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A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Thursday, June 19 (game #1242).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,100 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

• B

• D

• H

• L

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1243, are…

• BRAID
• DULLY
• HASTE
• LURID

My three start words again came up trumps today, giving me all five letters for what became HASTE and LURID, and four each for DULLY and BRAID.

DULLY was the only mildly difficult one on account of having a repeated L, but it wasn't really tough for me because nothing else would have fit at that point. A real cinch of a Quordle.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1243, are…

• THROW
• SHAKY
• OWING
• LOAMY  

• Quordle #1242, Thursday, 19 June: BRUSH, ISLET, FRUIT, PRIVY
• Quordle #1241, Wednesday, 18 June: MEDIA, SHARK, GUPPY, MOURN
• Quordle #1240, Tuesday, 17 June: LEAPT, PRISM, ADMIN, WHINE
• Quordle #1239, Monday, 16 June: RETRY, SCALD, DINGO, FEIGN
• Quordle #1238, Sunday, 15 June: SHOCK, STEIN, BROIL, COVEN
• Quordle #1237, Saturday, 14 June: STICK, FERRY, THESE, IONIC
• Quordle #1236, Friday, 13 June: REPEL, LARGE, SNIDE, CARRY
• Quordle #1235, Thursday, 12 June: SCANT, BATCH, UNDER, PARSE
• Quordle #1234, Wednesday, 11 June: CRAVE, ROOST, ANGLE, FLOOD
• Quordle #1233, Tuesday, 10 June: DECRY, CHEEK, FILET, EASEL
• Quordle #1232, Monday, 9 June: DERBY, LEMON, WRITE, HOVEL
• Quordle #1231, Sunday, 8 June: REBAR, ALERT, PAYEE, FLUME
• Quordle #1230, Saturday, 7 June: FLUNK, ESTER, SPITE, CHEAP
• Quordle #1229, Friday, 6 June: ELUDE, KHAKI, VISTA, SMOKY
• Quordle #1228, Thursday, 5 June: CHIDE, RABBI, GUSTY, LANCE
• Quordle #1227, Wednesday, 4 June: BANAL, STOUT, SEDAN, HIPPO
• Quordle #1226, Tuesday, 3 June: FUGUE, SYRUP, FLACK, WORST
• Quordle #1225, Monday, 2 June: THINK, BELLE, CRONE, BOULE
• Quordle #1224, Sunday, 1 June: POINT, MERIT, WHOOP, APHID
• Quordle #1223, Saturday, 31 May: CRUMB, ELFIN, DRIER, QUITE

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Thursday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Thursday, June 19 (game #739).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• ROCK
• FILM
• SEAL
• SCISSORS
• POETIC
• PAPER
• BUTTON
• MUSEUM
• SNAKE
• SHOOT
• THREAD
• HITMAN
• RECORD
• NEEDLE
• UNDERTAKER
• TAPE

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: Sew good
• GREEN: Commit to physical or digital media
• BLUE: Ring stars
• PURPLE: [Melting substance] blank

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: ITEMS IN A SEWING KIT
• GREEN: CAPTURE ON VIDEO
• BLUE: PRO WRESTLING ICONS, WITH “THE”
• PURPLE: WAX ___

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

The answers to today's Connections, game #740, are…

• YELLOW: ITEMS IN A SEWING KIT BUTTON, NEEDLE, SCISSORS, THREAD
• GREEN: CAPTURE ON VIDEO FILM, RECORD, SHOOT, TAPE
• BLUE: PRO WRESTLING ICONS, WITH “THE” HITMAN, ROCK, SNAKE, UNDERTAKER
• PURPLE: WAX ___ MUSEUM, PAPER, POETIC, SEAL

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Look, I'll be honest here, even though it may upset some people, but I do not get pro wrestling. I simply don't understand it at all – what's the point? It's all staged!

Anyway, that didn't stop me solving the blue PRO WRESTLING ICONS, WITH "THE" group first, because UNDERTAKER, HITMAN and ROCK were all obvious and SNAKE seemed a far more likely fourth inclusion than 'The Museum' or 'The Button'. Sorry, Mr Snake, but I had not heard of you.

Green was an easy one, made easier still by the fact that FILM, RECORD, SHOOT and TAPE had lined themselves up on one line and therefore made them jump straight off the board and into my brain. Yellow was even simpler, to the extent that I can't believe I didn't spot it sooner, and though I didn't need to solve purple I think I might have done if I'd had to.

How did you do today? Let me know in the comments below.

• YELLOW: COMPONENTS OF ONE’S GRADE ATTENDANCE, FINAL, HOMEWORK, PAPERS
• GREEN: MAP APP OPTIONS DESTINATION, ROUTE, STARTING POINT, STOPS
• BLUE: CLASSIC TOYS BALL, BLOCKS, JACKS, TRAIN
• PURPLE: FENCING GEAR FOILS, GLOVES, JACKETS, MASKS

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

The UK’s Legal Aid Agency is among the latest high profile examples of a cyber-attack resulting in a significant data breach. The incident is all the more worrying because of the sensitive nature of the data accessed in the attack.

