
Ransomware gang is exploiting flaws in backup software to attack infrastructure
More than 130 healthcare institutions and other organizations were impacted by a ransomware attack targeting the file transfer utility GoAnywhere MFT in February 2023. This attack, linked to the Clop ransomware gang by Microsoft, exploited a zero-day vulnerability that had just been added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities public catalog.
This is just the latest ransomware attack leveraging flaws in backup software to target critical infrastructure and other important systems. In the past, attacks have targeted backup servers and other critical applications including Pulse SecureVPN, Citrix, and Fortinet.
The FBI and CISA advise critical infrastructure companies not to pay ransoms, because payment does not guarantee that files will be restored and may embolden adversaries to continue attacking other organizations. Instead, they recommend sharing boundary logs showing communication with CLOP group actors, a sample of the ransom note, Bitcoin wallet information, decryptor files, and/or a benign sample of an encrypted file.
In the last year, attackers have been using flaws in backup and other software to gain access to victim networks. The BianLian gang, for example, gained access to critical infrastructure organizations in the US and private entities in Australia by using stolen remote desktop protocol (RDP) credentials acquired through initial access brokers or phishing attacks. Once inside the network, the gang deployed file-encrypting ransomware to target systems.
After encrypting data, the gang has also been seen exfiltrating files from victim networks and using file-sharing services. It has been suggested that the Cuba gang is Russian based on linguistic clues, the exclusion of computers that use a Russian keyboard layout from infections, Russian 404 pages in parts of its infrastructure and the targeted targeting of Western entities.
Threatpost recently published an article on how the Clop gang is exploiting flaws in backup and other software to target critical infrastructure and other important systems. The article noted that the gang has been exploiting flaws in Veeam Backup and Replication to infiltrate victim networks, and also leveraging a host-based exploit tool called XCodec, which targets a variety of popular software applications including Adobe products.
This is the second time in 2023 that a flaw in backup and recovery software has been used to launch ransomware attacks. The first was the Dish breach, where attackers accessed the network and attacked VMware ESXi servers and backups using a vulnerability in Veritas NetBackup.
The 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index found that the share of cyber incidents involving ransomware has declined by 4 percent, likely because defenders are getting better at detecting and blocking these attacks. However, the overall number of attacks has remained constant over that same period, meaning that threat actors are still succeeding in hitting organizations and stealing their valuable data. In order to mitigate these risks, enterprises should assess their security posture against the top 5 cybersecurity threats of 2023. They should also consider implementing backup best practices that can help protect against these attacks. In addition, they should explore the many alternatives to Windows for critical infrastructure and consider a more resilient platform that supports multiple operating systems.

Apple could be testing a new M3 Mac mini – and I’m hyped
Apple is expected to introduce its first M3 Mac processors this year. The chips are said to be a grown-up version of the M1 chip that currently powers the iPhone, and the company believes they will offer significant performance improvements. This is because they are built on a 3nm process, which will allow them to have more cores than the current chip. The M3 chips are expected to have as many as four cores, which would be a significant improvement over the two that the current chip has. This is due to the fact that more cores mean faster processing of tasks. The company is also expecting the M3 processors to offer a 50% boost in Photoshop performance, which is something that will be a big selling point for many people.
According to Mark Gurman, who writes the Power On newsletter for Bloomberg, Apple is testing a new Mac mini with an M3 processor. Gurman says that the device is undergoing testing on its campus, and it’s rumored to have eight CPU cores (made up of four efficiency cores and four performance cores), 10 GPU cores, and 24GB of system memory. Gurman claims the pint-sized computer is internally codenamed Mac 15,12, and he thinks it’s a replacement for the current generation of Mac mini.
He believes that the new Mac mini will be joined by a number of other laptops, including updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Airs as well as 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros. He also expects that a new M3-powered iMac will be released, replacing the current generation of 24-inch models. Gurman doesn’t expect the refreshed Mac Studio and Mac Pro to get M3 processors, which makes sense because those computers only received M2 upgrades this year.
It’s not clear when Apple will release the Mac mini that has an M3 chip, but it’s possible that it could make an appearance at a spring event or WWDC 2024. It will likely take around 15 months to see an M3-powered MacBook Pro, but Gurman predicts that Apple will only have the Pro and Max iterations of the chip at launch.
