Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

When businesses assess the impact of ransomware, the ransom payment often gets the most attention. But the ransom is only a small part of the total cost. According to IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, the average total cost of a ransomware incident reached $5.08 million when downtime, remediation, legal work and business disruption are considered. By comparison, the median ransom payment is $139,875, according to the 2026 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report. The gap highlights that the biggest ransomware costs often come after the attack, not from the ransom itself. This piece examines where those costs come…

Morning Minute is a daily newsletter written by Tyler Warner. The analysis and opinions expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Decrypt. And check out our daily news show ‘FOMO HOUR’ covering all of the top stories and market action.GM!Today’s top news: Crypto majors fall as Clarity Act vote fails; BTC at $76.1k Clarity Act falls 11 votes short in cloture vote as Dems all vote No Kraken parent Payward to bring Hyperliquid perps to the US Circle launched its Arc mainnet with 100 protocols already live X introduced its Cashtag partner program allowing tickers to be tradeable via CEX…

Congenital heart disease affects roughly two out of every 100 newborns worldwide, making it one of the most common types of birth defects. Yet scientists are still working to understand exactly why these heart abnormalities develop. Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have now identified a previously unknown cellular mechanism that may provide an important part of the explanation. “We have discovered a new communication system on the exterior of the cell that is crucial for the proper formation of the heart during embryonic development. This finding changes our understanding of why some congenital heart defects arise. You could say…

Bangladesh is building a 42.5-megawatt power plant that will burn waste from the main Dhaka landfill as fuel.The so-called waste-to-energy plant will burn up to 3,000 metric tons of municipal waste daily, doubling as a solution to the city’s growing waste problem.However, residents living near the landfill say they’re worried about air pollution from the incineration, given that smoke from smaller-scale burning by waste collectors is already a problem.Despite their objections, the project is proceeding, with the government even loosening incineration rules to allow it to go ahead.See All Key Ideas At years old, Yeasmin Begum has lived…

The publication of the Thirlwall inquiry report is above all a moment to remember the babies who died or were harmed at the Countess of Chester hospital and the families whose grief was compounded by years of delay, institutional denial and defensiveness. The least we owe those families is a determination to now make the right changes – not the comfortable ones, not the partial ones, but the ones that will stop further avoidable deaths and injury.Lady Justice Thirlwall’s report lays bare a total failure of NHS management. When doctors dared to raise concerns, they were rebuked and threatened with…

The value of Norway’s sovereign wealth fund’s investments in Israeli companies has increased, prompting ethical concerns among campaign groups and charities as the war in Gaza continues.The fund, the world’s largest, cut its Israeli holdings from 61 to 29 companies last year, citing “the serious humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listAlthough it has made no new investments in Israeli firms since, returns from its remaining holdings reached $2.4bn in the first half of 2026 – a rise of 15.7 percent since the end of 2025.The fund “represents enormous economic and political power”, Rami Samandar, head…

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has accused Russia of plotting to murder Ukrainian allies in the US and Europe. In a statement on Tuesday, the DoJ charged five men allegedly connected to the Russian Intelligence Services (RIS). The men are accused of paying, or trying to pay, people in the US and overseas to target those “aligned, or perceived to be aligned, with Ukraine”.”It is our job to stop America’s adversaries from unleashing violence and terror on American soil,” Attorney General Todd Blanche. All those accused remain at large. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday Moscow will…

A thinktank linked to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK is preparing an influential policy plan that is reportedly going to call for substantial tax cuts for the rich.The Centre for a Better Britain (CFABB) is due to publish the 200-page document next week, giving insight into the economic and financial policies that are likely to form part of Reform UK’s platform before the next election.The thinktank proposals are said to benefit some of the UK’s wealthiest taxpayers, by abolishing inheritance tax and phasing out capital gains tax, according to Bloomberg, which cited unnamed sources.That would mean depriving the Treasury of a…

South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix is in discussions with Intel to manufacture RAM chips in the U.S. for the first time, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources. The companies have reportedly discussed various options, one of which would have SK Hynix leasing space at Intel’s planned factory in Ohio to manufacture the chips. The chipmakers are also said to be considering a joint venture that could include cloud-service providers. SK told TechCrunch on Wednesday that nothing has been finalized yet. “SK Hynix is exploring various options to strengthen its global competitiveness, but no specific plans or arrangements have been…

N0va is targeting organizations across North America and Europe with phishing campaigns that impersonate trusted services and abuse legitimate authentication flows. Successful attacks can give threat actors access to valid accounts without relying on obvious malware activity. From there, a single compromised identity can open the door to sensitive data, business systems, and additional cloud resources. The longer that access goes unnoticed, the greater the potential for wider compromise, operational disruption, and financial loss. N0va Is Reaching Organizations Across High-Risk Sectors N0va activity has been observed across organizations in government, technology, consulting, healthcare, and other sectors in North America and…