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Ransomware and extortion incidents surged by 67% in 2023, according to NTT Security Holdings 2024 Global Threat Intelligence Report

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Bad actors are using more aggressive and unscrupulous tactics to acquire personal data and extort ransoms
TOKYO, April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Ransomware and extortion incidents surged by 67% in 2023, according to NTT Security Holdings recently released 2024 Global Threat Intelligence Report.

Created by NTT Security Holdings Global Threat Intelligence Center, the report examines cybersecurity trends, provides insights on the threat landscape, and offers recommendations to help organizations better protect against cyberattacks.
After a down year in 2022, ransomware and extortion incidents increased in 2023. More than 5,000 ransomware victims were detected or posted across multiple social channels up from approximately 3,000 in 2022. These findings are based on NTT Security Holdings Global Threat Intelligence Center’s internal research and by compiling listings on extortion sites, Telegram channels, and public reporting and disclosures. The number of victims is likely higher because the research does not reflect incidents where ransoms were paid before the listing was made public.
“Our 2023 report highlighted the increase in cyberthreats affecting day to day life, economic conditions, and privacy,” said Jeremy Nichols, NTT Security Holdings’ Global Threat Intelligence Center director. “We expect this to soar in 2024 as threat actors create more sophisticated attacks using artificial intelligence to exploit growing attack surfaces and take advantage of limited cyber budgets and staff shortages.”
Key insights from the 2024 report
Critical infrastructure, supply chain, and financial services face the most risk. The top sectors threat actors are attacking require near perfect uptime because service disruptions can affect lives, making them more likely to pay a ransom to restore access to their vital systems and data. Manufacturing topped the list of attack sectors in 2023 at 25.66% and had the most ransomware victims posted on social channels with 27.75%.
Ransomware operators and affiliates are using less moral and ethical tactics to obtain payments. They are targeting sectors previously considered off limits, including healthcare, non-profits, and energy companies. They have threatened to release sensitive medical photos or patient records if ransoms are not paid.
Small and medium-sized enterprises face the largest challenge combating cyberthreats. More than 50% of ransomware victims had less than 200 employees while 66% had less than 500 employees, according to the research.
Threat actors continue to exploit vulnerabilities and zero days in the most popular software programs. The list of corporate software options and new vulnerabilities continues to increase while malicious software simultaneously evolves, using generative AI to quickly integrate and exploit high and critical severity vulnerabilities.
Humans remain the weakest link in cybersecurity, and it is getting worse. Hybrid cloud environments, bring your own device, and third-party integrations have expanded the attack surface for most organizations. Cybersecurity roles and responsibilities are expanding, cyber budgets are getting slashed, and there are more tools to complete these responsibilities, increasing staff fatigue and burnout.
“Organizations are struggling to defend against routine exploitation, malware, and ransom or extortion threats,” added Nichols. “The predictions and recommendations in our report offer business and technical leaders a roadmap to make quicker and informed decisions to improve their security posture as these threats exponentially escalate.”
Access the Full Report
For a comprehensive understanding of the most frequent cyberattacks, predictions for future attacks, and recommendations for safeguarding organizations against evolving threats, download the complete 2024 Global Threat Intelligence Report at https://www.security.ntt/global-threat-intelligence-report-2024.
About NTT Security Holdings
NTT Security Holdings, a Group company, provides proactive cyber defense and services that make use of gathered human resources and intelligence to protect our customers and society. For more than 20 years, our company has helped clients protect their digital businesses by predicting, detecting, and responding to cyberthreats, while supporting business innovation and managing risk. Our SOC, R&D centers and security experts deliver unsurpassed threat intelligence and handle hundreds of thousands of security incidents annually. Together, we secure the connected future.
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Artificial Intelligence

Cyber insurtech BOXX partners with Zurich Insurance Group in Switzerland to introduce breakthrough personal cyber product

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TORONTO, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Award-winning global Insurtech BOXX Insurance Inc. that combines cyber insurance and security has announced the launch of a cutting-edge cyber risk solution in collaboration with Zurich Insurance Group in Switzerland, providing digital protection for individuals and families. 