Obviously, the Mac mini won’t be the only Mac that will use the new processors, but it will probably be the first one to get them. It’s also unlikely that Apple will add M3 processors to the Mac Pro and Mac Studio because those machines are more integrated. However, if the Pro and Max versions of those Macs do come out with the M3 chip, it will no doubt be an exciting day for Mac users.

AMD’s Radeon RX 7800 and 7700 could be launching any day now – here’s why I’m excited
With the RX 7900 XT and XTX already in the market, AMD has a big gap in its mainstream Radeon lineup. The company could be ready to fill it with the new Radeon RX 7800 and 7700 graphics cards, based on Navi 32 silicon.
According to YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead, the new cards are set to launch this September. They will come in two variants, a full-size Navi 32 chip with 60 Compute Units and a cut-down version with either 48 or 54 CUs and 16GB of VRAM. The full-size chip is likely to be called the RX 7800 XT, while the cut-down chip will probably get the RX 7700 XT name.
The performance-mainstream cards are expected to perform better than the current RX 6800 and 6700 XT, delivering a gen-over-gen upgrade of around 16%. Renowned hardware leaker All The Watts!! posted a 3DMark Time Spy benchmark score of 18,957 points, which is very close to Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 4060Ti (18,800).
While the prices and performance numbers have yet to be confirmed by AMD itself, the rumours seem fairly legitimate. The upcoming cards are said to be based on the same GPU architecture as the RX 7900 XT and 7900 XTX, but with lower clock speeds.
Aside from that, the 7700 and 7800 will be using a more power efficient memory configuration. They will also be using smaller GDDR6 memory chips, which should allow them to fit within the $269 and $549 price brackets of the current RX 7000 series lineup respectively.
What isn’t clear, though, is whether the non-XT versions of the cards will be released before the XT models. The RX 7900 XT is supposed to be harvesting the unused dies from the 7900 XTX and XTXX, so it’s not too hard to imagine that a vanilla version of the card would use some of those chips as well.
Considering the current state of the GPU industry, it’s quite likely that AMD will release the new RX 7800 and 7700 before the end of the year. It will be a nice boost for consumers who want to enjoy high-resolution gaming on their PCs without having to spend a fortune on the latest GPUs. Of course, if you can’t wait for the new cards to arrive and don’t feel like dropping over $700 on a graphics card, there are plenty of RX 6700 and 6800 XT alternatives out there that offer comparable performance for a much lower price. You can check out some of the best options in our list of the Best Graphics Cards to Buy.

New Sony Xperia 5 V leaks suggests the phone will bizarrely lose its telephoto lens
Sony has a habit of taking its time with revealing its midrange phones, but one of its latest unveilings has been leaked well ahead of schedule. A promotional video has appeared on Reddit, from a user by the name of JB2unique, showing off what appears to be the next Xperia 5 V. The video shows the smartphone from both the front and back, revealing some interesting details.
The most notable change comes from the rear of the phone, where the Xperia 5 V will lose its telephoto lens. Instead, it will feature a dual camera setup with a wide and ultra-wide lens. This would be a significant downgrade from the Xperia 1 V and 10 V, which both have three lenses on the back. However, the Xperia 5 V’s cameras do still appear to feature ZEISS branding, so the quality should remain unchanged.
Aside from the cameras, the rest of the design looks fairly similar to the Xperia 5 IV that it will replace. The front will have a large bezel at the top with a selfie camera underneath. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is good news for those who still prefer this type of port. In terms of color, the Xperia 5 V will come in black and white at launch, while a blue variant may be released later on.
On the inside, it’s likely that the Xperia 5 V will run on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, paired with either 16GB or 12GB of RAM. This is an improvement over the Xperia 5 IV, as the older model had only 8GB of RAM. TechRadar suggests that Sony may be trying to keep the price of the Xperia 5 V as low as possible, which would explain the decision to downgrade some of its hardware specs.
While we don’t know when the Xperia 5 V will actually be launched, it’s expected to arrive sometime this September. The alleged marketing video that was posted on Reddit suggests that the company will release the phone much earlier than normal, and this early leak has been pretty accurate in the past.
The Xperia 5 V will be the first smartphone from the Japanese electronics giant to feature a 6.2-inch display with an FHD+ resolution. It’ll be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, which will include support for the latest LPDDR5X memory.
The Xperia 5 V will be available in black and white at launch, while rumors suggest a third color option will be available later on. As for pricing, the Xperia 5 V is expected to be priced in line with other smartphones of its kind. A starting price of around $400 is a possibility, and this could be the lowest-priced smartphone from Sony to date. The company is reportedly working on an even cheaper version of the Xperia 5 V that will have some of the same features but without a telephoto camera. For more information, check out our Sony Xperia 5 V preview.
