Over 1.2 mn cyberattacks launched since discovery of massive software flaw: Hackers — including state-backed Chinese groups — have jumped on the chance to launch more than 1.2 mn attacks on companies globally since last Friday, cybersecurity researchers told the Financial Times. The flaw in Log4J — a widely used logging software — makes way for hackers to penetrate corporate servers and potentially steal and leak data.

Scandal-hit NSO Group could jettison unit at the center of hacking furore: Israeli spyware firm NSO Group is considering either selling or shutting down its Pegasus unit, which has previously been accused of an “egregious, deliberate and concerted effort” to target and attack its users, sources familiar with the matter told the Financial Times. The Pegasus leaks revealed earlier this year that several senior Egyptian politicians — including Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly — were among those that may have had their phones hacked by the company.

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NASAs Parker Solar Probe makes a historic flyby, coming within 8.1 mn miles of the sun’s surface, the space agency said in a press release yesterday. This is the closest any human-made object has ever gotten to the sun. The spacecraft, which is roughly the size of a car and has clocked in speeds of up to 365k mph (kph), zoomed into the sun’s atmosphere to gather data about the star in April. The data includes information about why the sun’s outer atmosphere is hotter than its surface, and may shed light on the origins of solar wind — a combination of hot gas and charged particles that blast into space from the sun’s surface. The probe is expected to make an additional 14 trips by 2025 to help answer more questions about the sun.