Recognizing the critical need for comprehensive protection against digital threats Zurich Insurance in Switzerland has partnered with technology partner BOXX Insurance to develop a user-friendly solution designed to help individuals and families better predict and prevent potential scams and digital threats.
Designed for simplicity, the app’s personalized experience puts users’ digital safety front and centre, featuring an easy-to-use interface designed by Zurich Insurance in Switzerland and developed by BOXX in close collaboration with Zurich. The App is now available in Switzerland offering support in English, German, French and Italian.
“We created this to give individuals and families what they want – an app that delivers an essential bundle of tools at users fingertips including access to experts in the event of a cyber emergency,” explained Vishal Kundi, CEO and Founder, BOXX Insurance. “Smartphones have become the fastest-selling gadgets in history. They have penetrated every aspect of daily life. The average person picks their phone up to 100 times a day so if we want to make their world a digitally safer place, we have to ensure their phone and their usage is better secured,” Kundi added.
“An extensive research conducted by Zurich Insurance in Switzerland showed that many are not aware of online dangers and that around a quarter have already been victims of a cyber-attack. In addition, customers are simply overwhelmed with the range of cyber products,” says René Harlacher, Chief Underwriting Officer of Zurich Insurance in Switzerland. “At Zurich, it’s our mission to go beyond mere protection, and also offer our customers tools to help them build resilience and implement preventative measures against cyber risks. Based on these facts, we are expanding our cyber offering for private individuals so that we can provide them with support before, during and after a possible cyber-attack. This is exactly where our joint offering with BOXX Insurance comes in, as a way to lend additional support to our customers,” he adds.
The newly launched solution by Zurich Insurance in Switzerland focuses on providing essential services to help prevent digital threats combined with emergency assistance and support in case of an emergency. Delivered to end customers by Zurich, key features include:
Identity Protection: Identifies if personal data captured in the app shows up on the dark web and notifies users, providing help and advice to reduce threats of identity theft.Secure VPN: By creating a secure and encrypted internet connection the VPN protects data from potential threats such as hacking, identity theft, and phishing attacks. Secure WiFi: Scans WiFi networks for threats and helps proactively detect security issues.Safe Browsing: Warns against harmful websites and links to protect privacy and personal data.Device Protection: Checks and improves the security settings of devices. Devices with the Android operating system are additionally protected against viruses and malware.Password Manager: Creates and manages strong passwords and assists with their use.Edutainment: Educational content in an entertaining way to raise awareness of personal cyber security.Emergency Support and Assistance: Help and assistance from cyber security experts to provide support in cyber emergencies and for many other IT-related problems.   The new offering is available here: https://www.zurich.ch/en/private-customers/living-events/cyberprotection/insurance-prevention
“From providing protection from the dangers of being connected at home and on the go, customers now have the means to keep their devices and data secure and have access to indispensable help in an emergency, all in one easy-to-use app,” Kundi added.
Zurich has been working with BOXX since 2021 and participated in BOXX’s Series A and Series B funding rounds. As a Zurich Global Ventures portfolio company, BOXX is proud to now extend the ongoing collaboration with Zurich to enable Swiss customers to be digitally safer.
About BOXX Insurance 
BOXX Insurance Inc. helps businesses, individuals and families insure and defend against cyber threats. Privately-held with headquarters in Canada, BOXX has global offices in Toronto, Miami, Zurich, Dubai and Mumbai.
BOXX Insurance is an award-winning global cyber protection and insurance provider. We’re not a typical company. That’s by design. We’re serious about making the world a digitally safer place; creating real, positive changes for our clients and partners, and building a lasting legacy, from what we create, inside the BOXX.
Every day we’re improving the digital health of businesses, families and individuals around the world who rely on BOXX’s solutions and services to predict, prevent and insure them against cyber threats.
Media Contact: Sarah Madden, [email protected] 

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Artificial Intelligence

Amp Finalises Commercial Agreements for Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct

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ADELAIDE, Australia, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Amp Energy (“Amp” or the “Company”) announced today it has finalised all required commercial agreements for the development of the Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct – one of the leading green hydrogen, green ammonia and advanced fuel projects in Australia. The agreements, which were executed with Iron Road Ltd, include the purchase of a 630-hectare parcel of land at Cape Hardy as well as finalised royalty structure and common user infrastructure agreement. Amp will continue to build upon development progress made since announcing the Strategic Framework Agreement with Iron Road Ltd in April 2023 to bring advanced fuel production capacity to Cape Hardy.

The Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct will provide production at scale with up to 10 GW of planned electrolyser capacity. Development will be structured to initially bring 1 GW online with incremental stages to reach 10 GW of total capacity.   The project will both cater to the domestic Australian market, supporting the Australian Government’s net zero goals, while also featuring global export capabilities.  To facilitate distribution, Cape Hardy will be equipped with Australia’s first purpose-built advanced fuels export terminal.   
Amp has been in discussions to develop the Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels precinct, in collaboration with Iron Road Ltd and The Government of South Australia, for the past two years. During that time, Amp has made significant development progress.  The project’s concept, design, and pre-Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase have been studied and reviewed by two leading global engineering firms, Arup and Technip Technologies, as Amp targets completion of pre-FEED studies for the first 1 GW electrolyser phase over the next 9 months. FEED scoping and contracting is currently underway ahead of awarding the FEED contract in late 2024 or early 2025.
Desalinated water is to be sourced from the recently announced Northern Water Supply (NWS) seawater desalination plant that will be located at Cape Hardy to meet the project’s demand for electrolyser feed water, cooling water, process plant water, and fire water. Amp is co-funding pre-FID expenditures for the NWS project.
Additionally, Amp is working closely with the Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC (“BDAC”).  With continued support from the BDAC, Amp is confident the Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct will have a meaningful economic impact on the region.  Amp currently estimates this will include approximately 4,000 direct and 6,000 indirect jobs for the first gigawatt of electrolyser capacity alone.
“We are seeing growing demand for Advanced Fuels both in Australia and abroad. This includes green ammonia, liquid hydrogen, methanol, and sustainable aviation fuel. The Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct will allow for large-scale production of these fuels that will be critical to the energy transition and achieving net zero targets. We could not be more excited about the project’s potential impact, and we are grateful for the partnership and continued support from Iron Road Ltd, the South Australian Government and BDAC as we progress full steam ahead on development” said Paul Ezekiel, Amp President and Co-founder.
Minister for Trade and Investment, Joe Szakacs said “The State Government recognises the strategic importance of the Cape Hardy Advanced Fuels Precinct attracting investment into the state for domestic and export opportunities, as there is an increasing flight to quality for hydrogen projects worldwide.”
About AmpAmp Energy is a global energy transition development platform, which delivers renewables, battery storage, Advanced Fuels and green AI data centers at scale, together with proprietary AI-enabled grid flexibility through its Amp X platform. Since its inception 15 years ago, Amp has developed and built or contracted 14 GW of assets globally. Amp is backed by major investments from institutional capital partners including global private equity firm the Carlyle Group, who has invested over US$440 million. The company has global operations throughout North America, the UK, Australia, Japan, and Spain.
For more information, please visit amp.energy

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GEEKOM A8 AI PC is now available for €799 and up.

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TAIPEI, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The GEEKOM A8, a highly anticipated Next-Gen AI mini PC with an AMD HawkPoint Ryzen 8040 processor, is now available.

The A8 employs a metal housing with rounded corners and anodized matte finish, giving it a gorgeous and stylish look. Having a footprint smaller than the palm of a hand, the mini PC will conveniently fit in all types of desktop arrangement and instantly elevate the aesthetics of any workspace.
There are two variants of the GEEKOM A8, users have the option to choose between two processors from the same AMD HawkPoint family: Ryzen 7 8845HS and Ryzen 9 8945HS. Both chips feature 8 Zen 4 CPU cores, 16 threads, 16MB L3 cache, an AMD Radeon 780M integrated GPU as well as a Ryzen AI Engine NPU, but the Ryzen 9 8945HS is designed to offer slightly better performance, thanks to its higher CPU and GPU frequencies.
With a greatly enhanced NPU, the A8 can execute 60% more AI workloads than mini PCs with last-generation Ryzen 7040 chips, allowing users to embrace a new era of AI computing. For average consumers, the A8 will quickly find answers to all questions and turn texts into images and videos. For business users, the A8 will automatically summarize notes, transcribe calls, and take meeting minutes. For professional content creators, the A8 will bring much faster AI-powered photo editing, quicker video output, and speedier multi-tasking, helping bring the most ambitious ideas to life. With the new IceBlast 1.5 cooling technology, the A8 can stay cool and stable even when tasks are loaded.
Besides its powerful performance, the A8 also offers a wide array of ports, including four USB-A (including three USB3.2 Gen2), two HDMI2.0, a 40Gbps USB4, a multi-function Type-C, an SDXC slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Users can choose to connect the mini PC to an eGPU, ultra high-speed portable storage, or up to four 4K displays.
The A8 is now available on GEEKOM’s independent website. The 8845HS and 8945HS variants are priced at €799 and €949 respectively. Regardless of the CPU option, each unit is preinstalled with 32GB dual-channel SO-DIMM DDR5-5600 RAM, a fast 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe4.0*4 SSD, a wireless card that supports WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, and a licensed copy of Windows 11 operating system.
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