All posts tagged: breaches

Hacked, leaked, and held for ransom: the worst breaches of 2026 so far

Hacked, leaked, and held for ransom: the worst breaches of 2026 so far

Published by skeptic

If anything, 2026 has made clear that cybersecurity is no longer a background concern — it’s front and center, woven into almost every major story of the year. Yes, wars are still raging, the climate keeps worsening, and we’re seemingly one dodgy sneeze away from the next global pandemic. But running beneath all of it is a digital current that touches everything: wars being fought on digital fronts as well as physical ones, governments weaponizing citizens’ own data against them, botnets quietly undermining democratic institutions, nation-state hackers targeting civilian infrastructure from power grids to water systems, and ransomware gangs holding companies and institutions hostage for massive payouts. The attacks are getting bolder, more destructive, and harder to contain. As we’re halfway through this already horrendous year of digital attacks and hybrid warfare, we look at some of the worst hacks and breaches so far, and how they might affect us going forward. Questions remain over DOGE’s massive swipe of Social Security data A year on, after operatives with the Elon Musk-led band of government destroyers …

Former cyber executive turned whistleblower accuses IBM of covering up several data breaches

Former cyber executive turned whistleblower accuses IBM of covering up several data breaches

Published by skeptic

A former IBM cybersecurity executive accused the company of getting hacked three times in the previous decade by foreign governments and then covering up the breaches.  In a lawsuit unsealed this week but filed in 2020, William Barlow, who was IBM’s vice president of threat intelligence until August 2019, said IBM concluded Chinese hackers breached its core network between 2013 and 2016 but that the company then covered up the breaches and never disclosed them. Barlow also said at least two IBM subsidiaries were also breached, and that IBM covered up those breaches as well. Barlow alleged in his complaint that IBM’s core network was “routinely hacked by foreign state actors and others,” adding that data was frequently stolen and government agencies were “never notified.”  While the alleged breaches date back more than a decade, the news shows that cyberattacks, even those affecting large public tech companies such as IBM, sometimes never get disclosed, either to the public or to relevant government authorities. IBM is a major cybersecurity vendor to the U.S. federal government, which …

Brussels watchdog moves to ban Alternative for Germany’s EU party – POLITICO

Brussels watchdog moves to ban Alternative for Germany’s EU party – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The ESN political group doesn’t face sanctions, and the only effect that AfD MEPs would feel would be the lack of a political party to provide support in future EU elections or to coordinate policy with like-minded factions. The ESN party and ESN group were founded by Alternative for Germany in the wake of the 2024 EU election, and include Bulgaria’s Revival, France’s Reconquest (led by Éric Zemmour), Poland’s Confederation, Czechia’s SPD, Hungary’s Our Homeland Movement, the Netherlands’ Forum for Democracy, and Slovakia’s Republic Movement. In 2026 it is slated to receive over €2 million in subsidies from the European Parliament. The watchdog — the Authority for European Political Parties and Foundations — said it had found evidence that “cast doubt on the compliance” of the ESN party with EU values, the director of the authority, Pascal Schonard, wrote in a letter. The missive was addressed to the Council of the EU — comprising representatives of national governments — and was seen by POLITICO on Wednesday. The watchdog’s process was launched on Friday. The watchdog monitors whether …

Magyar to visit Brussels next week to discuss unfreezing funds for Hungary – POLITICO

Magyar to visit Brussels next week to discuss unfreezing funds for Hungary – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The money had been withheld over Budapest’s breaches of EU law under Viktor Orbán, who had governed the country for 16 consecutive years until losing last month’s general election. The €10.4 billion is part of a post-pandemic recovery fund and only a fraction of the money Hungary is seeking to unfreeze. But with a looming deadline, securing full access to that tranche has become the new government’s top priority. Magyar’s incoming administration has until Aug. 31 to formally request the money, while the Commission in Brussels has a deadline of Dec. 31 to make the payments. The country’s foreign minister stressed that Hungary was already working on a set of so-called “super milestones” and reforms that were needed to get access to the money. “Those are reinstating rule of law criteria. And that’s ensuring that the money is spent transparently, absolutely free of corruption,” she said. “And it’s important to emphasize here that that was our electoral mandate. We were running on a platform. … So these super milestones are 100 percent coinciding with what …

