Washington has sharply criticised a United Nations decision to place Israel’s armed and security forces on a blacklist linked to conflict-related sexual violence, calling the move “ridiculous” as the report deepened tensions between Israel, the UN leadership and Western capitals over the conduct of the Gaza war. The annual report by UN Secretary-General António Guterres added Israeli forces to a list of parties “credibly suspected” of committing […]
China-linked hacking groups have used the Middle East war to intensify cyber-espionage attempts against maritime, energy and political targets across the Gulf, exposing how regional conflict is being turned into an intelligence-gathering opportunity for rival powers. The activity, tracked between October 2025 and March 2026, shows threat actors aligned with Beijing moving quickly around geopolitical shocks, particularly after the escalation involving Iran from late February. Maritime affairs, […]
Kuwait’s air defence systems intercepted hostile missile and drone threats aimed at its airspace early on Thursday, the Kuwaiti Army’s General Staff said, as the Gulf state moved to contain security risks from widening regional military tensions. The military said its systems were responding to a wave of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles attempting to penetrate the country’s airspace. It did not identify the source of the […]
Paris Saint-Germain stand one match from retaining the UEFA Champions League title as they face Arsenal at Budapest’s Puskás Aréna on Saturday in a final that brings together the French champions and the Premier League winners. The 2025/26 European club season reaches its decisive point with PSG attempting to become only the second club of the Champions League era to defend the trophy, after Real Madrid’s run […]
Cybercriminals are shifting from crude misspellings of trusted software packages to more convincing names that appear to belong inside legitimate developer ecosystems, raising fresh concern across open-source security teams and enterprise software supply chains. The change marks a significant evolution in package impersonation attacks. Rather than relying only on a developer mistyping a package name, malicious publishers are creating packages that look like natural extensions, plugins, configuration […]
Carnival Corporation has begun notifying nearly 6 million people after a cyber intrusion exposed personal information, intensifying scrutiny of data protection practices at one of the world’s largest cruise operators. The Miami-based company said unauthorised activity was detected on April 14 after an attacker used social engineering to deceive an employee and gain access to a limited part of its IT environment. Regulatory filings show 5,995,277 people […]
Cryptocurrency developers have become the focus of a new macOS-focused cyber campaign that uses fake recruiter approaches, malicious meeting links and compromised software pipelines to steal digital assets and spread malware through trusted internal systems. The activity is being tracked as JINX-0164, a previously unreported financially motivated threat actor active since at least mid-2025. Investigators found that the group has targeted cryptocurrency organisations by approaching developers and […]
Hackers are using GHOSTYNETWORKS and OMEGATECH to sustain a global JavaScript malware operation that has targeted organisations across energy, finance, retail, automotive and government-linked sectors, underlining the expanding role of bulletproof hosting in large-scale email fraud. The campaign, tracked across March 2026 activity, used malicious ZIP and RAR attachments to deliver an obfuscated JavaScript backdoor through malspam waves sent to victims in multiple regions. Targets included energy […]
Roundcube Webmail administrators are being pressed to install emergency updates after maintainers fixed a set of security flaws that could expose email systems to database manipulation, script injection, server-side request forgery and other attacks. Versions 1.6.16 and 1.7.1, released on 24 May 2026, address vulnerabilities affecting the 1.6 long-term support line and the 1.7 branch. The most closely watched issue is a pre-authentication SQL injection flaw in […]
Congo’s Ebola outbreak has widened to 1,077 suspected cases and 246 deaths, intensifying pressure on health authorities as responders struggle to contain transmission in conflict-hit eastern provinces. Health officials are treating the outbreak as one of the most serious Ebola emergencies faced by the Democratic Republic of the Congo in years, with cases linked to the Bundibugyo strain, a less common form of the virus for which […]
Kuwait’s air defence systems intercepted hostile missiles and drones targeting its airspace early Thursday, triggering loud explosions across parts of the country but causing no casualties or damage, the army said, as Gulf states remained on high alert amid a volatile security environment. The General Staff of the Kuwaiti Army said air defence units detected multiple aerial threats attempting to enter national airspace and dealt with them […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Washington carried out defensive strikes against Iranian drone operations near the Strait of Hormuz after what it described as imminent threats to American forces and commercial shipping, deepening strain around one of the world’s most important oil transit routes while both sides claim they remain committed to a ceasefire. US forces shot down four one-way attack drones and struck a ground control station […]
