Cyber Blankitt: digital safety news and guides for individuals, families, and small retail businesses

Latest

• The ICO reprimanded the Met Police after a stalking victim’s new address and phone number were sent, unredacted, to the man she was being protected from. Ask any organisation handling your sensitive details how they protect them. ICO · Aug 2026
• Fake “prove you’re human” pages trick you into pasting a malicious command. Opera now blocks these “ClickFix” attacks by default — whatever your browser, never paste a command you didn’t write. Bleeping Computer / Opera · Jul 2026
• FBI takedown: two million hacked TV boxes and smart-TV apps were quietly running a criminal proxy network. Stick to name-brand streaming devices. Krebs on Security · Jul 2026
• Deepfake video ads on Facebook and Instagram push a bogus £35 “energy-saving” plug as bills rise; the ads reached 155,000+ accounts. Which? · Jul 2026

Best practice guide

• TL;DR: Lock your email first, use unique passwords, and never act on a link in a message.
• Turn on a passkey or 2FA for your email and bank before anything else.
• Use a password manager so every login is unique, so one breach can’t cascade.
• Check what’s leaked about you, then change those passwords.
• Got a message that’s urgent, secret and asks you to pay? That triad is the scam.

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Latest

• The ICO reprimanded the Met Police after a stalking victim’s new address and phone number were leaked, unredacted, to her abuser. A reminder to ask schools, GPs and other organisations how they protect your family’s sensitive details. ICO · Aug 2026
• Cheap no-name TV boxes enrolled two million homes in a criminal proxy network before an FBI takedown. Buy name-brand streaming devices and check apps are Play Protect certified. Krebs on Security · Jul 2026
• Deepfake video ads push a bogus £35 “energy-saving” plug as household bills rise. If the ad is a too-good-to-be-true gadget, it’s a phishing link. Which? · Jul 2026
• Ofcom tells platforms to keep underage children out. Age gates are coming. Ofcom · 2026

Best practice guide

• TL;DR: Set the controls once, then have the conversation. Tech plus talking beats either alone.
• Use child accounts, content filters, and screen time limits on every device and the router.
• Lock down a child’s first phone before you hand it over (a 10 minute job).
• Teach the red flags: secrecy, “you’ve won, pay to claim”, and any link that leads to a payment.
• Agree family rules and a “check with me first” habit for links and payments.

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Latest

• A hacker’s guilty plea confirms 165+ organisations were extorted after criminals used stolen cloud logins with no MFA. Turn on MFA everywhere — not just the accounts that feel important. Krebs on Security · Aug 2026
• Hackers are exploiting an auth-bypass flaw in N-central, an IT tool many outside providers use to manage small business systems. Ask your IT provider if they’ve patched. Bleeping Computer · Aug 2026
• Password-spraying wave hit Microsoft 365: 81 million login attempts in two weeks, slipping past half-configured MFA. Check your MFA settings. Bleeping Computer / Huntress · Jul 2026
• Cyber Essentials update: MFA is now mandatory on cloud services. Miss it and you fail automatically. NCSC · Apr 2026

Best practice guide

• TL;DR: Get Cyber Essentials, turn on MFA everywhere, and stop scammers spoofing your email.
• Start Cyber Essentials now. It’s becoming a condition of supplying larger firms.
• Enable MFA on every cloud service (or you’ll fail certification).
• Protect your shop’s email with DMARC so criminals can’t spoof your domain.
• Train staff on invoice fraud and phishing; vet your IT supplier (the M&S lesson).

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