A Calgary man’s appearance in court has been pushed back a week as he remains in custody after allegedly abducting a child who police said was attempting a “catch a predator” scheme. Zain Alnoor Merchant, 37, faces nine charges, including luring of a child under the age of 14, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, kidnapping, forcible confinement and...Read More
On July 29, the family of a 13-year-old girl filed a lawsuit against Roblox. According to the suit, the child “was introduced to an adult predator on Roblox unbeknownst to her parents, groomed, and then kidnapped from her grandmother’s West Des Moines, Iowa home on May 24, 2025, where she was subsequently trafficked across multiple...Read More
A globally coordinated operation involving support from 18 countries in Africa, the United Kingdom and nine security organizations resulted in the arrest of 1,209 alleged cybercriminals, Interpol said Friday. Authorities said they recovered $97.4 million and dismantled 11,432 pieces of malicious infrastructure between June and August. Financial losses attributed to the crimes allegedly committed by...Read More
Table of Contents Table of Contents Ask the Chatbot online predator, individual who uses the Internet to commit sexual abuse or harassment, specifically of children and of teenagers younger than the legal age of consent. Each day about 500,000 online predators establish contact with and groom victims (that is, build relationships with victims to gain...Read More
Key metrics from Operation Serengeti 2.0 highlight arrests, losses, and recoveries in coordinated cybercrime efforts. Authorities across 18 African nations, aided by the United Kingdom and INTERPOL, have arrested 1,209 suspects and dismantled over 11,000 illicit cyber infrastructures. Operation Serengeti 2.0, conducted between June and August 2025, targeted ransomware, business email compromise, and investment fraud—crimes...Read More
Artificial intelligence dominated cybersecurity discussions at this year’s RSA Conference, but many CISOs I spoke with felt the hype often outpaced substance. Security leaders are under pressure from boards, stakeholders and internal teams to “do something with AI,” even when its practical use or risks aren’t fully understood. This isn’t just about adopting new tech...Read More
Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) models continue to democratize sophisticated attacks in the ever-changing world of cybercrime by allowing affiliates with little technical know-how to distribute ransomware through profit-sharing or subscription models. A newly identified strain, BQTLock, has emerged since mid-July 2025, operating under this RaaS paradigm and marketed aggressively on dark web forums and Telegram channels. Overview...Read More
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting...Read More
Nigeria has deported dozens of foreigners, including 50 Chinese nationals, in a major crackdown over the last week on one of the “largest foreign-led cybercrime syndicates”, the country’s anti-graft agency has said. “This brings the total repatriated convicted foreign nationals to 102 in the ongoing exercise,” it said, adding they had been found guilty of...Read More
An INTERPOL-coordinated operation, dubbed Operation Serengeti 2.0, delivered a telling blow to cybercrime across the African continent. The operation that ran between June and August, this year, saw 1,209 arrests made across 18 African nations and the UK, while 11,432 malicious online infrastructures, including domains, IPs, and phishing or C&C servers, seized. Financially, investigators recovered...Read More