Telegraph recorded most Editors’ Code breaches in 2025

Telegraph recorded most Editors’ Code breaches in 2025

Published by Sam Flores

Telegraph front page on 23 January 2025 with splash headline: “One in 12 in London is illegal migrant” The Telegraph was the UK newsbrand with the most breaches of the Editors’ Code upheld by regulator IPSO in 2025, according to its annual report for the year. The Telegraph was found to have breached the code 12 times last year across website and print, with eleven complaints partially upheld and one fully upheld (seven on the Daily Telegraph, four on Telegraph.co.uk and one for the Sunday Telegraph). The Express was found to have breached the Editors’ Code six times last year, but had the most complaints fully upheld by IPSO at three. Last year Press Gazette found the title had 12 breaches of the Editors’ Code upheld by IPSO in 2025 (going by date of published adjudications, as opposed to IPSO’s annual report which is based on when complaints are entered into its computer system). IPSO’s data reported dailymail.co.uk (previously Mail Online), Daily Mail, The National and mirror.co.uk with two breaches each. Two fully upheld complaints …

Hungary, EU split over how much of its €10B funding it should get – POLITICO

Hungary, EU split over how much of its €10B funding it should get – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

But despite the good intentions, Brussels and Budapest are at odds over how much money Hungary should get from the post-Covid fund allocation, according to the officials, who have knowledge of the negotiations and were granted anonymity to discuss the confidential talks. The Commission recommended requesting only the grants, while Hungary wants to claim the full amount. “We are very optimistic about releasing all the blocked funds,” said Kinga Kollár, an MEP from Magyar’s Tisza party. The allocation is split between €6.5 billion in grants, which would not need to be repaid, and €3.9 billion in loans, which need to be paid back at a favorable interest rate. Magyar’s incoming administration has until Aug. 31 to formally request the money, while the Commission has a deadline of Dec. 31 to make the payments. The Commission is arguing there isn’t enough time to release the full €10.4 billion, since payouts are contingent on Hungary meeting specific reform targets. Funds in the form of loans would also add to Budapest’s strained public finances, with debt already hovering around 75 percent …

EU parties misspent €1.5M in European election campaign, documents show – POLITICO

EU parties misspent €1.5M in European election campaign, documents show – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

This accounting trick was repeatedly mentioned in last year’s audits, and this year the Parliament’s administration urged organizations in several meetings “to discontinue the practice,” the report says. “There could have been an attempt to fraudulently use public money,” said Louis Drouneau, founder of the European Democracy Consulting, an organization that tracks political party donations and expenditure. “And since there is so little transparency regarding the expenses of European parties … this decreases the ability of civil society and the press to keep a watchful eye on party expenses,” he said. “This is noticeably different from the level of transparency enacted in many member states.” “Any suspicion of illegal activity, fraud or corruption must be reported” to the anti-fraud office or the European prosecutor, the Parliament said in a statement.  It could not confirm how many cases were referred to these authorities over 2024 misspending. Of the €1.5 million, only €130,453 is properly accounted for in the Parliament’s report, with the reasons given for the misspending and those responsible: the Patriots, the Green European Foundation, the Institute of European Democrats and …

Hungary’s Magyar meets von der Leyen to game-plan unlocking frozen EU funds – POLITICO

Hungary’s Magyar meets von der Leyen to game-plan unlocking frozen EU funds – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Magyar’s team has also been working with some of his predecessor’s ministers and civil servants to advance the technical work required to make the reforms, three other officials with knowledge of the proceedings said. András Kármán, Magyar’s nominee for finance minister, István Kapitány, tapped for economy minister, and Anita Orbán, the incoming foreign minister, met a high-level Commission delegation, including von der Leyen’s Cabinet chief Bjoern Seibert, on Saturday and prepared the ground for the Magyar-von der Leyen meeting. Before that, the teams met in Budapest on April 18 and 19. The first step to unlocking Hungary’s recovery money is complying with 27 EU-mandated “super milestones,” covering procurement, judicial independence and academic freedom. Because Tisza has won more than two-thirds of the seats in parliament, Magyar is expected to be able to get those changes approved quickly. European People’s Party leader Manfred Weber with Ursula Von der Leyen in Brussels in January 2025. Weber said the European Parliament should halt Article 7 proceedings against Hungary. | Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images The harder part is …