People are being told they are entitled to compensation as more companies move into the industry

Claims companies and law firms looking for the next bonanza in payouts are targeting people who have been the victim of a data breach, with some telling those affected they could be entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation.

A Google search for the term “data breach claim” results in a long list of firms – the vast majority of them no-win, no-fee solicitors – and there are more moving into this space all the time. Meanwhile, adverts for firms are increasingly appearing in Instagram feeds.

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Revelation comes just weeks after the Biden administration placed NSO on a US blacklist

The iPhones of at least nine US state department officials were recently hacked by a government using NSO Group spyware, according to a new report that raised serious questions about the use of Israeli surveillance tools against US government officials around the world.

The claims, which was reported by Reuters, comes just weeks after the Biden administration placed NSO on a US blacklist and said the surveillance company acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US”.

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Regulator says safety of hundreds of individuals was jeopardised after their addresses were posted online

The Cabinet Office has been fined £500,000 by the UK’s data watchdog after the postal addresses of the 2020 New Year honours recipients were disclosed online.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found officials failed to put in place “appropriate technical and organisational measures” to prevent the unauthorised disclosure of personal information in breach of data protection law.

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I received a flood of renewal demands and unsubscribing doesn’t work

I cancelled my McAfee anti-virus subscription earlier this year when I discovered it had been double charging me. It refunded only the current year and led me on a wild goose chase to recover the previous two years’ money; I eventually gave up.

Now that my subscription period has ended, it is bombarding me with renewal demand emails several times a day. This weekend I received 15.

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Israeli spyware firm goes from bad to worse as scathing Apple lawsuit follows US blacklisting

Shalev Hulio, the co-founder of Israel’s NSO Group, was in Washington DC on a mission to try to resuscitate the surveillance company’s battered reputation on Capitol Hill shortly before the news broke that he had probably arrived too late to make a difference.

With little advance warning to its allies in Israel, the Biden administration announced on 3 November that it was putting the spyware maker – one of the most sophisticated cyber-weapons companies in the world – on a US blacklist, citing use of the company’s software by regimes around the world for “transnational repression”.

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National Cyber Security Centre says cyberattacks at record high and urges businesses not to pay up

The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said it tackled a record number of cyber incidents in the UK over the last year, with ransomware attacks originating from Russia dominating its activities.

The cybersecurity agency said it had helped deal with a 7.5% increase in cases in the year to August, fuelled by the surge of criminal hackers seizing control of corporate data and demanding payment in cryptocurrency for its return.

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Group of 10 MPs and peers say Boris Johnson’s government has prioritised trade over national security

Boris Johnson’s government has been accused by MPs of prioritising trade agreements over national security in its handling of surveillance abuses on British soil by governments using spyware made by the Israeli company NSO Group.

A letter to the British prime minister signed by 10 MPs and peers has called on the government to end its cybersecurity programmes with countries that are known to have used NSO spyware to target dissidents, journalists and lawyers, among others, and to impose sanctions on NSO, “if they are at all serious about our national security”.

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Israeli media reports move after Biden administration said firm acted contrary to US security interests

The chief executive officer-designate of NSO Group has resigned citing the Israeli spyware company’s blacklisting by the US Department of Commerce last week, Israeli media said on Thursday.

NSO Group declined to comment.

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Analysis: while identity of hackers is not known in this case, Palestinians have long been spied on by Israeli military

The disclosure that Palestinian human rights defenders were reportedly hacked using NSO’s Pegasus spyware will come as little surprise to two groups of people: Palestinians themselves and the Israeli military and intelligence cyber operatives who have long spied on Palestinians.

While it is not known who was responsible for the hacking in this instance, what is very well documented is the role of the Israeli military’s 8200 cyberwarfare unit – known in Hebrew as the Yehida Shmoneh-Matayim – in the widespread spying on Palestinian society.

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Decision against company at heart of Pegasus project reflects deep concern about impact of spyware on US national security interests

NSO Group has been placed on a US blacklist by the Biden administration after it determined the Israeli spyware maker has acted “contrary to the foreign policy and national security interests of the US”.

The finding by the commerce department represents a blow to the Israeli company and reveals a deep undercurrent of concern by the US about the impact of spyware on national security interests.

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