Samsung Unpacked 2023: foldable phones and everything we expect to see
Samsung usually hosts two Unpacked events a year: one for its flagship S series phones and another for the Galaxy Z series. The company’s latest Galaxy foldable phones are likely to be the main attraction at the next event in July. The exact date of the Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event has yet to be confirmed by Samsung but based on historical release patterns, it’s safe to assume it will take place in mid-July.
Samsung Unpacked has been held in a number of major cities around the world including New York, London, and Barcelona but this will be the first time that it’s hosted in Seoul, South Korea. The country’s capital is known for its dynamic culture and innovation and Samsung says that hosting the event in Seoul “embodies the spirit of Unpacked by highlighting the next generation of mobile experiences.”
The last time that Samsung hosted an Unpacked event was in October and it introduced the Galaxy Tab S9, Watch6, and Galaxy Buds 2 Pro during the show. The Galaxy Fold and Flip 5 were expected to be the focus of this July’s event but based on leaks, we could see some other exciting gadgets announced as well.
In terms of the Galaxy Fold and Flip 5, we’re expecting to see a few big improvements over their predecessors. For starters, both devices are rumored to have bigger cover displays that will give them a leg up over competing models like the Pixel Fold and Moto Razr Ultra 40. We’re also expecting to see more durable materials for long-term use, better camera hardware, and faster processor chips.
If you’re interested in watching the Samsung Unpacked 2023 event live, you can do so by following this link to Samsung’s official YouTube channel. The live stream will begin at 7 a.m. ET on July 26.
If you’re eager to try out the Galaxy Fold or Flip 5 before they hit shelves, you can pre-order the devices starting today. You’ll need to pay a deposit and then you’ll be able to choose from the various payment plans available depending on your preferred financing option. You can get more details by visiting Samsung’s website. The pre-order window closes on July 26 so if you’re interested, be sure to act quickly.

AMD Ryzen 7000 Pro CPU takes aim at Apple’s M2 Pro but fails to impress
Amid a plethora of desktop and laptop launches at its AMD Tech Summit keynote, the chipmaker huffed and puffed about a new Ryzen Pro CPU that takes aim at Apple?s M2 Pro but ultimately fails to impress.
The Pro series chips are based on Phoenix silicon and are optimized for machine learning and AI workloads, but they also offer high performance gaming and creative features. For example, the smart-shift ECO tech enables the processor to split graphics tasks between the iGPU and a discrete GPU to save power. The chips will also offer hardware video decoders and encoders to accelerate game loading times.
AMD is ringfencing a chunk of transistors in its Ryzen Pro chip to improve performance for artificial intelligence (AI) processing tasks. The resulting feature is called Radeon AI, and AMD says it will allow apps to run faster and more smoothly. The company provides an example of a Windows Studio feature that blurs the background, tracks eye movement and frames a user when using a laptop camera.
The company threw in a few other neat features, too, including an enhanced version of Precision Boost 2 that will expose the maximum boost frequency for two cores at all times. This means you won’t have to manually enter a BIOS option to disable the feature, and it also improves responsiveness when running multiple games or streaming via OBS at the same time.
Another interesting feature is the ability to enable PCIe 5.0 on a motherboard by default. This allows up to 32 lanes of data per controller for superfast transfer speeds. This could be a huge benefit for SSDs, as the latest Micron drives can reach 400MB/s read and write speeds with the right motherboard.
AMD also added its X-CPU tech to its Ryzen Pro lineup, which offers security and IT management features. This is similar to Intel?s vPro platform and typically adds software and hardware tweaks for performance and power efficiency. For instance, it will add support for AVX512 instructions to boost the performance of the iGPU, while enabling lower core count processors to run more applications simultaneously.
If you’re a professional or business user, you can expect to see the new PRO models in devices from Lenovo, Dell, HP and other big brands this year. Moreover, many of the challengers from Asus, Acer, MSI and Gigabyte will likely offer them in their business-oriented laptops, too.
As for the pricing, the Ryzen 7 Pro 7000 chips will start at $125. The B650E variants will support PCIe 5.0 for both the M.2 and GPU slots, while the standard B650 will limit it to 4.0. The B650E boards will also feature four display outputs over HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 HBR3 connections. The standard chips will be compatible with existing AM4 motherboards, too. The new chips are expected to launch in September, with the X670E motherboards arriving in October and the B650 boards coming in November.
