CyberWire Daily

Critical Remote Code Execution vulnerabilities affect Kubernetes controllers. Senior Trump administration officials allegedly use unsecured platforms for national security discussions. Even experts like Troy Hunt get phished. Google acknowledges user data loss but doesn’t explain it. Chinese hackers spent four years inside an Asian telecom firm. SnakeKeylogger is a stealthy, multi-stage credential-stealing malware. A cybercrime crackdown results in over 300 arrests across seven African countries. Ben Yelin, Caveat co-host and Program Director, Public Policy & External Affairs at the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security, joins to discuss the Signal national security leak. Pew Research Center figures out how its online polling got slightly forked.

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We are joined by Ben Yelin, Caveat co-host and Program Director, Public Policy & External Affairs at the University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security, on the Signal national security leak.

IngressNightmare: critical Kubernetes vulnerabilities in ingress NGINX controller (Beyond Machines)

Remote Code Execution Vulnerabilities in Ingress NGINX (Wiz) 

Ingress-nginx CVE-2025-1974: What You Need to Know (Kubernetes) 

Trump administration is reviewing how its national security team sent military plans to a magazine editor (NBC News)

The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans (The Atlantic)

How Russian Hackers Are Exploiting Signal 'Linked Devices' Feature for Real-Time Spying (SecurityWeek)

Troy Hunt: A Sneaky Phish Just Grabbed my Mailchimp Mailing List (Troy Hunt)

'Technical issue' at Google deletes some customer data (The Register)

Chinese hackers spent four years inside Asian telco’s networks (The Record)

Multistage Info Stealer SnakeKeylogger Attacking Individuals and Businesses to Steal Logins (Cyber Security News)

Over 300 arrested in international crackdown on cyber scams (The Record)

How a glitch in an online survey replaced the word ‘yes’ with ‘forks’ (Pew Research)

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Money laundering runs rampant in Cambodia. Privacy advocates question a new data sharing EO from the White House. An NYU website hack exposes the data of millions. A game demo gets pulled from Steam after users report infostealing malware. The Cloak ransomware group claims a cyberattack on the Virginia Attorney General’s Office. 23andMe files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Medusa ransomware is using a malicious driver to disable security tools on infected systems. Clearview AI settles a class-action lawsuit over privacy violations. A look back at the CVE program. In today’s Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Joe Ryan, Head of Customer Enablement at Maltego Technologies, who is highlighting how to help analysts in resource-constrained environments overcome training gaps and use investigative tools more effectively. Luring AI bots into the digital labyrinth.

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In today’s Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Joe Ryan, Head of Customer Enablement at Maltego Technologies, who is highlighting how to help analysts in resource-constrained environments overcome training gaps and use investigative tools more effectively.

How Scammers Launder Money and Get Away With It (New York Times) 

Trump order on information sharing appears to have implications for DOGE and beyond (The Record)

Over 3 million applicants’ data leaked on NYU’s website (Washington Square News)

Steam pulls game demo infecting Windows with info-stealing malware (Bleeping Computer)

Ransomware Group Claims Attack on Virginia Attorney General’s Office (SecurityWeek)

23andMe Files for Bankruptcy Amid Concerns About Security of Customers’ Genetic Data (New York Times)

Medusa Ransomware Uses Malicious Driver to Disable Security Tools (SecurityWeek)

Clearview AI settles class-action privacy lawsuit worth an estimated $50 million (The Record)  

Despite challenges, the CVE program is a public-private partnership that has shown resilience (CyberScoop)

Trapping misbehaving bots in an AI Labyrinth (Cloudflare)

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes.

Historian and Curator at the International Spy Museum. Dr. Andrew Hammond, shares how he came to share the history of espionage and intelligence as a career. Starting out in the Royal Air Force when 9/11 happened, Andrew found himself trying to understand what was going on in the world. Studying history and international relations gave him some perspective and led him on his career path which included an introduction to museum industry at the 9/11 Museum. After a stint in academia in the UK, Andrew found his way back to the US and eventually ended up at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. He said one of the "greatest parts of the job being able to engage with the artifacts" and share their stories. We thank Andrew for sharing his story with us.

This week, we are joined by Tom Hegel, Principal Threat Researcher from SentinelLabs research team, to discuss their work on "Ghostwriter | New Campaign Targets Ukrainian Government and Belarusian Opposition." The latest Ghostwriter campaign, linked to Belarusian government espionage, is actively targeting Ukrainian military and government entities as well as Belarusian opposition activists using weaponized Excel documents.

SentinelLabs identified new malware variants and tactics, including obfuscated VBA macros that deploy malware via DLL files, with payload delivery seemingly controlled based on a target’s location and system profile. The campaign, which began preparation in mid-2024 and became active by late 2024, appears to be an evolution of previous Ghostwriter operations, combining disinformation with cyberattacks to further political and military objectives.

• Ghostwriter | New Campaign Targets Ukrainian Government and Belarusian Opposition

Over 150 government database servers are dangerously exposed to the internet. Threat actors are exploiting a vulnerability in CheckPoint’s ZoneAlarm antivirus software. Albabat ransomware goes cross-platform. ESET reports on the Chinese Operation FishMedley campaign. VanHelsing ransomware targets Windows systems in the U.S. and France. CISA issues five ICS advisories warning of high-severity vulnerabilities across critical infrastructure systems. A former NFL coach is indicted for allegedly hacking into the accounts of thousands of college athletes. Brandon Karpf joins us with a look at cyberspace in space. A fraud detection firm gets shut down for fraud. 

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Brandon Karpf, friend of N2K CyberWire, joins T-Minus Space Daily host Maria Varmazis for the Space and Cyber March segment.

Over 150 US Government Database Servers Vulnerable to Internet Exposure (GB Hackers)

White House Shifting Cyber Risk to State and Local Agencies (Data Breach Today)

Cybercriminals Exploit CheckPoint Driver Flaws in Malicious Campaign (Infosecurity Magazine)

Albabat Ransomware Attacking Windows, Linux & macOS by Leveraging GitHub (Cyber Security News)

Chinese I-Soon Hackers Hit 7 Organizations in Operation FishMedley (SecurityWeek)

VanHelsing Ransomware Attacking Windows Systems With New Evasion Technique & File Extension (Cyber Security News)

CISA Releases Five Industrial Control Systems Advisories Covering Vulnerabilities & Exploits (Cyber Security News)

Former NFL, Michigan Assistant Coach Matt Weiss Charged With Hacking for Athletes' Intimate Photos (SecurityWeek)

AdTech CEO whose products detected ad fraud jailed for fraud (The Register) 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Veeam patches a critical vulnerability in its Backup & Replication software. A spyware data breach highlights ongoing risks. Clearview AI attempted to purchase sensitive data such as Social Security numbers and mug shots. The Netherlands’ parliament looks to reduce reliance on U.S. software firms. A Pennsylvania union notifies over 517,000 individuals of a data breach. Researchers discover a RansomHub affiliate deploying a new custom backdoor called Betruger. A new info-stealer spreads through game cheats and cracks. David Wiseman, Vice President of Secure Communications at BlackBerry, joins us to explore how organizations can effectively implement CISA’s encrypted communications guidelines. What to do when AI casually accuses you of murder? 

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David Wiseman, Vice President of Secure Communications at BlackBerry, joins us to explore how organizations can effectively implement CISA’s encrypted communications guidelines. Don’t miss the full conversation—listen now on the Caveat podcast!

Veeam Patches Critical Vulnerability in Backup & Replication (SecurityWeek)

The Citizen Lab’s director dissects spyware and the ‘proliferating’ market for it (The Record)

Data breach at stalkerware SpyX affects close to 2 million, including thousands of Apple users (TechCrunch)

Facial Recognition Company Clearview Attempted to Buy Social Security Numbers and Mugshots for its Database (404 Media)

Dutch parliament calls for end to dependence on US software companies (Yahoo)

Pennsylvania education union data breach hit 500,000 people (Bleeping Computer)

RansomHub Affiliate Deploying New Custom Backdoor Dubbed ‘Betruger’ For Persistence (Cyber Security News)

New Arcane infostealer infects YouTube, Discord users via game cheats (Bleeping Computer)

Dad demands OpenAI delete ChatGPT’s false claim that he murdered his kids (Ars Technica)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

A critical vulnerability could let attackers hijack and potentially disable vulnerable servers. Europol warns of a “shadow alliance” between state-backed threat actors and cybercriminals. Sekoia examines ClearFake. A critical PHP vulnerability is under active exploitation. A sophisticated scareware phishing campaign has shifted its focus to macOS users. Phishing as a service attacks are on the rise. A new jailbreak technique bypasses security controls in popular LLMs. Microsoft has uncovered StilachiRAT. CISA confirms active exploitation of a critical Fortinet vulnerability. On our CertByte segment, Chris Hare is joined by Troy McMillan to break down a question targeting the ISACA® Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM®) exam. AI coding assistants get all judgy. 

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Welcome to CertByte! On this bi-weekly segment hosted by Chris Hare, a content developer and project management specialist at N2K, we share practice questions from N2K’s suite of industry-leading certification resources. This week, Chris is joined by Troy McMillan to break down a question targeting the ISACA® Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM®) exam. Today’s question comes from N2K’s ISACA® Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM®) Practice Test.

The CISM exam helps to affirm your ability to assess risks, implement effective governance, proactively respond to incidents and is the preferred credential for IT managers, according to ISACA.To learn more about this and other related topics under this objective, please refer to the following resource: CISM Review Manual, 15th Edition, 1.0, Information Security Governance, Introduction.

