Royal Holloway Revolutionises Cybersecurity Education

Royal Holloway Leads the Charge in Cybersecurity Education

Royal Holloway, University of London continues to set high standards with its MSc in Information Security, offering students cutting-edge training and practical experience to face today’s cyber threat environment. It’s impressive to see how academic excellence in cybersecurity is equipping the next generation of security professionals to tackle issues as complex as those we see daily.

Latest Vulnerabilities: From SQL Injections to File Upload Flaws

On the vulnerability front, the landscape is buzzing with several critical and high-severity issues. For instance, CVE-2025-39471 describes a critical SQL injection vulnerability affecting Pantherius Modal Survey, with a severity rating of 9.3. In a similar vein, the ThimPress Ivy School vulnerability (CVE-2025-39470) permits local file inclusion via a path traversal flaw – a reminder that even educational or niche platforms can unwittingly spread the seeds of cyber chaos.

Critical Windows and Application Vulnerabilities

Among other concerning issues, a Windows flaw (CVE-2025-24054) has been actively exploited since March 19, leaking NTLM credentials through phishing attacks. Meanwhile, Active! Mail suffers from a stack-based buffer overflow (CVE-2025-42599) that could lead to arbitrary code execution – a bug that any system administrator would rather keep at bay.

WordPress and Plugin Pitfalls

WordPress websites shouldn’t take a back seat either. A critical file deletion vulnerability in the WordPress Avatar Plugin (CVE-2025-3520) has raised alarm bells with a potential risk of remote code execution if, for example, a system-critical file like wp-config.php is deleted. As always, vigilance in maintaining up-to-date plugins is key.

Emerging Threats and Global Trends

Cyber threats are not limited to isolated vulnerabilities. The news highlights tactics ranging from SQL injections affecting various applications – such as Dietiqa App (CVE-2025-28009), Stylemix Cost Calculator Builder (CVE-2025-39587), and even Metagauss ProfileGrid (CVE-2025-39586) – to critical deserialization flaws that can lead to object injections in tools like FluentBoards (CVE-2025-39551) and Shahjahan Jewel FluentCommunity (CVE-2025-39550).

Of particular note is the emergence of the CrazyHunter hacker group that is actively exploiting open-source tools from GitHub to target organisations – a stark reminder that modern adversaries are continually evolving their playbook. Even drones have come under scrutiny with the UK CAA releasing cyber safety guidance for Specific Category drone operations, signalling that no sector is entirely immune.

Academic Excellence, Industry Awards, and Compliance Insights

Outside of vulnerabilities, the broader cybersecurity community is recognising both talent and innovative new ideas. Royal Holloway’s postgraduate course stands tall in producing professionals who can navigate this volatile environment while global awards, like the Cyber Edge Writing Award by AFCEA International, continue to celebrate excellence in cybersecurity thought leadership.

At Synergos Consultancy, based in Huddersfield, we’re always fascinated by developments like these. Whether you’re looking to achieve robust compliance through ISO certifications or want to ensure your Health & Safety Management is up to scratch, staying informed about the latest vulnerabilities and trends is key. Our insights often help businesses across Yorkshire and beyond to shore up their defences and streamline their cybersecurity practices.

Keeping pace with these rapid-fire updates can be as challenging as spotting a vulnerability in a sea of code – but that’s all part of the fun in the ever-evolving realm of cybersecurity. Stay tuned, stay secure, and maybe even consider a deep dive into further training to boost your cyber mastery!