Google Cloud has moved deeper into AI-native cybersecurity with Google AI Threat Defence, an autonomous security platform aimed at helping enterprises detect, prioritise and remediate attacks at machine speed as rivals Anthropic and OpenAI push frontier models into vulnerability discovery and code defence. The launch marks a sharper contest in enterprise security, where artificial intelligence is shifting the centre of gravity from manual patching and alert handling […]
Cybersecurity researchers have warned that BTMOB, an Android remote access trojan, has developed into a potent tool for criminals seeking to hijack smartphones, steal data and run fraud from compromised devices. The malware, first identified in early 2025, has moved beyond the narrower behaviour associated with many banking trojans. It can capture screens, record activity, manage files, intercept credentials, control device functions and give an attacker near-live […]
Cisco researchers have warned that leading open-weight large language models can be manipulated through sustained conversations that gradually push them past safety controls, exposing a weakness in systems now being adopted across business, public services and consumer applications. The assessment tested eight widely used open-weight models from Alibaba, DeepSeek, Google, Meta, Microsoft, Mistral, OpenAI and Zhipu AI. The models were examined through automated adversarial testing designed to […]
Microsoft has issued fixes for a high-severity SharePoint Server vulnerability that could allow authenticated attackers to run code remotely on affected on-premises systems, sharpening security concerns for organisations that continue to rely on self-managed collaboration platforms. Tracked as CVE-2026-45659, the flaw affects SharePoint Server Subscription Edition, SharePoint Server 2019 and SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016. The vulnerability has been assigned a CVSS score of 8.8, placing it in […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai United Nations Security Council members have unanimously condemned a drone strike on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region, warning that any attack on a civilian nuclear facility carries grave risks for human life, critical infrastructure and the environment. The 15-member council said the strike on an electricity generator outside the plant’s inner perimeter amounted to “a flagrant violation […]
The renewed memorandum of understanding was signed on 25 May by Rear Admiral Saif bin Nasser Al Rahbi, Commander of the Royal Navy of Oman and Chairman of the Maritime Security Committee, and G. V. Srinivas, India’s Ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman. Oman was represented by the Maritime Security Centre, underlining the agreement’s operational focus on maritime safety, information-sharing and cooperation at sea.
The renewal keeps in place a mechanism that has gained importance as shipping routes through the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz face heightened risks from regional conflict, trafficking networks, drone threats, piracy-linked activity and disruptions to commercial navigation. For both countries, maritime security is tied not only to defence cooperation but also to energy flows, trade resilience and the protection of expatriate and commercial links across the Gulf.
The agreement aims to sustain joint cooperation and facilitate the exchange of expertise in maritime security, with the stated objective of contributing to the safety and security of maritime navigation. Its scope fits into a wider pattern of bilateral defence engagement involving naval interaction, coast guard cooperation, training, port calls, high-level meetings and operational contact between maritime agencies.
Oman’s location gives the pact strategic weight. The Sultanate sits close to the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of the world’s seaborne oil trade passes, and faces the Arabian Sea, a route connecting the Gulf with East Africa, South Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific. India’s energy imports, diaspora links and commercial shipping make stability in these waters a central security interest.
The renewed document also reflects a continuity in defence ties that have developed through structured mechanisms over two decades. India and Oman have maintained regular military cooperation, including joint committee meetings, staff-level exchanges and service-to-service engagement. Earlier maritime arrangements between the two sides covered cooperation against crimes at sea, including piracy, armed robbery, arms trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal immigration and people-smuggling by sea.
Coast guard engagement has become a practical arm of that relationship. The Indian Coast Guard and Royal Oman Police Coast Guard have used high-level meetings to discuss capacity-building, cross-ship visits, the Sea Rider programme, pollution-reporting links and cooperation against transnational illegal activity at sea. Such measures are aimed at creating working-level familiarity before crises emerge, particularly in areas where law-enforcement, search-and-rescue and environmental response overlap.