Have a question that you’d like to see covered? Email us at certbyte@n2k.com. If you're studying for a certification exam, check out N2K’s full exam prep library of certification practice tests, practice labs, and training courses by visiting our website at n2k.com/certify.

Please note: The questions and answers provided here, and on our site, are not actual current or prior questions and answers from these certification publishers or providers.

Additional source: https://www.isaca.org/credentialing/cism#1

Critical AMI MegaRAC bug can let attackers hijack, brick servers (bleepingcomputer)

Europol Warns of “Shadow Alliance” Between States and Criminals (Infosecurity Magazine)

ClearFake’s New Widespread Variant: Increased Web3 Exploitation for Malware Delivery (Sekoia.io Blog)

PHP RCE Vulnerability Actively Exploited in Wild to Attack Windows-based Systems (cybersecuritynews)

Scareware Combined With Phishing in Attacks Targeting macOS Users (securityweek)

Sneaky 2FA Joins Tycoon 2FA and EvilProxy in 2025 Phishing Surge (Infosecurity Magazine)

New Jailbreak Technique Bypasses DeepSeek, Copilot, and ChatGPT to Generate Chrome Malware (gbhackers)

Microsoft Warns of New StilachiRAT Malware (SecurityWeek)

Fortinet Vulnerability Exploited in Ransomware Attack, CISA Warns (Infosecurity Magazine)

AI coding assistant Cursor reportedly tells a 'vibe coder' to write his own damn code (TechCrunch)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

An Apache Tomcat vulnerability is under active exploitation. CISA rehires workers ousted by DOGE. Lawmakers look to protect rural water systems from cyber threats. Western Alliance Bank notifies 22,000 individuals of a data breach. A new cyberattack method called BitM allows hackers to bypass multi-factor authentication.  A Chinese cyberespionage group targets Central European diplomats. A new cyberattack uses ChatGPT infrastructure to target the financial sector and U.S. government agencies. Australia sues a major securities firm over inadequate protection of customer data. Our Threat Vector segment examines how unifying security capabilities strengthens cyber resilience. Cybercriminals say, “Get me Edward Snowden on the line!”

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Security platformization is transforming the way organizations defend against cyber threats. In this episode of Threat Vector, host David Moulton speaks with Carlos Rivera, Senior Analyst at Forrester, about how unifying security capabilities strengthens cyber resilience. To listen to the full discussion, please check out the episode here or on your favorite podcast app, and tune in to new episodes of Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks every Thursday. 

Critical Apache Tomcat RCE Vulnerability Exploited in Just 30hrs of Public Exploit (Cyber Security News)

CISA Rehires Fired Employees, Immediately Puts Them on Leave (GovInfo Security)

Western Alliance Bank Discloses Data Breach Linked to Cleo Hack (SecurityWeek)

New BitM Attack Lets Hackers Steal User Sessions Within Seconds (Cyber Security News)

US Lawmakers Reintroduce Bill to Boost Rural Water Cybersecurity  (SecurityWeek)

Chinese Hackers Target European Diplomats with Malware (GovInfo Security)

Hackers Exploit ChatGPT with CVE-2024-27564, 10,000+ Attacks in a Week (Hackread)

Australia Sues FIIG Investment Firm in Cyber 'Wake-Up Call' (GovInfo Security)

Extortion crew threatened to inform Edward Snowden (?!) if victim didn't pay up (The Register)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

A phishing campaign targets nearly 12,000 GitHub repositories. The BlackLock ransomware group is one to watch. A federal judge orders reinstatement of workers at CISA. Over 100 car dealership websites suffer a supply chain attack, and Hellcat breaches Jaguar Land Rover. Researchers uncover a major vulnerability affecting RSA encryption keys. A Life Insurance Company notifies 355,500 individuals of a December 2024 data breach. A researcher releases a decryptor for Akira ransomware. A new  mapping database aims to help NGOs and high-risk individuals find security tools. Tim Starks from CyberScoop reports that trade groups fear a cybersecurity blackout if a key panel and vital cyber law aren’t renewed. A fundamental shift of our understanding of hash tables. 

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Today our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop is discussing how "Trade groups worry information sharing will worsen without critical infrastructure panel, CISA law renewal."

Fake "Security Alert" issues on GitHub use OAuth app to hijack accounts (Bleeping Computer)

BlackLock Ransomware Strikes Over 40 Organizations in Just Two Months (GB Hackers)

Federal Judges Block Trump's Mass Firings of Federal Workers (BankInfo Security)

100 Car Dealerships Hit by Supply Chain Attack (SecurityWeek)

Jaguar Land Rover Breached by HELLCAT Ransomware Group using Jira Credentials (Cyber Security News)

Millions Of RSA Key Exposes Serious Flaws That Can Be Exploited (Cyber Security News)

Insurer Notifying 335,500 Customers, Agents, Others of Hack (BankInfo Security)

New Akira ransomware decryptor cracks encryptions keys using GPUs (Bleeping Computer)

Security Database Aims to Empower Non-Profits (Infosecurity Magazine)

Undergraduate Disproves 40-Year-Old Conjecture, Invents New Kind of Hash Table (WIRED)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes.

Chief Product Officer at Cybint Solutions, Ingrid Toppelberg, shares her journey from consulting to bootcamp coach and cybersecurity education. As a young girl, Ingrid wanted to do everything from being a teacher to the head of the World Bank. After consulting for several years, Ingrid found cybersecurity. What she found fascinating about the cyber world is how important it is for absolutely everyone at all levels to know about cybersecurity. Ingrid also develops and conducts bootcamps to reskill displaced people into cybersecurity. Ingrid says to those interested in cyber, "just do it. We need different kinds of minds in cyber keeping us safe." We thank Ingrid for sharing her story with us.

We thought you might enjoy this episode of Threat Vector podcast from the N2K CyberWIre network as we continue our observance of Women's History Month. You can catch new episodes of Threat Vector every Thursday here and on your favorite podcast app.

In this special Women’s History Month episode of Threat Vector, host David Moulton speaks with four trailblazing women in cybersecurity who are shaping the industry: Kristy Friedrichs, Chief Partnerships Officer; Tanya Shastri, SVP of Product Management; Sama Manchanda, Consultant at Unit 42; and Stephanie Regan, Principal Technical Architect at Unit 42.

They share their journeys into cybersecurity, discuss the challenges they faced, and offer insights on leadership, innovation, and mentorship. From AI-driven security to digital forensics, these women have made a lasting impact. Tune in to hear their advice for the next generation and why cybersecurity remains one of the most exciting and dynamic fields to be in today.

Join the conversation on our social media channels:

• Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.paloaltonetworks.com/
• Threat Research: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠
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About Threat Vector

Threat Vector by Palo Alto Networks is your premier podcast for security thought leadership. Join us as we explore pressing cybersecurity threats, robust protection strategies, and the latest industry trends.

The podcast features in-depth discussions with industry leaders, Palo Alto Networks experts, and customers, providing crucial insights for security decision-makers.

Whether you're looking to stay ahead of the curve with innovative solutions or understand the evolving cybersecurity landscape, Threat Vector equips you with the knowledge needed to safeguard your organization.

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Palo Alto Networks enables your team to prevent successful cyberattacks with an automated approach that delivers consistent security across the cloud, network, and mobile. ⁠http://paloaltonetworks.com⁠

Jim Walter, Senior Threat Researcher on SentinelLabs research team, to discuss their work on "HellCat and Morpheus | Two Brands, One Payload as Ransomware Affiliates Drop Identical Code." Over the past six months, new ransomware groups like FunkSec, Nitrogen, and Termite have emerged, while established threats such as Cl0p and LockBit 4.0 have resurfaced. Two prominent Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) operations, HellCat and Morpheus, have gained traction, with research indicating that affiliates of both are using nearly identical ransomware payloads.

Despite similarities in their encryption techniques and ransom notes, there is no conclusive evidence linking HellCat and Morpheus to the Underground Team, though shared tools or affiliates may be involved.

• HellCat and Morpheus | Two Brands, One Payload as Ransomware Affiliates Drop Identical Code

The White House is urging federal agencies not to lay off cybersecurity teams. Google doesn’t deny receiving a secret legal order from the UK government. Microsoft researchers identify a simple method to bypass AI safety guardrails. Scammers are impersonating the Clop ransomware gang. Cisco issues security advisories for multiple IOS XR vulnerabilities. CISA warns of multiple ICS security issues. A LockBit ransomware developer has been extradited to the U.S. GCHQ’s former director calls for stronger cybersecurity collaboration. Rick Howard and Kim Jones pass the mic for the CISO Perspectives podcast. Sniffing out Stingrays.

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Today, we have Dave speaking with Rick Howard, a friend of the show, and Kim Jones, a veteran CISO, educator, and expert in the field, as Rick passes the mic to Kim for a brand new season of CISO Perspectives, formerly CSO Perspectives. 