The best laptop 2023: top portable picks for all budgets
If you’re in the market for a laptop, you don’t have to spend a fortune to get something that can keep up with you. In fact, we’ve found plenty of great portable computers that cost under $1,000/£1,200(opens in new tab) and still run Windows, macOS or Chrome OS. Whether you’re looking for a compact ultraportable, a powerful gaming rig or anything in between, we’ve rounded up our top picks below.
For those looking for a budget laptop that can handle most daily tasks, the Lenovo IdeaPad 3i is a solid choice. It has a good keyboard, trackpad and display, plus it’s pretty quick. Plus it has a good selection of ports, including USB-C and HDMI. It’s not perfect – the battery life isn’t fantastic and the display lacks colour, but if you’re after a cheap and reliable laptop for basic work this is worth considering.
A more powerful option is the Gigabyte G5. It’s not built to be as portable as the Razer Blade 14, but it makes up for it with pure power. The RTX 2090 GPU is capable of pushing out lots of frames in games, and the CPU is also very fast – even though it’s a desktop chip. The downside is that it can get quite noisy, especially when playing demanding games.
Finally, for those after a smaller gaming laptop that can still pack a punch, the HP Aero 13 is a great option. It’s a bit of a bargain, offering an eye-pleasing magnesium-aluminum chassis, strong processing performance and long battery life for under $500/£500. It’s not perfect – the keyboard and trackpad aren’t as nice as some of its competitors, but it’s definitely worth considering if you’re in the market for a budget-friendly gaming machine.
Another great choice is the Samsung Galaxy Book 3 Ultra. It’s not just a great portable laptop for working, but it can also play games thanks to its gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED display. It’s a real treat to use, and it makes games like Cyberpunk 2077 look stunning, with neon lights and other elements really popping.
There are lots of options to consider when shopping for a laptop, so take some time to think about what you need from yours before making a purchase. If you need help, our experts can guide you through the process – just drop us an email and we’ll be in touch. We’ll help you find a PC that’s powerful enough to deal with all your day-to-day tasks, comfy enough to be used all day and power-efficient so it won’t run out of juice unexpectedly.

YouTube is attempting to block your ad-blocker in new experiment
YouTube is taking steps to get viewers to disable their ad blockers, according to a Reddit user who was asked to do so as part of what appears to be an experimental message that some users are seeing while trying to watch monetized videos. The pop-up warns that “ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube” and asks the viewer to disable them or sign up for a paid YouTube Premium subscription if they want to go ad-free.
It’s no secret that ad blockers are bad news for content creators who rely on ad revenue to produce and promote their videos. YouTube in particular has been known for intrusive ad formats like unskippable pre-roll ads, and has even been accused of forcing some users to watch 10 of them in a row—a move that resulted in a lot of complaints. The YouTube ad-blocker warning might be a way to get users to disable their ad blockers and switch to Premium, but it’s not a complete solution as users can still find workarounds for this.
Regardless, this isn’t the first time that Google-owned YouTube has taken aggressive action against ad blockers—in fact, it has done so in the past, including removing purpose-built ad-blocking apps from the Play Store and modifying its Chrome browser to prevent ad blocking extensions from working on the site. It’s also been known to tweak its terms of service, as it did in 2022 by adding a clause that could be read as a total ban on any tools that modify or remove parts of its app.
For now, this new ad-blocking experiment seems to be limited in scope, but it might signal a shift in strategy as YouTube faces declining ad revenues and competition from rival TikTok. The company recently said that its ad revenue has declined for the third straight quarter, largely due to declining economic uncertainty and volatile digital ad market conditions.
The YouTube ad-blocking experiment was first spotted by Reddit user Sazk100, who shared a screenshot of the pop-up that they received. YouTube has since confirmed that this is a test, though it isn’t clear if the company will expand it to more users.
YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of the American e-commerce website PayPal. It is available worldwide and provides users with a platform to share videos and earn money.
YouTube allows users to rate videos, subscribe to channels, and comment on them, although the number of “likes” a video receives isn’t publicly visible. The website also offers its creators the option of creating a channel where they can promote their videos and interact with fans. In addition to videos, YouTube also hosts other types of content, such as music and games. It is available on a variety of platforms, including smartphones, tablets, desktop computers, and the Apple TV.