Emerging threats
Why traditional penetration testing might only be telling you half the story
The simple truth is that to get a complete understanding of your risk posture, your security testing needs to include what information a threat actor can learn about your organisation.
Top digital challenges facing companies in 2025
In the rapidly evolving digital landscape of 2025, every organisation faces a huge range of challenges that extend far beyond traditional cyber threats.
From predictions to reality: Digital safety in a year of change
We began this year knowing it was going to be a significant year for digital risk and digital safety. An unprecedented number of elections, brand new online safety legislation under implementation – all taking place against a backdrop of both existing and new conflict and war.
Trust & Safety: A look ahead to 2025
Working within the Trust and Safety industry, 2024 has been PGI’s busiest year to date, both in our work with clients and our participation in key conversations, particularly around the future of regulation, the human-AI interface, and child safety.
PGI joins WeProtect Global Alliance to strengthen the child safety online ecosystem
Protection Group International (PGI) is pleased to announce that it has joined WeProtect Global Alliance to support the creation of a safer online environment for children.
Phishing on Microsoft Teams: What you need to know
There has been a recent uptick in the number of phishing campaigns happening over Microsoft Teams. Though there is a lack of publicly available information on attempts that have happened in the UK, Microsoft has issued an urgent alert warning of a highly sophisticated phishing campaign attributed to the well-known threat actor group Storm-0324.
Digital information threat forecast: 2022
Growing hybrid extremism There will be continued challenges in the detection and removal of extremism and disinformation on social media.
The evolution of climate change disinformation
With the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) due to take place in Glasgow from 31 October – 12 November 2022, the PGI Digital Investigations team examined the evolution that climate change disinformation has undergone in recent years, from outright denial of the existence of climate change to partisan politicised manipulation.
The evolving use of social media by militant Islamist groups
Militant Islamist organisations have always manipulated the media, whether to publicise their cause, spread their ideology and aims, or recruit new members.
Inauthentic behaviour on social media is fanning the flames of disinformation about Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest
In the aftermath of Christian Eriksen’s collapse and subsequent cardiac arrest, PGI uncovered coordinated efforts on social media to amplify false claims that the incident was caused by a COVID-19 vaccine.
Troll well for less: Analysing the racist trolling of the Sainsbury’s Christmas advert
Racism on social media is a pervasive issue and while organic statements of prejudice are commonly expressed on platforms like Twitter, some groups and individuals are leveraging the algorithmic architecture of social media to amplify their hostile beliefs.
Malign trolling: Tarnishing reputations and influencing media narratives
The recent online response from inauthentic social media accounts to the events at the Sarah Everard vigil highlights the ongoing and increasing danger of malign trolling activities and their ability to tarnish the reputation of public figures and leverage topical political issues to further conspiratorial and extremist narratives.
Immunity CANVAS leak: What you need to know - 2020
In 2020, Immunity’s CANVAS exploit platform was leaked to the VirusTotal database; making the usually cost-prohibitive tool available to a much wider audience.
The man behind Trump’s Twitter account
Have you ever heard of Dan Scavino? Well, if it makes you feel any better, neither had I until I dived deep into Trump’s now extinct twitter feed.
Parler isn’t the problem: Why de-platforming won’t stop the spread of far-right ideologies in the US
In brief Apple and Google have recently pulled the social networking site Parler from their App stores, stating that the app failed to comply with content moderation requirements.
Double-extortion ransomware: Two different considerations
Double-extortion ransomware reflects the inevitable evolution of the digital version of kidnap and ransom.
Ransomware attacks continue – as do ransom payments
Not a month goes by that we don’t see that another organisation has suffered a ransomware attack. In fact, in the last month we’ve even seen global car manufacturer Honda become a victim, along with several lesser-publicised organisations, including the city of Florence, Alabama in the US.
Unregulated Social Media: Havens for hate?
Unregulated social media – in brief Stricter regulations on large social media platforms are driving some extremists to smaller, unregulated networks.
What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?
The terms misinformation and disinformation are often used interchangeably, but they do differ in nuance.
Keeping an eye on COVID-19 cyber security risks
As the world deals with the COVID-19 pandemic, cyber security issues may have taken a backseat for both individuals and companies.
Cyber breaches: People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones
One of the issues highlighted by the Travelex incident—and the reaction to it—is the extraordinarily high level of culpability and scorn that continues to be attached to corporate victims of cyberattacks.
How a hacker will access your network
It has become rather cliché to say that data is now more valuable than oil, but for many organisations, it’s absolutely true.
Cyber security: Human risk – a car crash waiting to happen
In every Corporate Cyber Security Maturity Model that we conduct across all varieties of corporate clients, two categories repeatedly always score lowest – one of those is ‘Staff Training and Education’ (the other is supply chain management’, but that’s for another blog post).
Fake news and trusted sources
In the age of fake news, as individuals we are being encouraged to check the sources of information that we use.
What is the difference between cyber crime and traditional crime?
Simply put, cyber crime is a crime committed using technology and the internet. Although cyber crime is often discussed as a separate entity to traditional crime, it is carried out by the same types of criminals for the same type of reasons.