repositories back in 2022 remain active today, indicating a systemic failure in credential rotation and management practices.
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As our report concludes, “The 2025 State of Secrets Sprawl Report offers a stark warning: as non-human identities multiply, so do their associated secrets—and security risks. Reactive and fragmented approaches to secrets management simply aren’t enough in a world of automated deployments, AI-generated code, and rapid application delivery.”
Subject: Biometrics vs. passcodes: What lawyers recommend if you’re worried about warrantless phone searches
Source: ZDNET
https://www.zdnet.com/article/worried-about-warrantless-phone-searches-heres-what-lawyers-says-about-biometrics-vs-passcodes/
Accompanying the rise in detentions and deportations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other authorities are increasingly frequent reports of smartphone searches.US authorities allegedly dig through past emails, photos, social network activity, and other content to establish grounds for apprehension or other enforcement decisions. While such intrusions as a function of domestic law enforcement are nothing new, concern that more people could be held accountable for their beliefs, acquaintances, work, or speech is on the rise.
Last week, a graphic that discouraged smartphone users from relying on biometrics to unlock their phones made the social network rounds. The graphic states, “Reminder: If you’re using thumbprint or facial recognition, you can be forced to hand over or open your phone. You can’t be forced to open your phone if you’re using a passcode. A passcode requires a search warrant. The more you know.”
Spoiler alert: As opposed to passcodes (passwords, finger-drawn patterns, etc.), biometrics currently live in a grey area of the law. Depending on the jurisdiction (state vs. federal) and context (i.e., customs office versus a point of entry), you might be compelled to unlock your devices or your apps without a court-issued warrant.
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