Cyber Brief: Gmail disruption, fuel-system flaws & grid ransomware

Today’s Cyber Brief highlights global cyber developments - from Gmail disruption and industrial-system flaws to ransomware in critical infrastructure and growing AI-oversight demands. Each story shows how resilience and governance are central to every modern organisation.

1Gmail outage raises phishing and credential-leak risks

Gmail suffered widespread disruption on 27 October 2025, halting email flow for millions of users. Within hours, security researchers detected new phishing waves mimicking Google’s recovery alerts. The campaigns used cloned branding to trick recipients into “resetting” passwords and capturing credentials. Google restored normal service and confirmed no internal breach, but analysts warn that attackers often weaponise confusion from legitimate outages to harvest logins.
Source: BBC Technology / SecurityWeek
Why it matters: Email remains the backbone of business communication. UK SMEs should remind staff to verify sender domains, ignore unsolicited reset messages and use multifactor authentication on all accounts to blunt these opportunistic scams.

CISA warns of critical vulnerabilities in fuel-storage systems

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an advisory on two severe flaws in Veeder Root TLS4B Automatic Tank Gauge Systems used for fuel management. Exploitation could let attackers run system-level commands and disrupt monitoring or supply operations. CISA urged immediate patching or isolation of affected systems.
Source: Cyber Security News
Why it matters: Industrial and operational-technology devices underpin UK logistics and energy supply. Reviewing vendor advisories, applying updates and segmenting these networks is essential to prevent physical disruption.

Swedish power-grid operator hit by ransomware

Svenska kraftnät, Sweden’s state-owned transmission operator, confirmed a ransomware attack linked to the Everest group. The intrusion originated through a supplier account, forcing temporary shutdowns of administrative systems. Forensic work continues as authorities probe possible data exfiltration.
Source: Cyber Press / Cyber Security News
Why it matters: Supply-chain breaches remain one of the fastest-growing threats. UK organisations should verify third-party incident-response clauses, enforce least-privilege access and share threat-intelligence with partners to contain cascading risk.

Cyber and AI oversight disclosures gain traction

A governance review notes rising corporate transparency around board-level management of cyber and AI risk. Following expiry of the US Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act 2015, more firms are publicly detailing how directors oversee digital resilience and ethical technology use. Analysts expect comparable requirements in forthcoming UK and EU frameworks.
Source: Harvard Law Corporate Governance Forum
Why it matters: Regulators and investors increasingly expect clear evidence of cyber-governance. Strengthening board accountability, documenting oversight and obtaining external assurance will help meet emerging disclosure standards.

🔍 Today’s Key Actions

1. Reinforce email-security awareness and enable MFA across all accounts.
2. Apply vendor patches for industrial or IoT systems without delay.
3. Audit supplier-risk programmes and incident-response contracts.
4. Review governance documentation for cyber- and AI-risk oversight.

💬 Secarma Insight

Today’s stories underline the convergence of operational, information and governance risk. From opportunistic phishing after an outage to systemic vulnerabilities in energy supply, security must span every layer of the enterprise. Secarma helps organisations integrate resilience - combining technical assurance, supply-chain control and board-level governance - so you stay secure, compliant and confident.

Get in touch with us to strengthen your cybersecurity posture today.