White House instructs agencies to avoid firing cybersecurity staff, email says (Reuters)

Elon Musk Made Visit to U.S. Spy Agency (Wall Street Journal)

Google refuses to deny it received encryption order from UK government (The Record)

New Context Compliance Exploit Jailbreaks Major AI Models (GB Hackers)

Fraudsters Impersonate Clop Ransomware to Extort Businesses (Infosecurity Magazine)

Cisco Warns of IOS XR Software Vulnerability Let Attackers Trigger DoS condition (Cyber Security News)

CISA Releases Thirteen Industrial Control Systems Focusing Vulnerabilities & Exploits (Cyber Security News)

LockBit Ransomware Developer Extradited to US (SecurityWeek)

Cyber Industry Falls Short on Collaboration, Says Former GCHQ Director  (Infosecurity Magazine)

Meet Rayhunter: A New Open Source Tool from EFF to Detect Cellular Spying (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

The FCC looks to counter Chinese cyber threats. Turmoil at CISA. Volt Typhoon infiltrated a power utility for over 300 days. Europe takes the lead at Ukraine’s annual cyber conference. Facebook discloses a critical vulnerability in FreeType. A new Android spyware infiltrated the Google Play store. Our guest is Alvaro Alonso Ruiz, Co-Founder and CCO of Leanspace, who is discussing software in space with T-Minus Space Daily host Maria Varmazis. A UK hospital finds thousands of unwelcome guests on their network. 

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Today our guest is Alvaro Alonso Ruiz, Co-Founder and CCO of Leanspace, who is discussing software in space with T-Minus Space Daily host Maria Varmazis.

US communications regulator to create council to counter China technology threats (Financial Times)

‘People Are Scared’: Inside CISA as It Reels From Trump’s Purge (WIRED)

CISA cuts $10 million annually from ISAC funding for states amid wider cyber cuts (The Record)

Arizona Secretary of State Proposes Alternative to Defunded National Election Security Program (Democracy Docket)

China's Volt Typhoon Hackers Dwelled in US Electric Grid for 300 Days (SecurityWeek)

Chinese cyberspies backdoor Juniper routers for stealthy access (Bleeping Computer)

At Ukraine’s major cyber conference, Europe takes center stage over US (The Record)

Facebook discloses FreeType 2 flaw exploited in attacks (Bleeping Computer)

New North Korean Android spyware slips onto Google Play (Bleeping Computer)

NHS Trust IT head: ‘Our attack surface was much bigger than we thought’ (Computing)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

The White House names their nominee for CISA’s top spot. Patch Tuesday updates. Apple issues emergency updates for a zero-day WebKit vulnerability. Researchers highlight advanced MFA-bypassing techniques. North Korea's Lazarus Group targets cryptocurrency wallets and browser data. Our guest today is Rocco D’Amico of Brass Valley discussing hidden risks in retired devices and reducing data breach threats. Making sense of the skills gap paradox. 

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Joining us today is Rocco D’Amico of Brass Valley discussing hidden risks in retired devices and reducing data breach threats.

Trump nominates Sean Plankey as new CISA director (Tech Crunch)

CISA worker says 100-strong red team fired after DOGE action (The Register)

March 2025 Patch Tuesday: Microsoft Fixes 57 Vulnerabilities, 7 Zero-Days (Hackread)

ICS Patch Tuesday: Advisories Published by CISA, Schneider Electric, Siemens (SecurityWeek)

CISA Warns of Microsoft Windows Management Console (MMC) Vulnerability Exploited in Wild (Cyber Security News)

Apple WebKit Zero-Day Vulnerability Actively Exploit in High Profile Cyber Attacks (Cyber Security News)

Hackers Using Advanced MFA-Bypassing Techniques To Gain Access To User Account (Cyber Security News)

North Korean Lazarus hackers infect hundreds via npm packages (Bleeping Computer)

Welcome to the skills gap paradox (Computing)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

X-Twitter had multiple waves of outages yesterday. Signal’s president warns against agentic AI. A new lawsuit alleges DOGE bypassed critical security safeguards. Is the Five Eyes Alliance fraying? The Minja attack poisons ai memory through user interaction. Researchers report increased activity from the SideWinder APT group. A critical Veritas vulnerability enables remote code execution. A Kansas healthcare provider breach exposes 220,000 patients’ data. New York sues Allstate over data exposure in insurance websites. CISA warns of critical Ivanti and VeraCode vulnerabilities. FTC to refund $25.5 million to victims of tech support scams. On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Gerald Beuchelt, CISO at Acronis, who is discussing how threat research and intelligence matter to MSPs. The UK celebrates a record-breaking CyberFirst Girls Competition. 

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On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Gerald Beuchelt, CISO at Acronis, who is discussing how threat research and intelligence matter to MSPs.

Hackers Take Credit for X Cyberattack (SecurityWeek)

X users report login troubles as Dark Storm claims cyberattack (Malwarebytes)

Signal President Meredith Whittaker calls out agentic AI as having 'profound' security and privacy issues (TechCrunch)

Lawsuit Says DOGE Is Ignoring Key Social Security Data Rules (BankInfo Security)

As Trump pivots to Russia, allies weigh sharing less intel with U.S. (NBC News)

MINJA sneak attack poisons AI models for other chatbot users (The Register)

SideWinder APT Group Attacking Military & Government Entities With New Tools (Cyber Security News)

Critical Veritas Vulnerability Let Attackers Execute Malicious Code (Cyber Security News)

Kansas healthcare provider says more than 220,000 impacted by cyberattack (The Record)

Allstate sued for exposing personal info in plaintext (The Register)

CISA Urges All Organizations to Patch Exploited Critical Ivanti Vulnerabilities (Infosecurity Magazine)

FTC will send $25.5 million to victims of tech support scams (Bleeping Computer)

Record Number of Girls Compete in CyberFirst Contest (Infosecurity Magazine)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

PHP exploits are active in the wild. Security researchers discover undocumented commands in a popular Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled microcontroller. The ONCD could gain influence in this second Trump administration. The Akira ransomware gang leverages an unsecured webcam. Mission, Texas declares a state of emergency following a cyberattack. The FBI and Secret Service confirm crypto-heists are linked to the 2022 LastPass breach. A popular home appliance manufacturer suffers a cyberattack. Switzerland updates reporting requirements for critical infrastructure operators.  Our guest is Errol Weiss, Chief Security Officer at the Health-ISAC, who warns “the cavalry isn’t coming—why the private sector must take the lead in critical infrastructure cybersecurity.” A termination kill switch leads to potential jail time. 

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Today, we have Errol Weiss, Chief Security Officer at the Health-ISAC, sharing his take “the cavalry isn’t coming—why the private sector must take the lead in critical infrastructure cybersecurity.”

Mass Exploitation of Critical PHP Vulnerability Begins (SecurityWeek)

Undocumented commands found in Bluetooth chip used by a billion devices (Bleeping Computer)

White House cyber director’s office set for more power under Trump, experts say (The Record)

Ransomware gang encrypted network from a webcam to bypass EDR (Bleeping Computer)

Texas border city declares state of emergency after cyberattack on government systems (The Record)

Feds Link $150M Cyberheist to 2022 LastPass Hacks (Krebs on Security)

Home appliance company Presto says cyberattack causing delivery delays (The Record)

Switzerland Mandates Cyber-Attack Reporting for Critical Infrastructure (Infosecurity Magazine)

Developer sabotaged ex-employer IT systems with kill switch (The Register) 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes.

CEO of ActiveNav, Peter Baumann, takes us on his career journey from minor home electrical experiments to the business of data discovery. He began his career as an electrical engineer, but felt an entrepreneurial spirit was part of his makeup. Following his return to college to study business and finance, Peter talks about being set on the path to shine the light on the data to provide discovery capability. To those interested in the field, he suggests having a broad familiarity of different approaches. We thank Peter for sharing his story with us.

This week we are joined by Silas Cutler, Principal Security Researcher at Censys, asking the important question of "Will the Real Volt Typhoon Please Stand Up?" The FBI's disruption of the KV Botnet in December 2023, attributed to the Chinese threat group Volt Typhoon, targeted infected systems but did not affect the botnet's control infrastructure.

Despite law enforcement efforts and technical exposure, the botnet's infrastructure has remained largely stable, with only changes in hosting providers, raising questions about whether another party operates the botnet. Censys scanning data from 2024 shows a shift in the botnet's control servers, indicating a response to disruption attempts, while the botnet's operators have shown limited efforts to obscure their infrastructure.

• Will the Real Volt Typhoon Please Stand Up?

Law enforcement shutters Garantex crypto exchange. NTT discloses breach affecting corporate customers. Malvertising campaign hits nearly a million devices. AI’s role in Canada’s next election. Scammers target Singapore’s PM in AI fraud. Botnets exploit critical IP camera vulnerability. In our International Women's Day and Women’s History Month special, join Liz Stokes as she shares the inspiring stories of women shaping the future of cybersecurity. And how did Insider threats turn a glitch into a goldmine?

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In this special International Women’s Day edition, we shine a spotlight on the incredible women in and around our network who are shaping the future of cybersecurity. Join Liz Stokes as we celebrate Selena Larson, Threat Researcher at Proofpoint, and co-host of Only Malware in the Building, Gianna Whitver, CEO & Co-Founder of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society and co-host of the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast, Maria Velasquez, Chief Growth Officer & Co-Founder of the Cybersecurity Marketing Society and co-host of the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast, Chris Hare, Project Management Specialist and Content Developer at N2K Networks, and host of CertByte, Ann Lang, Project Manager at N2K Networks, Jennifer Eiben, Executive Producer at N2K Networks, and Maria Varmazis, host of the T-Minus Space Daily show at N2K Networks for their achievements, resilience, and the invaluable contributions they make to keeping our digital world secure.

