The weekly
3 July 2026
4 stories. Each headline opens the story page; the source line links to the original.
Protect my money and accounts
- Deepfake ad pushes bogus GBP 35 'energy-saving' plug as bills rise
AI deepfake video ads on Facebook/Instagram reached 155,000+ accounts selling a fake plug-in device via a phishing link - timely as July energy bills rise
- Fake Perplexity AI extension on Chrome Web Store tracked users' searches
A lookalike AI extension quietly intercepted searches and browsing data - a plain-English hook on vetting extensions before installing
Keep the kids and the household safe
- Deepfake ad pushes bogus GBP 35 'energy-saving' plug as bills rise
AI deepfake video ads on Facebook/Instagram reached 155,000+ accounts selling a fake plug-in device via a phishing link - timely as July energy bills rise
Keep my shop trading
- Don't pay the ransom: 323 UK organisations hit last year, over half SMEs
Over half of UK ransomware reports come from small firms; most shops don't know about the free 24/7 attack hotline
- Password-spraying wave hits Microsoft 365: 81 million login attempts in two weeks
Criminals reused breach-leaked passwords and slipped past half-configured MFA - a check-your-MFA-settings moment for any shop on Microsoft 365