The Ministry of Justice reported in May 2025 that a “significant amount of personal data” of people who applied online to the Legal Aid Agency since 2010, including criminal records, was accessed and downloaded in a cyber-attack in April 2025.

Media reports on the incident suggest that more than two million pieces of information were taken, including details of domestic abuse victims, people involved in family cases and those facing criminal prosecution.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed that the data may have included addresses of applicants, dates of birth, national ID numbers, criminal history, employment and financial data such as debts and payments.

The recurring problem with data beaches of highly sensitive and special category data is not just the immediate exposure and vulnerabilities caused, it is the unknown future illicit uses of the stolen data, which can be surprising and very harmful to all involved.

The cybersecurity threat landscape is rapidly evolving, shaped by technological innovation, global instability and sometimes opportunism by cybercriminals.

The proliferation of AI, including Generative AI, AI bots, and co-pilots, is expanding the potential for digital attacks. The acceleration of AI adoption has outpaced governance frameworks, widening knowledge, solutions, and resilience gaps. In addition, cybercriminals are leveraging Generative AI to enhance social engineering attacks, making them more effective and harder to detect.

Geopolitical instability is also a rising threat. State-linked Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are actively engaging in cyberwarfare, targeting critical national infrastructure with sophisticated campaigns.

These groups exploit supply chain vulnerabilities to maximize impact, often driven by political and economic motivations. For organizations operating globally, real-time threat intelligence and geopolitical awareness are essential, especially when working with unfamiliar partners or entering new markets.

Cloud infrastructure is under growing pressure as threat actors refine their tactics. CrowdStrike reported a 75% year-on-year rise in cloud intrusions, with attackers increasingly using stealthy, staged operations to establish footholds and move laterally across hybrid IT environments.

Supply chain insecurity remains a persistent concern. The 2024 Microsoft–CrowdStrike incident, which triggered one of the largest global IT outages to date, demonstrated the systemic risk of over-reliance on a few key technology providers. The fallout, which impacted a range of sectors from aviation to healthcare, underscored the urgent need to audit, monitor, and diversify supply chains, as well as share breach intelligence more effectively.

On a more promising note, AI is also proving to be a valuable defense tool. It enhances anomaly detection, vulnerability classification, automated patching, and configuration management. Large Language Models (LLMs) are augmenting the threat intelligence lifecycle, from analyzing attacker behavior to powering deception technologies like honeypots. As AI becomes more embedded in cyber defense strategies, it offers the potential for faster, smarter, and more adaptive responses to emerging threats.

Cyberattacks of all kinds are rising. Any type of organization can be a victim. The cyberattack on the Legal Aid Agency serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for a holistic and proactive approach to cyber security.

When high profile cyberattacks occur, leaders often seek reassurance. They often request information about what can be done first or quickly. The urgent response is to go back to basics: check key data protection practices, review GDPR compliance, strengthen basic information security safeguards and encourage important suppliers to be on high alert. From a legal and operational standpoint, organizations, particularly those handling sensitive information and special category data, should prioritize the following measures:

1. Engagement at board level: Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT issue. It is a board-level responsibility. Effective resilience depends on cross-functional collaboration among leadership, cybersecurity specialists, legal advisors, internal auditors, HR, digital forensics experts, and crisis communication teams. A multi-disciplinary response capability is essential to manage both the technical, legal and reputational dimensions of a breach.
2. Continuous preparedness: To ensure a robust security architecture, organizations must look beyond having the right tools in place. It is vital to implement vulnerability management on a continuous basis, with timely patching protocols and a focus on regular training of employees.
3. Data Breach Practice and Preparedness: Practice makes perfect, and simulated incident response exercises, including table-top scenarios, are critical in ensuring readiness for data breaches. It is also advisable for organizations to have a learning and development mindset and extract lessons from near-misses and close calls, rather than seeking to brush these under the carpet and quickly move on.
4. Due diligence for AI integration: Generative AI is evolving apace, and it can be tempting for organizations to rush in to deploy it. However, innovation should work in partnership with security. Due diligence is vital. Before integrating new AI platforms or other emerging technologies, organizations should conduct comprehensive assessments of their security credentials and weigh up any additional cyber security risk exposure these systems might introduce.
5. Third-party risk management: Cyber resilience does not end at the network perimeter. Organizations must map, monitor, and regularly audit their supply chains to identify vulnerabilities. Where high-risk vendors are identified, mitigation actions should be taken swiftly. Mitigation may include stopping working with a supplier or limiting the amount of work with them. Every business should have a strong third-party risk management framework as a cornerstone in their cybersecurity environment.

Critical National Infrastructure cyberattacks like those affecting The Legal Aid Agency reminds us that cyber resilience requires ongoing commitment. Cybersecurity must be embedded across all levels of an organization, including boards, leadership teams, mission critical data sets to supply chain management.

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