Russian crypto exchange Garantex’s website taken down in apparent law enforcement operation (The Record)

Data breach at Japanese telecom giant NTT hits 18,000 companies (BleepingComputer)

Malvertising campaign leads to info stealers hosted on GitHub (Microsoft)

Canadian intelligence agency warns of threat AI poses to upcoming elections (The Record) 

Deepfakes of Singapore PM Used to Sell Crypto, Residency Program (Bloomberg) 

Edimax Camera Zero-Day Disclosed by CISA Exploited by Botnets (SecurityWeek)

Magecart: How Akamai Protected a Global Retailer Against a Live Attack (Akamai) 

Cybercrime 'crew' stole $635,000 in Taylor Swift concert tickets (BleepingComputer)

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

US Justice Department charges employees of Chinese IT contractor i-Soon. Silk Typhoon targets the IT supply chain for initial access. Chrome extensions that change shape. Attackers target airflow misconfigurations. LibreOffice vulnerability opens the door to script-based attacks. NSO group leaders face charges in spyware case. Today, our own Dave Bittner is our guest as he appeared on the Adopting Zero Trust podcast at ThreatLocker’s Zero Trust World 2025 event with hosts Elliot Volkman and Neal Dennis and guest Dr. Chase Cunningham. And turning $1B into thin air.

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Today, our own Dave Bittner is in our guest spot as he appeared on the Adopting Zero Trust podcast at ThreatLocker’s Zero Trust World 2025 event with hosts Elliot Volkman and Neal Dennis and guest Dr. Chase Cunningham aka Dr. Zero Trust. Adopting Zero Trust is an ongoing conversation about the people and organizations adopting Zero Trust. You can catch the full episode here where Dave and Dr. Zero Trust weigh the difference between delivering refined news and raw perspective, hitting critical mass for AI, and the current political environment.

US charges Chinese nationals in cyberattacks on Treasury, dissidents and more (The Record)

Silk Typhoon targeting IT supply chain (Microsoft)

Malicious Chrome extensions can spoof password managers in new attack (Bleeping Computer) 

Apache Airflow Misconfigurations Leak Login Credentials to Hackers (GB Hackers)

LibreOffice Flaw Allows Attackers to Run Arbitrary Scripts via Macro URL (GB Hackers)

Exploited VMware ESXi Flaws Put Many at Risk of Ransomware, Other Attacks (SecurityWeek)

Catalan court says NSO Group executives can be charged in spyware investigation (TechCrunch)

Former top NSA cyber official: Probationary firings ‘devastating’ to cyber, national security (CyberScoop) 

Financial Organizations Urge CISA to Revise Proposed CIRCIA Implementation (SecurityWeek)

North Koreans finish initial laundering stage after more than $1 billion stolen from Bybit (The Record) 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

US Treasury Department sanctions Iranian national accused of running the Nemesis criminal marketplace. Hunters International threatens to leak data stolen from Tata Technologies. Apple challenges U.K.’s iCloud encryption backdoor order. UK competition regulator says no investigation into Microsoft's OpenAI partnership. Stealthy malware campaign targets the UAE's aviation and satellite industry. This week on our CertByte segment, N2K’s Chris Hare is joined by Troy McMillan to break down a question targeting the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam. And hackers hit the books.

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Welcome to CertByte! On this bi-weekly segment hosted by Chris Hare, a content developer and project management specialist at N2K. This week, Chris is joined by Troy McMillan to break down a question targeting the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) exam, 201-301, version 1.1 exam. Today’s question comes from N2K’s Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA 200-301) Practice Test. 

According to Cisco, the CCNA is the industry’s most widely recognized and respected associate-level certification. To learn more about this and other related topics under this objective, please refer to the following resource: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/s/article/protection-techniques-nbsp-from-wardriving-attack 

To get the full news to knowledge experience, learn more about our N2K Pro subscription at https://thecyberwire.com/pro. 

Please note: The questions and answers provided here, and on our site, are not actual current or prior questions and answers from these certification publishers or providers.

Additional source: https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/learn/training-certifications/certifications/enterprise/ccna/index.html

Treasury sanctions Iranian national behind defunct Nemesis darknet marketplace (The Record)

Ransomware Group Claims Attack on Tata Technologies (SecurityWeek) 

Apple is challenging U.K.’s iCloud encryption backdoor order (TechCrunch)

UK's competition regulator says Microsoft's OpenAI partnership doesn't qualify for investigation (TechCrunch)  

Call It What You Want: Threat Actor Delivers Highly Targeted Multistage Polyglot Malware (Proofpoint)

Snail Mail Fail: Fake Ransom Note Campaign Preys on Fear (GuidePoint Security)

Fake police call cryptocurrency investors to steal their funds (Bitdefender)

Microsoft Teams tactics, malware connect Black Basta, Cactus ransomware (Bleeping Computer)  

Investigator says differing names for hacker groups, hackers studying investigative methods hinders law enforcement (CyberScoop) 

Share your feedback.

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You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

CISA says it will continue monitoring Russian cyber threats. Broadcom patches zero-days that can lead to VM escape. Google patches 43 Bugs, including two sneaky zero-days. CISA flags vulnerabilities exploited in the wild. Palau's health ministry recovers from ransomware attack. Lost and found or lost and leaked? On this week's Threat Vector segment, David Moulton previews an episode with Hollie Hennessy on IoT cybersecurity risk mitigation and next week’s special International Women's Day episode featuring trailblazing women from Palo Alto Networks sharing their cybersecurity journeys and leadership insights. And is that really you? 

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On our Threat Vector Segment, host David Moulton shares previews of two upcoming episodes. On this Thursday’s episode, he speaks with Hollie Hennessy, Principal Analyst for IoT Cybersecurity at Omdia, to discuss how attackers exploit vulnerabilities in connected environments and the best approaches for risk mitigation.

The next week On Thursday, March 13th, David shares four conversations with some of the trailblazing women at Palo Alto Networks in honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. They share their journeys into cybersecurity, discuss the challenges they faced and offer insights on leadership, innovation, and mentorship. Be sure to tune in for some inspiring stories.

Don't miss the full episodes every Threat Vector Thursday, subscribe now to stay ahead. If you're in Austin, Texas for SXSW and want to meet up, email David at threatvector@Paloaltonetworks.com. 

DHS says CISA won’t stop looking at Russian cyber threats (CyberScoop)

Did Trump Admin Order U.S. Cyber Command and CISA to Stand Down on Russia? (Zero Day)

Broadcom Patches 3 VMware Zero-Days Exploited in the Wild (SecurityWeek)

Google fixes Android zero-day exploited by Serbian authorities (Bleeping Computer) 

Several flaws added to CISA known exploited vulnerabilities catalog (SC Media) 

Palau health ministry on the mend after Qilin ransomware attack (The Record)

Lost luggage data leak exposes nearly a million records (Cybernews)

Lee Enterprises ransomware attack halts freelance and contractor payments (TechCrunch)

TikTok Blasts Australia for YouTube Carveout in Social Media Ban (Bloomberg)

Deepfake cyberattacks proliferated in 2024, iProov claims (The Register)  

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Cyber Command ordered to halt offensive operations against Russia during Ukraine negotiations. Ransomware actors exploit Paragon Partition Manager vulnerability. Amnesty International publishes analysis of Cellebrite exploit chain. California orders data broker to shut down for violating the Delete Act. On our Afternoon Cyber Tea segment with host Ann Johnson of Microsoft Security, Ann speaks with Igor Tsyganskiy, Microsoft's Global Chief Information Security Officer, about "The Power of Partnership in Cyber Defense." And it’s the end of an era.

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On our monthly Afternoon Cyber Tea segment with host Ann Johnson of Microsoft Security, Ann speaks with Igor Tsyganskiy, Microsoft's Global Chief Information Security Officer, about "The Power of Partnership in Cyber Defense." Ann and Igor share an engaging conversation on the challenges and optimism driving the fight against cyber threats. To hear the full conversation on Ann’s show, check out the episode here. You can catch new episodes of Afternoon Cyber Tea every other Tuesday on N2K CyberWire network and on your favorite podcast app. 

Exclusive: Hegseth orders Cyber Command to stand down on Russia planning (The Record) 

As Trump warms to Putin, U.S. halts offensive cyber operations against Moscow (The Washington Post) 

Hegseth Orders Pentagon to Stop Offensive Cyberoperations Against Russia (The New York Times) 

Ransomware gangs exploit Paragon Partition Manager bug in BYOVD attacks (Bleeping Computer)

VU#726882 - Paragon Partition Manager contains five memory vulnerabilities within its BioNTdrv.sys driver that allow for privilege escalation and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks (Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute CERT Coordination Center)

Cellebrite zero-day exploit used to target phone of Serbian student activist (Amnesty International Security Lab)

California shuts down data broker for failing to register (The Record)  

Research finds 12,000 ‘Live’ API Keys and Passwords in DeepSeek's Training Data (Truffle Security) 

Cyberattack detected at Polish space agency, minister says (Reuters)

Polish space agency confirms cyberattack (The Register)

As Skype shuts down, its legacy is end-to-end encryption for the masses (TechCrunch) 

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Senior Threat Analyst and Shift Lead for VMware Taree Reardon shares her journey to becoming leader for women in the cybersecurity field. A big gamer who has always been interested in hacking and forensics, Taree found her passion while learning about cybersecurity. She's dedicated to diversity and inclusion and found her footing on a team made up of 50% women. Taree spends her days tracking and blocking attacks and as a champion for women. Trusting yourself is top on her list of advice. We thank Taree for sharing her story.

This week we are joined by Phil Stokes, threat researcher at SentinelOne's SentinelLabs, discussing their work on "macOS FlexibleFerret | Further Variants of DPRK Malware Family Unearthed." Apple recently pushed an update to its XProtect tool, blocking several variants of the DPRK-linked Ferret malware family, which targets victims through the "Contagious Interview" campaign.

