2024 will forever be remembered as the 'Year of Global Outages,' revealing the fragility of over-automated systems. A single cybersecurity provider’s disruption triggered global chaos—freezing transactions, grounding flights, and crippling healthcare. The call for resilience is deafening.
As we close the book on 2024, we welcome you to our Holiday Edition, where we unwrap the biggest stories that defined a whirlwind year in AI and cyber affairs—a celebration of relentless innovation, jaw-dropping rivalries, and high-stakes power plays that kept us captivated all year round.
Cisco faces fallout from a massive data leak exposing critical files, while China accuses the U.S. of cyber espionage amid rising tech tensions. AI governance sparks debate as Europe enforces strict rules, and ASIC sues HSBC for $23M scam failures. Global cyber affairs take center stage this week.
Cisco faces a major data breach, AT&T agrees to a $13M settlement for mishandling customer data, and Notion’s founders are revolutionising enterprise operations with AI-driven tools. Discover the latest developments impacting cybersecurity and business tech innovation.
Cisco has reportedly suffered a significant data breach, with hackers obtaining confidential documents, API tokens, source code, and SSL certificates. The breach became public when a trove of Cisco's developer data was posted on a hacking forum earlier this month. The stolen data includes buckets from AWS and Microsoft Azure, Jira tickets, and information from projects on platforms like GitLab and GitHub. Screenshots of customer management portals were also leaked, indicating a deep infiltration into Cisco's internal systems.
The hacker behind the breach, known as IntelBroker, is infamous for stealing confidential information to leak, sell, or ransom on sites like BreachForums. Believed to operate out of Russia, IntelBroker has previously targeted organizations such as Europol, Volvo, Hilton Hotels, AT&T, and Verizon. Cyber threat intelligence firm SOCRadar suggests that IntelBroker may be associated with a cybercrime group known for extremist ideologies, although this remains unconfirmed. This incident is not isolated for Cisco; earlier in April, the company reported another breach involving a provider used to send multi factor authentication messages, highlighting ongoing security challenges for the tech giant.
AT&T has agreed to pay $13 million to settle an investigation by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) over a data breach involving a third-party cloud vendor in January 2023. The breach impacted approximately 8.9 million AT&T wireless customers, exposing data from 2015 to 2017 that should have been deleted by 2018. The FCC stated that the exposed information included sensitive customer data that AT&T failed to adequately protect. This settlement addresses concerns over AT&T's data governance practices and supply chain integrity in handling sensitive information to protect consumers.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel emphasised the carriers' duty to safeguard consumer data, stating,
"Carriers have a duty to protect the privacy and security of consumer data, and that responsibility takes on new meaning for digital age data breaches."
The FCC continues its investigation into a larger breach that affected nearly all of AT&T's wireless customers and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) using its network. The company revealed that customer data was illegally downloaded from an AT&T workspace on a third-party cloud platform. Call and text records between May 1st and October 31st, 2022, were leaked for nearly all of AT&T's wireless customers, underscoring the urgent need for robust data security measures in the telecommunications industry.
Nation's founders, Ivan Zhao and Simon Last, represent the new wave of AI-driven entrepreneurs reshaping enterprise operations. Their journey began in 2013, when they launched Notion with a vision to create an all-in-one workspace that could revolutionise how people manage and organise information. Zhao, with a design-focused mindset, wanted to empower users by allowing them to mold software to their needs without coding.
In the early stages, Notion faced several challenges, including technical limitations and a dwindling budget. Determined to perfect their product, Zhao and Last relocated to Kyoto, Japan, for a focused development phase, leading to the pivotal release of Notion 2.0 in 2018. This version transformed the platform into a powerful, flexible tool integrating databases, tasks, and notes into a unified workspace.
Notion gained traction among tech enthusiasts and startups, and the platform's popularity soared, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote collaboration tools became essential. By 2020, Notion was valued at $2 billion, reaching unicorn status, and has continued to rise, now valued at $10 billion.
To stay ahead of the curve, Notion embraced AI by integrating features like a writing assistant and a chatbot, powered by generative AI. Their collaboration with AI startup Braintrust ensured these advancements were cutting-edge and effective. Zhao and Last’s success reflects their ability to overcome challenges, adapt, and seize opportunities in a rapidly evolving tech landscape, positioning them as modern innovators in the AI generation.
Find the full version of this story on the AI Diplomat weekend edition.
Cisco faces fallout from a massive data leak exposing critical files, while China accuses the U.S. of cyber espionage amid rising tech tensions. AI governance sparks debate as Europe enforces strict rules, and ASIC sues HSBC for $23M scam failures. Global cyber affairs take center stage this week.
Australians face rising cyber scams during holiday shopping, with scammers using AI-driven tactics like phishing and deepfakes. Spending $70B online puts consumers at risk, as reports show $30.7K average losses. Visa's new measures push beyond SMS OTPs to combat fraud. Stay vigilant.
In this Cyber Bites edition: North Korean IT workers resort to extortion, Singapore tightens chatbot controls, Casio faces a ransomware setback, and China challenges Intel amid U.S. tech rivalry. The stakes in cybersecurity are higher than ever!
Japan is racing to develop "unbreakable" quantum encryption by 2030. Chinese hackers breached US wiretap systems, Japan is tackling AI deepfake scams, and China is advancing silicon photonics to evade US tech bans. The cybersecurity competition is intensifying.