The agreement comes as maritime security has moved higher on the regional agenda. Attacks on merchant vessels in and around the Red Sea, tensions linked to the Israel-Gaza war, risks around Iran-linked flashpoints and the vulnerability of energy shipping have pushed Gulf and Indian Ocean states to strengthen coordination. Oman has also positioned itself as a diplomatic and maritime actor with an interest in keeping sea lanes open while maintaining dialogue with multiple regional powers.
For India, Oman remains one of its closest defence partners in the Gulf. Access, trust and geography make the relationship important for deployments, evacuation contingencies, anti-piracy coordination and wider maritime domain awareness. Oman has historically provided India with a reliable western Indian Ocean partner, while Muscat benefits from deeper technical, training and operational interaction with a major naval power.
The security renewal also sits alongside a growing economic relationship. Bilateral trade has crossed the $10 billion mark, and the two countries signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in December 2025 to expand market access for goods and services. The trade pact gave exports from India zero-duty access across most Omani tariff lines, while New Delhi agreed tariff reductions covering a large share of imports from Oman by value.
That economic backdrop makes maritime security more than a defence concern. Smooth shipping flows affect energy supplies, fertilisers, minerals, food products, pharmaceuticals, textiles and engineering goods. Oman’s ports and logistics infrastructure are also relevant to India’s westward trade links, particularly as supply chains adjust to geopolitical tensions and route disruptions.
The renewed memorandum is expected to support more sustained institutional contact between the two sides rather than a one-off diplomatic gesture. Its emphasis on expertise-sharing suggests cooperation may cover surveillance practices, response protocols, training modules, information exchange and coordination against illegal activities at sea. It also offers a framework for strengthening maritime navigation safety at a time when commercial vessels increasingly require layered protection across contested waters.
NightSpire has moved from an emerging ransomware operation to a fast-scaling cyber-extortion threat, using exposed Remote Desktop Protocol access, legitimate administration tools and a Tor-based leak site to pressure victims across multiple sectors. First observed in early 2025, the group has built its campaign around double extortion, stealing sensitive files before encrypting systems and then threatening public exposure if victims refuse to pay. Its operations show a […]
Iran-linked hackers have expanded cyber-espionage operations against aviation and software organisations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, using fake recruitment pitches and search-engine manipulation to deliver malware capable of long-term surveillance and data theft. The campaign has been tied to Nimbus Manticore, also tracked as UNC1549, Screening Serpens, Smoke Sandstorm and Iranian Dream Job. The group is assessed to be aligned with Iran’s Islamic […]
Organisations using Apache CXF have been urged to patch a newly disclosed LDAP injection flaw that could allow attackers to retrieve arbitrary certificates from vulnerable XKMS repositories, sharpening concerns over certificate-management weaknesses in enterprise Java service environments. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-44930, affects the LDAP certificate repository used by the XKMS server component in Apache CXF. It has been classified as an important security issue by the […]
Microsoft’s early lead in AI-assisted software development is coming under pressure as outages at GitHub, leadership changes, security incidents and fast-moving rivals reshape one of the most important contests in enterprise technology. GitHub Copilot gave Microsoft a commanding start in the AI coding race. It was launched before many competitors had mature developer products, and it benefited from GitHub’s position at the centre of global software collaboration. […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Fragile ceasefire efforts in Doha are facing a sharper test after United States forces struck military targets in southern Iran and Israel signalled expanded operations against Hizbollah in Lebanon, injecting fresh uncertainty into negotiations aimed at ending a wider West Asia conflict. US forces hit Iranian missile launch sites and boats suspected of laying mines near the Strait of Hormuz, describing the action […]
North Korea-linked hackers have upgraded the InvisibleFerret malware to bypass script-based security tools, converting its Python code into compiled modules that are harder for defenders to inspect and block. The campaign is attributed to Void Dokkaebi, also tracked as Famous Chollima, a threat group associated with operations against software developers, cryptocurrency firms and technology workers. The latest version uses Cython-compiled files, appearing as. pyd modules on Windows […]