The malware uses fake job interview processes to trick users into installing malicious software, and new variants, including FlexibleFerret, remain undetected by XProtect. SentinelOne's research reveals a deeper investigation into this malware, which uses social engineering to expand its attack vectors, including targeting developers through platforms like GitHub.

• macOS FlexibleFerret | Further Variants of DPRK Malware Family Unearthed

Qilin ransomware gang claims responsibility for attack against Lee Enterprises. Thai police arrest suspected hacker behind more than 90 data leaks. JavaGhost uses compromised AWS environments to launch phishing campaigns. LotusBlossum cyberespionage campaigns target Southeast Asia. Malware abuses Microsoft dev tunnels for C2 communication. Protecting the food supply. Today’s guest is Keith Mularski, Chief Global Ambassador at Qintel and former FBI Special Agent, discussing crypto being the target of the cyber underground. And an interview with Iron Man?

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Today we share Dave’s conversation with Keith Mularski, Chief Global Ambassador at Qintel and former FBI Special Agent, discussing crypto being the target of the cyber underground.

Ransomware Group Takes Credit for Lee Enterprises Attack (SecurityWeek)

Hacker Behind Over 90 Data Leaks Arrested in Thailand (SecurityWeek)

JavaGhost’s Persistent Phishing Attacks From the Cloud (Unit 42)

Lotus Blossom espionage group targets multiple industries with different versions of Sagerunex and hacking tools (Cisco Talos)

Njrat Campaign Using Microsoft Dev Tunnels (SANS Internet Storm Center) 

New Pass-the-Cookie Attack Bypass Microsoft 365 & YouTube MFA Logins (Cyber Security News)  

How pass the cookie attacks can bypass your MFA  (Longwall Security)

Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act reintroduced to protect food supply chain from cyber threats (Industrial Cyber)

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

FBI attributes $1.5 billion Bybit hack to DPRK hackers. Cellebrite suspends services in Serbia following allegations of misuse. A Belgium spy agency is hacked. New groups, bigger attacks. Sticky Werewolf strikes again. US DNI orders legal review of UK's request for iCloud backdoor. A cybersecurity veteran takes CISA’s lead. DOGE accesses sensitive HUD data. Cleveland Municipal Court remains closed following cyber incident. Our guest today is an excerpt from our Caveat podcast. Adam Marré, Arctic Wolf CISO and former FBI special agent, joins Dave to discuss banning TikTok and increasing regulations for social media companies. And can hacking be treason?

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Our guest today is an excerpt from our Caveat podcast. Adam Marré, Arctic Wolf CISO and former FBI special agent, joins Dave to discuss banning TikTok and increasing regulations for social media companies. You can hear Adam and Dave’s full discussion on today’s Caveat episode. Listen to Dave and co-host Ben Yelin discuss the issue following the interview on Caveat. 

FBI confirms Lazarus hackers were behind $1.5B Bybit crypto heist (Bleeping Computer)

Cellebrite suspends Serbia as customer after claims police used firm's tech to plant spyware (TechCrunch)

Belgium probes suspected Chinese hack of state security service (The Record)

It's not just Salt Typhoon: All China-backed attack groups are showcasing specialized offensive skills (CyberScoop) 

Angry Likho APT Resurfaces with Lumma Stealer Attacks Against Russia (Hackread) 

Gabbard: UK demand to Apple for backdoor access is 'grave concern' to US (The Record)

Karen Evans steps into a leading federal cyber position: executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA (CyberScoop)

DOGE Gains Access to Confidential Records on Housing Discrimination, Medical Details — Even Domestic Violence (ProPublica)

‘Cyber incident’ shuts down Cleveland Municipal Court for third straight day (The Record)

Cyber threat shuts down Cleveland Municipal Court for second day (News5 Cleveland) 

U.S. Soldier Charged in AT&T Hack Searched “Can Hacking Be Treason” (Krebs on Security)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

In this special live episode of Hacking Humans, recorded at ThreatLocker’s Zero Trust World 2025 conference in Orlando, Florida, Dave Bittner is joined by T-Minus host Maria Varmazis. Together, they explore the latest in social engineering scams, phishing schemes, and cybercriminal exploits making headlines. Their guest, Seamus Lennon, ThreatLocker’s VP of Operations for EMEA, shares insights on Zero Trust security and the evolving threat landscape. Maria's story this week follows the IRS warning about a fake “Self Employment Tax Credit” scam on social media, urging taxpayers to ignore misinformation and consult professionals. Dave's got the story of the Better Business Bureau’s annual Scam Tracker report, revealing that online shopping scams continue to top the list for the fifth year, with phishing and employment scams remaining major threats, while fraudsters increasingly use AI and deepfake technology to deceive victims. Our catch of the day comes from Diesel in West Virginia, and features a scammer who tried to panic their target with a classic “We’ve frozen your account” scam—only to get hilariously mixed up with actual embryo freezing.

Resources and links to stories:

• Better Business Bureau reveals top local scams of 2024
• IRS warns taxpayers about misleading claims about non-existent “Self Employment Tax Credit;” promoters, social media peddling inaccurate eligibility suggestions
• BBB Scam Tracker
• Got a $1,400 rebate text from the IRS? It's a scam, Better Business Bureau warns.

You can hear more from the T-Minus space daily show here.

Have a Catch of the Day you'd like to share? Email it to us at hackinghumans@n2k.com.

A major employee screening provider discloses a data breach affecting over 3.3 million people. Signal considers exiting Sweden over a proposed law that would give police access to encrypted messages. House Democrats call out DOGE’s negligent cybersecurity practices. Critical vulnerabilities in Rsync allow attackers to execute remote code. A class action lawsuit claims Amazon violates Washington State’s privacy laws. CISA warns that attackers are exploiting Microsoft’s Partner Center platform. A researcher discovers a critical remote code execution vulnerability in MITRE’s Caldera security training platform. An analysis of  CISA’s JCDC AI Cybersecurity Collaboration Playbook. Ben Yelin explains Apple pulling iCloud end-to-end encryption in response to the UK Government. A Disney employee’s cautionary tale. 

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We are joined by Caveat podcast co-host Ben Yelin to discuss Apple pulling iCloud end-to-end encryption in response to the UK Government. You can read the article from Bleeping Computer here. Ben is the Program Director for Public Policy & External Affairs at University of Maryland Center for Health and Homeland Security. You can catch Caveat every Thursday here on the N2K CyberWire network and on your favorite podcast app. 

3.3 Million People Impacted by DISA Data Breach (SecurityWeek)

DOGE must halt all ‘negligent cybersecurity practices,’ House Democrats tell Trump (The Record)

Signal May Exit Sweden If Government Imposes Encryption Backdoor (Infosecurity Magazine)

Rsync Vulnerabilities Let Hackers Gain Full Control of Servers - PoC Released (Cyber Security News)

Lawsuit: Amazon Violates Washington State Health Data Law (BankInfo Security)

CISA Warns of Microsoft Partner Center Access Control Vulnerability Exploited in Wild (Cyber Security News)

MITRE Caldera security suite scores perfect 10 for insecurity (The Register)

CISA’s AI cybersecurity playbook calls for greater collaboration, but trust is key to successful execution (CyberScoop)

A Disney Worker Downloaded an AI Tool. It Led to a Hack That Ruined His Life. (Wall Street Journal) 

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

A hacker claims to have stolen internal documents from  a major French telecommunications company. A security breach hits Russia’s financial sector. Cyberattacks targeting ICS and OT surged dramatically last year. Chinese group Silver Fox is spoofing medical software. The UK Home Office’s new vulnerability reporting policy risks prosecuting ethical hackers. Ransomware actors are shifting away from encryption. A sophisticated macOS malware campaign is distributing Poseidon Stealer. The LightSpy surveillance framework evolves into a cross-platform espionage tool. A Chinese botnet is targeting Microsoft 365 accounts using password spraying attacks. Our guest today is Lauren Buitta, Founder and CEO at Girl Security, discussing mentoring and intergenerational strategies. There may be a backdoor in your front door.

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Our guest today is Lauren Buitta, Founder and CEO at Girl Security, discussing mentoring and intergenerational strategies.

Orange Group confirms breach after hacker leaks company documents (Bleeping Computer)

Russia warns of breach of major IT service provider LANIT serving the financial sector (Beyond Machines) 

Dragos: Surge of new hacking groups enter ICS space as states collaborate with private actors (CyberScoop)

China's Silver Fox spoofs medical imaging apps to hijack patients' computers (The Register)

UK Home Office’s new vulnerability reporting mechanism leaves researchers open to prosecution (The Record)

Only a Fifth of Ransomware Attacks Now Encrypt Data (Infosecurity Magazine)

Poseidon Stealer Malware Attacking Mac Users via Fake DeepSeek Site (Cyber Security News) 

Exploits for unpatched Parallels Desktop flaw give root on Macs (Bleeping Computer)

LightSpy Malware Expands with 100+ Commands to Target Users Across All Major OS Platforms (GB Hackers) 

Chinese Botnet Bypasses MFA in Microsoft 365 Attacks (Infosecurity Magazine)

CISA Warns of Attacks Exploiting Oracle Agile PLM Vulnerability (SecurityWeek)

A single default password exposes access to dozens of apartment buildings (TechCrunch)

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Retired Gen. Paul Nakasone warns the U.S. is falling behind in cyberspace. Australia orders government entities to remove and ban Kaspersky products. FatalRAT targets industrial organizations in the APAC region. A major cryptocurrency exchange reports the theft of $1.5 billion in digital assets. Apple removes end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for iCloud in the UK. Researchers uncover a LockBit ransomware attack exploiting a Windows Confluence server. Researchers uncover zero-day vulnerabilities in a widely used cloud logging utility.A PayPal email scam is tricking users into calling scammers. Republican leaders in the House request public input on national data privacy standards. A Michigan man faces charges for his use of the Genesis cybercrime marketplace. Our guest is  Karl Sigler, Senior Security Research Manager from Trustwave SpiderLabs, explaining the domino effect of a cyberattack on the power grid. Meta sues an Insta Extortionist.

