Who is behind the big hack attacks?

Somewhere on Earth: The Global Tech Podcast

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Who is behind the big hack attacks?

More than 100 organisations around the world are believed to have been hacked in ransomware attacks since 2022 by a single hacker group. The most recent occurrence of a ransomware attack was on a company responsible for analysing blood tests for the UK's National Health Service which prompted some major London hospitals to declare a 'critical incident', with many operations postponed. It is believed that a criminal organisation known as Qilin, consisting of individuals fluent in Russian, orchestrated this malicious act, by inserting a piece of software into the company’s IT system which locks it. Once payment is received then access is restored. Ania Lichtarowicz has been investigating for SOEP.

Would tweezers be better than robotic hands?

What if, instead of having hands, we had some kind of bionic device at the end of our arms. Could we adapt to it as naturally as if we’d never had hands in the first place? Researchers in Italy have been addressing that very question using virtual reality. They’ve devised a set of virtual tweezer hands and invited volunteers to try using them to perform dextrous tasks. Professor Viviana Betti leads Cosync, a lab specialising in neurological research at the Sapienza University of Rome in Italy, and the Laboratory of Neuroscience and Applied Technology at the Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS, also in Rome.

The programme is presented by Gareth Mitchell and the studio expert is Ghislaine Boddington.

More on this week's stories:

The organization tracking the hackers – Group-IB

Rewiring the evolution of the human hand: How the embodiment of a virtual bionic tool improves behaviour

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Editor: Ania Lichtarowicz

Production Manager: Liz Tuohy

Recording and audio editing : Lansons | Team Farner

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1. Who is behind the big hack attacks? (00:00:00)

2. Who is behind the big hack attacks? (00:02:38)

3. Bionic hands or tweezers? (00:11:00)