Archive for July 3, 2025

Website Planet reports on the true impact of Google’s AI Overviews on websites and on Google itself

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 3, 2025 by itnerd

Website Planet has analyzed the true impact of Google’s AI Overviews on websites and on Google itself, and determined who’s benefiting, who’s losing out, and what it means for the future of search.Key findings:

  • AI Overviews now appear on 31% of Google search pages; in our test, 39 out of 100 searches showed an AI summary.
  • Informational sites saw average traffic gains of +241% (with some up 1,933%), but also the steepest drops (down to -76%).
  • Google’s search revenue jumped 10% year-over-year after AI Overviews rolled out; cost-per-click rose for 87% of industries.

You can access their detailed report here: https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/ai-summaries-website-impact-research/

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67% of EU governmental institutions score D or F for cybersecurity

Posted in Commentary on July 3, 2025 by itnerd

The Business Digital Index (BDI), created by Cybernews, evaluated the cybersecurity postures of 75 European Union government institutions and found that 67% received a D or F rating — placing them in high-risk or critical-risk categories.

The BDI also revealed that every institution in the study had experienced at least one data breach. Email spoofing vulnerabilities were found across all C-rated institutions and in 96% of D- and F-rated ones.

In addition, 46% of F-rated institutions had suffered a recent breach, and 85% of employees in the lowest-rated organizations were reusing passwords that had already been exposed in previous leaks — a major red flag for security hygiene.

Key research takeaways:

  • The average cybersecurity score across EU governmental institutions was 71/100, classifying them as high-risk based on BDI methodology.
  • 67% of EU governmental institutions received a D or F score. 32% received a D score, and 35% received an F, while 33% were rated C. No institutions scored A or B.
  • All 75 evaluated institutions had experienced at least one data breach, and 46% of F-rated organizations had suffered recent data breaches.
  • 85% of employees in F-rated institutions reused breached passwords, while the figure stood at 71% for D-rated and 8% for C-rated organizations.
  • SSL/TLS configuration issues were present in 100% of F- and C-rated institutions, and 92% of D-rated ones — leaving systems open to data interception and man-in-the-middle attacks.
  • System hosting vulnerabilities affected 92% of D- and F-rated institutions and all C-rated ones, increasing the risk of unauthorized access.
  • 96% of D- and F-rated organizations had domains vulnerable to email spoofing, compared to 100% of C-rated institutions.
  • Exposed corporate credentials were found in 96% of F-rated and 83% of D-rated institutions, but only 12% of C-rated ones.

To read the full research, please click here.

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New Data From The Safety Detectives Shows Where Google Tracks You

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 3, 2025 by itnerd

The Safety Detectives recently tested how often Google tracks users online (even when using privacy tools) across four countries. The key findings are:

  • In some US tests, Google trackers were present on 100% of websites visited.
  • Google Analytics appeared on 53% of pages with Google Search, versus just 17% with DuckDuckGo in privacy-focused countries.
  • Wikipedia and TikTok triggered almost zero Google tracking, while YouTube/product searches triggered multiple trackers.

You can read their report on this here.

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KnowBe4 Urges Organizations to Recognize Social Engineering’s Critical Role in Ransomware Surge 

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 3, 2025 by itnerd

KnowBe4, the world-renowned cybersecurity platform that comprehensively addresses human risk management, is shining a spotlight on the critical role social engineering plays in the global surge of ransomware attacks. As part of Ransomware Awareness Month in July, KnowBe4 is encouraging organizations to reflect on how human risk contributes to ransomware exposure with five essential strategies to strengthen their human layer defenses.

This call to action comes as KnowBe4’s research highlights a concerning 57.7% increase in ransomware payloads delivered through phishing attacks between November 1, 2024, and February 15, 2025, compared to the preceding three months. Commonly considered the most common initial access vector for ransomware into an organization, this alarming trend underscores phishing’s pivotal role in the rise of ransomware incidents. 

Industry data continues to underscore the severity of ransomware on organizations, with global damages projected to reach $275 billion annually by 2031. In addition, the 2025 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report highlights that ransomware was involved in 44% of all analyzed breaches, which was up from 31% the previous year. 

As the volume and fallout of successful ransomware attacks increase in 2025, KnowBe4 shares five top tips for organizations to strengthen their human defenses: 

  1. Tailor Cybersecurity Training by Role: Offer timely, role-specific personalized training that directly addresses the unique threats and responsibilities of different departments, helping to dramatically reduce employee behaviors often exploited by ransomware attackers.
  2. Run Realistic Phishing Simulations: Regularly conduct real-world phishing simulations that mimic current threat tactics to build employees’ critical thinking skills and instinctive resistance against ransomware delivery methods.
  3. Promote a No-Blame Reporting Culture: Foster an environment where employees feel safe and empowered to immediately report any suspicious emails or activities, even if they have made a mistake, enabling faster ransomware containment and incident response.
  4. Keep Ransomware Awareness Front and Center: Implement continuous awareness campaigns through ongoing reminders, visuals, and regular communication to reinforce vigilance and ensure ransomware threats remain top-of-mind for the entire workforce.
  5. Utilize Advanced Anti-Phishing Technology: Support employees with advanced anti-phishing technology that employs AI and machine learning to detect and neutralize sophisticated phishing attacks, including zero-day threats carrying ransomware payloads, before they ever reach an employee’s inbox.

For more information, visit www.knowbe4.com. 

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Jeff Lebold Joins Hammerspace as Vice President of APAC Region

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 3, 2025 by itnerd

Hammerspace has announced the appointment of Jeff Lebold as Vice President of the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. A veteran technology leader with nearly three decades of experience, Lebold will spearhead Hammerspace’s aggressive growth and customer momentum throughout one of the world’s fastest-growing markets for AI and data infrastructure.

Lebold brings deep expertise in sales, market development, systems engineering and marketing. He most recently served as Vice President of Sales for Asia-Pacific Enterprise Customers at Impinj, where he consistently delivered strong revenue growth. Previously, during his 22-year tenure at Quantum Corporation, he drove strategic expansion across a complex seven-country APAC territory, building high-performing cross-cultural teams and driving transformative market success. Fluent in Mandarin, Lebold is known for forging strong partnerships and scaling global operations.

Today’s enterprises face the challenge of optimizing high-performance data access for AI workloads, scaling their infrastructure efficiently, and managing complex, distributed data environments. Hammerspace’s award-winning Data Platform delivers a competitive edge across every dimension of unstructured data: storage, access, movement and deployment. Whether training thousands of GPUs on-premises or in the cloud, deploying large-scale inference or maximizing NVMe performance in local GPU servers, Hammerspace is purpose-built to unleash data performance at scale.

Current open positions at Hammerspace are available on its Careers page.
 

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Prime Day Deals: Up to 50% Off Tech from Anker, Eufy, Soundcore & Nebula

Posted in Commentary with tags on July 3, 2025 by itnerd

Prime Day is upcoming and here is a curated selection of top offers from Anker Innovations. Deals span up to 50% off across brands including Anker, Eufy, Soundcore, and Nebula, with standout savings on power banks, smart vacuums, projectors, headphones, wearables, and more.

Anker | Charging Essentials & Power Solutions

Eufy Clean | Smart Robot Vacuums

Eufy | Smart Home & Appliance

Soundcore | Personal Audio

Nebula | Portable Projectors

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