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Today, Dave speaks with Karl Sigler, Senior Security Research Manager from Trustwave SpiderLabs, about the domino effect of a cyberattack on the power grid. You can dig into the details in their report. 

Former NSA, Cyber Command chief Paul Nakasone says U.S. falling behind its enemies in cyberspace (CyberScoop)

Kaspersky Banned on Australian Government Systems (SecurityWeek)

Chinese Hackers Attacking Industrial Organizations With Sophisticated FatalRAT (Cyber Security News)

Bybit Hack Drains $1.5 Billion From Cryptocurrency Exchange (SecurityWeek)

Experts Slam Government After “Disastrous” Apple Encryption Move (Infosecurity Magazine)

Confluence Exploit Leads to LockBit Ransomware (The DFIR Report)

Fluent Bit 0-day Vulnerabilities Exposes Billions of Production Environments to Cyber Attacks (Cyber Security News)

Beware: PayPal "New Address" feature abused to send phishing emails (Bleeping Computer)

Top House E&C Republicans query public for ideas on data privacy law (CyberScoop)

US Charges Genesis Market User (SecurityWeek)

Meta Sues Alleged Instagram Extortionist (404 Media) 

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes.

Senior technical project manager Dwayne Price takes us on his career journey from databases to project management. Always fascinated with technology and one who appreciates the aspects of the business side of a computer implementations, Dwayne attended UMBC for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in information systems management. A strong Unix administration background prepared him to understand the relationship between Unix administration and database security. He recommends those interested in cybersecurity check out the NICE Framework as it speaks to all the various different types of roles in cybersecurity, Dwayne prides himself on his communication skills and openness. We thank Dwayne for sharing his story with us.

This week, we are joined by Selena Larson from Proofpoint, and co-host of the "Only Malware in the Building" podcast, as she discusses the research on "Why Biasing Advanced Persistent Threats over Cybercrime is a Security Risk." The cybersecurity industry has historically prioritized Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) from nation-state actors over cybercrime, but this distinction is outdated as cybercriminals now employ equally sophisticated tactics.

Financially motivated threat actors, especially ransomware groups, have evolved to the point where they rival state-backed hackers in technical capability and impact, disrupting businesses, infrastructure, and individuals on a massive scale. To enhance security, defenders must shift focus from an APT-centric mindset to a broader approach that equally prioritizes combating cybercrime, which poses an immediate and tangible risk to global stability.

• Why Biasing Advanced Persistent Threats over Cybercrime is a Security Risk

The Senate confirms Kash Patel as FBI director. The SEC rebrands its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit. Microsoft's quantum chip signals an urgent need for post-quantum security. Chat log leaks reveal the inner workings of BlackBasta. CISA advisories highlight Craft CMS and ICS devices. Researchers release proof-of-concepts for Ivanti Endpoint Manager vulnerabilities. Warby Parker gets a $1.5 million HIPAA fine. Our guest is Steve Schmidt, Amazon CSO, with a behind the scenes look at securing a major event. Researchers explore the massive, mysterious YouTube wormhole.

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Our guest is Steve Schmidt, Amazon CSO, talking about integrating physical and logical security measures. Learn more: "Securing a city-sized event: How Amazon integrates physical and logical security at re:Invent."

Trump loyalist Kash Patel is confirmed as FBI director by the Senate despite deep Democratic doubts (AP)

SEC rebrands cryptocurrency unit to focus on emerging technologies (CyberScoop)

Microsoft’s Quantum Chip Breakthrough Accelerates Threat to Encryption (Infosecurity Magazine)

BlackBasta Ransomware Chatlogs Leaked Online (Infosecurity Magazine)

CISA Warns of Attacks Exploiting Craft CMS Vulnerability (SecurityWeek)

CISA Releases 7 ICS Advisories Detailing Vulnerabilities & Exploits (Cyber Security News)

Ivanti endpoint manager can become endpoint ravager (The Register)

Feds Fine Eyeglass Retailer $1.5M for HIPAA Lapses in Hacks (GovInfo Security)

How a computer that 'drunk dials' videos is exposing YouTube's secrets (BBC)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

The CISA and FBI warn that Ghost ransomware has breached organizations in over 70 countries. President Trump announces his pick to lead the DOJ’s National Security Division. A new ransomware strain targets European healthcare organizations. Researchers uncover four critical vulnerabilities in Ivanti Endpoint Manager. Microsoft has patched a critical improper access control vulnerability in Power Pages. The NSA updates its Ghidra reverse engineering tool. A former U.S. Army soldier admits to leaking private call records. Our guest is Stephen Hilt, senior threat researcher at Trend Micro, sharing the current state of the English cyber underground market. The pentesters’ breach was simulated — their arrest was not. 

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Our guest is Stephen Hilt, senior threat researcher at Trend Micro, sharing the current state of the English cyber underground market. Learn more in the report. 

CISA and FBI: Ghost ransomware breached orgs in 70 countries (Bleeping Computer)

Trump to nominate White House insider from first term to lead DOJ’s National Security Division (The Record)

New NailaoLocker ransomware used against EU healthcare orgs (Bleeping Computer)

PoC Exploit Published for Critical Ivanti EPM Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek)

Microsoft Patches Exploited Power Pages Vulnerability (SecurityWeek)

NSA Added New Features to Supercharge Ghidra 11.3 (Cyber Security News)

Army soldier linked to Snowflake extortion to plead guilty (The Register)

Katie Arrington Returns to Pentagon as DoD CISO (GovInfo Security)

Penetration Testers Arrested by Police During Authorized Physical Penetration Testing (Cyber Security News)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Credential theft puts sensitive corporate and military networks at risk. A federal judge refuses to block DOGE from accessing sensitive federal data. New York-based Insight Partners confirms a cyber-attack. BlackLock ransomware group is on the rise. OpenSSH patches a pair of vulnerabilities. Russian threat actors are exploiting Signal’s “Linked Devices” feature. Over 12,000 GFI KerioControl firewalls remain exposed to a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability.CISA issued two ICS security advisories. Federal contractors pay $11 million in cybersecurity noncompliance fines. In our CertByte segment, Chris Hare is joined by Steven Burnley to break down a question targeting the ISC2® SSCP - Systems Security Certified Practitioner exam.Sweeping cybercrime reforms are unveiled by…Russia?

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Welcome to CertByte! On this bi-weekly segment hosted by Chris Hare, a content developer and project management specialist at N2K, we share practice questions from N2K’s suite of industry-leading certification resources, for the past 25 years, N2K's practice tests have helped more than half a million IT and cyber security professionals reach certification success. Have a question that you’d like to see covered? Email us at certbyte@n2k.com. If you're studying for a certification exam, check out N2K’s full exam prep library of certification practice tests, practice labs, and training courses by visiting our website at n2k.com/certify.

Please note: The questions and answers provided here, and on our site, are not actual current or prior questions and answers from these certification publishers or providers.

Additional source: https://www.isc2.org/certifications/sscp   

Hundreds of US Military and Defense Credentials Compromised (Infosecurity Magazine)

DOGE Team Wins Legal Battle, Retains Access to Federal Data (GovInfo Security)

Musk Ally Demands Admin Access to System That Lets Government Text the Public (404 Media)

Cyber Investor Insight Partners Suffers Security Breach (Infosecurity Magazine)

BlackLock On Track to Be 2025’s Most Prolific Ransomware Group (Infosecurity Magazine)

Qualys reports two flaws in OpenSSH, one critical DDoS (Beyond Machines)

Russian phishing campaigns exploit Signal's device-linking feature (Bleeping Computer)

Over 12,000 KerioControl firewalls exposed to exploited RCE flaw (Bleeping Computer)

CISA Releases Two New ICS Advisories Exploits Following Vulnerabilities (Cyber Security News)

Managed healthcare defense contractor to pay $11 million over alleged cyber failings (The Record)

Russian Government Proposes Stricter Penalties to Tackle Cybercrime (GB Hackers) 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Palo Alto Networks confirms a recently patched firewall vulnerability is being actively exploited. CISA warns of an actively exploited iOS vulnerability. Juniper Networks has issued a critical security advisory for an API authentication bypass vulnerability. The acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) resigns after Elon Musk’s team sought access to sensitive personal data of millions of Americans. The EagerBee malware framework is actively targeting government agencies and ISPs across the Middle East. Proofpoint researchers document a new macOS infostealer. A new phishing kit uses timesheet notification emails to steal credentials and two-factor authentication codes. JPMorgan Chase will begin blocking Zelle payments to social media contacts to combat online scams. Our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop discussing his interview with former National Cyber Director Harry Coker. Transferring your digital legacy.

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Our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop discussing his interview with former National Cyber Director Harry Coker. You can read more about Tim’s interview “National Cyber Director Harry Coker looks back (and ahead) on the Cyber Director office” and companion piece “Trump picks Sean Cairncross for national cyber director” on CyberScoop. 

