Smashing Security The hack that messed with time, and rogue ransomware negotiators
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Nov 6, 2025 
Joining the discussion is Dave Bittner, an experienced cybersecurity journalist and host at The CyberWire. He dives into astonishing stories of a state-backed hacking group targeting a nation’s master clock, revealing the potential chaos that could ensue. Bittner also uncovers the shocking case of rogue ransomware negotiators in Chicago who turned into extortionists. Together with Graham Cluley, they explore the ethics and risks surrounding unregulated negotiation in the cybercrime landscape.
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Nationwide Time Systems Are High-Value Targets
- State-backed attackers can stealthily target a nation's master clock and lurk for years before detection.
- Tampering with national time services risks cascading failures across finance, telecoms, power, and GPS systems.
Two-Year Intrusion Into Time Agency
- Investigators say attackers spent months compromising employees' phones, stole credentials, then spent two years deploying 42 bespoke tools.
- Authorities claim they cut command-and-control links and neutralised the threat after discovering the intrusion.
Attribution Blends Evidence And Geopolitics
- Attribution is increasingly narrative-driven and politically charged rather than purely technical.
- China accused the NSA, showing how nations now use the same public playbook of calling out rivals for cyber operations.