Palo Alto Networks Confirms Exploitation of Firewall Vulnerability (SecurityWeek)

CISA Warns of Apple iOS Vulnerability Exploited in Wild (Cyber Security News)

Juniper Warns of Critical Authentication Bypass Vulnerability Affecting Multiple Products (Cyber Security News)

Top Social Security Official Leaves After Musk Team Seeks Data Access (New York Times)

EagerBee Malware Attacking Government Entities & ISPs To Deploy Backdoor (Cyber Security News)

Proofpoint Uncovers FrigidStealer, A New MacOS Infostealer (Infosecurity Magazine)

Microsoft Warns of Improved XCSSET macOS Malware (SecurityWeek)

Fake Timesheet Report Emails Linked to Tycoon 2FA Phishing Kit (GB Hackers)

Chase will soon block Zelle payments to sellers on social media (Bleeping Computer)

Digital Estate Planning: How to Prepare Your Social Media Accounts (New York Times)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc

While we are taking a publishing break to observe Washington's Birthday here in the United States, enjoy this primer on how to create a podcast from our partners at Palo Alto Networks direct from the CyberMarketingCon 2024.

Podcasts have become vital tools for sharing knowledge and insights, particularly in technical fields like cybersecurity. "Threat Vector," led by David Moulton, serves as an essential guide through the complex landscape of cyber threats, offering expert interviews and in-depth analysis.

In this session, David will discuss the process behind creating "Threat Vector," highlighting the challenges and rewards of developing a podcast that resonates with industry experts. Attendees will learn about the foundational elements of podcasting, from initial concept development to content creation and audience engagement.

David's approach integrates his extensive background in storytelling, design, and strategic marketing, enabling him to tackle intricate cybersecurity topics and make them accessible to a broad audience. This session will dive into how to present intricate cybersecurity topics in an accessible and engaging manner and explore various techniques for producing compelling content and effective strategies for promoting a podcast to a wider audience.

Join David and guest host David J. Ebner of Content Workshop for an informative discussion on using podcasts as a medium for education and influence in the cybersecurity field. This session is ideal for anyone interested in starting a podcast or enhancing their approach to cybersecurity communication.

• Website: http://www.paloaltonetworks.com 
• Threat Research: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://unit42.paloaltonetworks.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠
• Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/LifeatPaloAltoNetworks/⁠⁠⁠⁠
• LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/palo-alto-networks/
• YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠@paloaltonetworks
• Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/PaloAltoNtwks⁠⁠⁠⁠

Threat Vector, Palo Alto Networks podcast, is your premier destination for security thought leadership. Join us as we explore pressing cybersecurity threats, robust protection strategies, and the latest industry trends.

The podcast features in-depth discussions with industry leaders, Palo Alto Networks experts, and customers, providing crucial insights for security decision-makers.

Whether you're looking to stay ahead of the curve with innovative solutions or understand the evolving cybersecurity landscape, Threat Vector equips you with the knowledge needed to safeguard your organization.

Palo Alto Networks enables your team to prevent successful cyberattacks with an automated approach that delivers consistent security across the cloud, network, and mobile. ⁠http://paloaltonetworks.com⁠

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes.

Senior Program Manager for Governance, Risk and Compliance at Illumio, Maria Thompson-Saeb shares experiences that led to her career in cybersecurity. Interested in computers and not a fan of math, Maria opted for information systems management rather than computer science. She started her career as a government contractor. Once in the private sector, Maria moved into the Unix and Linux environments where she says "something that would totally change everything." She gained an interest in security and took it upon herself to train up and move into that realm. Maria notes it was not without roadblocks, but that being flexible helped her address those challenges and make her career in security happen. We thank Maria for sharing her story.

Nati Tal, Head of Guardio Labs, discusses their work on "“DeceptionAds” — Fake Captcha Driving Infostealer Infections and a Glimpse to the Dark Side of Internet Advertising." Guardio has uncovered a large-scale malvertising campaign dubbed “DeceptionAds,” which tricks users into running a malicious PowerShell command under the guise of proving they’re human. This fake CAPTCHA scheme delivers Lumma info-stealer malware while bypassing security measures like Google’s Safe Browsing.

Even after disclosure and takedown efforts, the campaign resurfaced—raising concerns about the effectiveness of existing defenses against ad-driven cyber threats.

• “DeceptionAds” — Fake Captcha Driving Infostealer Infections and a Glimpse to the Dark Side of Internet Advertising

Nakasone addresses AI at the Munich Cyber Security Conference. Court documents reveal the degree to which DOGE actually has access. Dutch police dismantle a bulletproof hosting operation. German officials investigate Apple’s App Tracking. Hackers exploited security flaws in BeyondTrust. CISA issues 20 new ICS advisories. The new Astoroth phishing kit bypasses 2FA. Hackers waste no time exploiting a SonicWall proof-of-concept vulnerability. Our guest today is Lawrence Pingree, VP of Technical Marketing at Dispersive, joining us to discuss why preemptive defense is essential in the AI arms race. Have I Been Pwned ponders whether resellers are worth the trouble. 

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Our guest today is Lawrence Pingree, VP of Technical Marketing at Dispersive, joining us to discuss why preemptive defense is essential in the AI arms race. You can read more in "How Cybercriminals Are Using AI: Exploring the New Threat Landscape."

Putting the human back into AI is key, former NSA Director Nakasone says (The Record)

Court Documents Shed New Light on DOGE Access and Activity at Treasury Department (Zero Day)

Musk's DOGE team: Judges to consider barring it from US government systems (Reuters)

Anyone Can Push Updates to the DOGE.gov Website (404 Media)

Dutch Police seizes 127 XHost servers, dismantles bulletproof hoster (Bleeping Computer)

Apple app tracking rules more strict for others – watchdog (The Register)

PostgreSQL flaw exploited as zero-day in BeyondTrust breach (Bleeping Computer)

CISA Releases 20 ICS Advisories Detailing Vulnerabilities & Exploits (Cyber Security News) 

Astaroth 2FA Phishing Kit Targets Gmail, Yahoo, Office 365, and Third-Party Logins (GB Hackers) 

SonicWall Firewall Vulnerability Exploited After PoC Publication (SecurityWeek)

Have I Been Pwned likely to ban resellers (The Register)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Salt Typhoon is still at it. Russian cyber-actor Seashell Blizzard expands its reach. The EFF sues DOGE to protect federal workers’ data. House Republicans pursue a comprehensive data privacy bill. Fortinet patches a critical vulnerability. Google views cybercrime as a national security threat. Palo Alto Networks issues 10 new security advisories. Symantec suspects a Chinese APT sidehustle. Guest Jason Baker, Principal Security Consultant at GuidePoint Security, joins us to share an update on the state of ransomware. A massive IoT data breach exposes 2.7 billion records. Here come the AI agents. 

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Today’s guest, Jason Baker, Principal Security Consultant at GuidePoint Security, joins us to share an update on the state of ransomware.

China’s Salt Typhoon Spies Are Still Hacking Telecoms—Now by Exploiting Cisco Routers (WIRED)

Russian Seashell Blizzard Enlists Specialist Initial Access Subgroup to Expand Ops (Infosecurity Magazine)

EFF Leads Fight Against DOGE and Musk's Access to US Federal Workers' Data (Infosecurity Magazine)

Elon Musk and the Right Are Recasting Reporting as ‘Doxxing’ (New York Times)

FortiOS Vulnerability Allows Super-Admin Privilege Escalation – Patch Now! (Hackread)

Cybercrime evolving into national security threat: Google (The Record)

House Republicans launch group for comprehensive data privacy legislation (The Record)

Palo Alto Networks Patches Potentially Serious Firewall Vulnerability (SecurityWeek)

Chinese Cyberspy Possibly Launching Ransomware Attacks as Side Job (SecurityWeek)

Massive IoT Data Breach Exposes 2.7 Billion Records, Including Wi-Fi Passwords (Cyber Security News)

Are You Ready to Let an AI Agent Use Your Computer? (IEEE Spectrum)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Is DOGE a cyberattack against America? The White House plans to nominate a new national cyber director. Patch Tuesday updates. Ivanti discloses a critical stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability. The GAO  identifies cybersecurity gaps in the U.S. Coast Guard’s efforts to secure the Maritime Transportation System. An Arizona woman pleads guilty to running a laptop farm for North Korea. A notorious swatter gets a prison sentence. Our guests are  Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez, co-hosts of the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast. Plague-themed phishing tests take it too far.

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Today, we welcome Gianna Whitver and Maria Velasquez, co-hosts of the Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing podcast, sharing their plans for 2025. You can listen to new episodes of Breaking Through in Cybersecurity Marketing every Wednesday airing on the N2K CyberWire network and wherever you get your podcasts. 

DOGE's Cyberattack Against America (Foreign Policy)

Trump plans to nominate GOP insider Sean Cairncross as national cyber director (The Record)

Microsoft Fixes Another Two Actively Exploited Zero-Days (Infosecurity Magazine)

Chipmaker Patch Tuesday: Intel, AMD, Nvidia Fix High-Severity Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek)

ICS Patch Tuesday: Vulnerabilities Addressed by Schneider Electric, Siemens (SecurityWeek)

Ivanti Connect Secure Vulnerabilities Let Attackers Execute Code Remotely (Cyber Security News)

GAO Tells Coast Guard to Improve Cybersecurity of Maritime Transportation System (SecurityWeek)

Arizona woman pleads guilty to running laptop farm for N. Korean IT workers, faces 9-year sentence (The Record)

California Teenager Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Nationwide Swatting Spree (US Department of Justice)

Phishing Tests, the Bane of Work Life, Are Getting Meaner (Wall Street Journal) 

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Apple releases emergency security updates to patch a zero-day vulnerability. CISA places election security workers on leave. Elon Musk leads a group of investors making an unsolicited bid to acquire OpenAI. The man accused of hacking the SEC’s XTwitter account pleads guilty. Law enforcement seizes the leak site of the 8Base ransomware gang.  Researchers track a massive increase in brute-force attacks targeting edge devices. Experts question the U.K. government’s demand for an encryption backdoor in Apple devices. Today’s guest is John Fokker, Head of Threat Intelligence at Trellix, joining us to discuss their work on "Blurring the Lines: How Nation-States and Organized Cybercriminals Are Becoming Alike." And it’s international day for women and girls in science.

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Today’s guest is John Fokker, Head of Threat Intelligence at Trellix, joining us to discuss their work on "Blurring the Lines: How Nation-States and Organized Cybercriminals Are Becoming Alike."

Apple fixes zero-day exploited in 'extremely sophisticated' attacks (BleepingComputer)

US cyber agency puts election security staffers who worked with the states on leave (AP News)

Elon Musk-led group makes $97.4 billion bid for OpenAI, CEO refuses and offers to "buy Twitter for $9.74 billion" (TechSpot)

OpenAI Finds No Evidence of Breach After Hacker Offers to Sell 20 Million Credentials (SecurityWeek)

Hacker who hijacked SEC’s X account pleads guilty, faces maximum five-year sentence (The Record)

8Base ransomware site taken down as Thai authorities arrest 4 connected to operation (The Record)

Edge Devices Face Surge in Mass Brute-Force Password Attacks (Data Breach Today)

U.K. Kicks Apple’s Door Open for China (Wall Street Journal)

International Day of Women and Girls in Science- United Nations (United Nations)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

A cyberattack disrupts newspaper publishing. A major AI summit takes place in Paris this week. A federal judge restricts DOGE from accessing Treasury Department systems. Cybersecurity cooperation between Canada and the U.S. remains strong. The Kraken ransomware group leaks credentials allegedly linked to Cisco. Europol urges banks to start preparing for quantum-safe cryptography. Microsoft expands its Copilot bug bounty program. The PlayStation Network (PSN) experienced a major outage over the weekend. Indiana man sentenced to 20 years for $37m cryptocurrency fraud. Our guest is Mike Woodard, VP of Product Management for App Security at Digital.ai, sharing strategies to minimize risk when implementing AI. Hunting for length and complexity in WiFi passwords. 

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Our guest is Mike Woodard, VP of Product Management for App Security at Digital.ai, sharing strategies to minimize risk when implementing AI to enhance security.

Cyberattack Disrupts Publication of Lee Newspapers Across the U.S. (New York Times)

Trump’s AI Ambition and China’s DeepSeek Overshadow an AI Summit in Paris (SecurityWeek)

Musk Team’s Treasury Access Raises Security Fears, Despite Judge’s Ordered Halt (New York Times)

In Breaking USAID, the Trump Administration May Have Broken the Law (ProPublica)

Judge: DOGE made US Treasury ‘more vulnerable to hacking’ (The Register)

Cisco Data Breach – Ransomware Group Allegedly Breached Internal Network (GB Hackers)

Europol Warns Financial Sector of “Imminent” Quantum Threat (Infosecurity Magazine)

Trade war or not, Canada will keep working with the U.S. on cybersecurity (The Logic)

Microsoft Expands Copilot Bug Bounty Program, Increases Payouts (SecurityWeek)

PlayStation Network Down; Outage Leaves Gamers Frustrated (Updated) (HackRead)

Indiana Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Conspiracies Involving Cyber Intrusion and a Massive $37 Million Cryptocurrency Theft (DataBreaches.Net)

The World's Longest and Strongest WiFi Passwords (InfoSec Write-ups) 

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes.

CEO and co-founder of Orca Security Avi Shua shares his thoughts on ways to succeed in cybersecurity. Avi's excitement about cybersecurity began when he was 13 as he tried to think of ways to get around the school's network security. He joined the Israeli Army's Intelligence Unit 8200 and experienced some unique cybersecurity training programs that he would eventually come to teach. Learning to solve problems on your own is a skill Avi acquired and took into his professional career. In his current position, Avi works to advance Orca's mission. He loves that his company works to reduce friction and enables security people to do their jobs. Instead of becoming of plumbers connecting things, Avi says they can do their job and become real security practitioners. We thank Avi for sharing his story with us.

Mark Manglicmot, SVP of Security Services from Arctic Wolf, is sharing their research on "Cleopatra’s Shadow: A Mass Exploitation Campaign Deploying a Java Backdoor Through Zero-Day Exploitation of Cleo MFT Software." Arctic Wolf Labs discovered an ongoing exploitation campaign targeting Cleo Managed File Transfer (MFT) products, beginning on December 7, 2024. Threat actors used a malicious PowerShell stager to deploy a Java-based backdoor, dubbed Cleopatra, which features in-memory file storage and cross-platform compatibility across Windows and Linux.

Despite Cleo's previous patch for CVE-2024-50623, attackers appear to have leveraged an alternative access method, exploiting the software's autorun feature to execute payloads and establish persistent access.

• Cleopatra’s Shadow: A Mass Exploitation Campaign Deploying a Java Backdoor Through Zero-Day Exploitation of Cleo MFT Software

Security concerns grow over DOGE’s use of AI. The British government demands access to encrypted iCloud accounts. Researchers identify critical vulnerabilities in the DeepSeek iOS app. Microsoft Edge uses AI to block scareware. A phishing campaign targets Facebook users with fake copyright infringement notices. Researchers discover malicious machine learning models on Hugging Face. A major data broker faces yet-another data breach lawsuit. CISA warns of a critical Microsoft Outlook vulnerability under active exploitation. Guest John Anthony Smith, Founder and Chief Security Officer at Fenix24, shares insights into why backups are the most important security control. The UK’s cyber weather report says expect light phishing with a chance of ransomware. 

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Today on our Industry Voices segment, guest John Anthony Smith, Founder and Chief Security Officer at Fenix24, shares insights into why backups are the most important security control.

For additional details, please visit this resource:

• The Reality of Resilience, Recovery, and Repeat Cyberattacks (Infographic)

Elon Musk’s DOGE feeds AI sensitive federal data to target cuts (The Washington Post)

Will DOGE Access to CMS Data Lead to HIPAA Breaches? (GovInfo Security)

Federal judge tightens DOGE leash over critical Treasury payment system access (The Register)

UK reportedly demands secret ‘back door’ to Apple users’ iCloud accounts (The Record)

NowSecure Uncovers Multiple Security and Privacy Flaws in DeepSeek iOS Mobile App (NowSecure)

Microsoft Edge update adds AI-powered Scareware Blocker (Bleeping Computer)

New Facebook Fake Copyright Notices Phishing Steals Your FB Credentials (Cyber Security News)

Developers Beware! Malicious ML Models Detected on Hugging Face Platform (Cyber Security News)

Coordinates of millions of smartphones feared stolen, sparking yet another lawsuit against data broker (The Register)

Critical Microsoft Outlook Vulnerability (CVE-2024-21413) Actively Exploited in Attacks - CISA Warns (CISA)

UK cyberattack severity to be scored by world-first group  (The Register)

We want to ensure that you are getting the most out of the podcast. Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey as we continually work to improve the show. 

You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info.

The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.

Chaos and security concerns continue in Washington. Spanish authorities arrest a man suspected of hacking NATO, the UN, and the US Army. A major U.S. hiring platform exposes millions of resumes. Another British engineering firm suffers a cyberattack. Cisco patches multiple vulnerabilities. Cybercriminals exploit SVG files in phishing attacks. SparkCat SDK targets cryptocurrency via Android and iOS apps. CISA directs federal agencies to patch a high-severity Linux kernel flaw. Thailand leaves scamming syndicates in the dark. Positive trends in the fight against ransomware. Our guest is Cliff Crosland, CEO and Co-founder at Scanner.dev, discusses the evolution of security data lakes and the "bring your own" model for security tools. Don’t eff with the FCC.

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Today on our Industry Voices segment, guest Cliff Crosland, CEO and Co-founder at Scanner.dev, discusses the evolution of security data lakes and the "bring your own" model for security tools. For some additional details, check out their blog on “Security Data Lakes: A New Tool for Threat Hunting, Detection & Response, and GenAI-Powered Analysis.”

Musk’s DOGE agents access sensitive personnel data, alarming security officials (Washington Post)

Union groups sue Treasury over giving DOGE access to sensitive data (The Record)

Hacker Who Targeted NATO, US Army Arrested in Spain (SecurityWeek)

Hiring platform serves users raw with 5.4 million CVs exposed (Cybernews)

IMI becomes the latest British engineering firm to be hacked (TechCrunch)

Cisco Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in Enterprise Security Product (SecurityWeek)

Scalable Vector Graphics files pose a novel phishing threat (Sophos News)

Crypto-stealing apps found in Apple App Store for the first time (Bleeping Computer)

Ransomware payments dropped in 2024 as victims refused to pay hackers (TechCrunch)

CISA orders agencies to patch Linux kernel bug exploited in attacks (Bleeping Computer)

Thailand cuts power supply to Myanmar scam hubs (The Record)

Robocallers posing as FCC fraud prevention team call FCC staff (Bleeping Computer)

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