CyberWire Daily

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest today is Lauren Buitta, Founder and CEO at Girl Security, discussing mentoring and intergenerational strategies. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. The research can be found here: Why Biasing Advanced Persistent Threats over Cybercrime is a Security Risk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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." Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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? Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CertByte Segment 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 [email protected]. 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 Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Join the conversation on our social media channels: 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 About Threat Vector 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 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. The research can be found here: “DeceptionAds” — Fake Captcha Driving Infostealer Infections and a Glimpse to the Dark Side of Internet Advertising Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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." Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today’s guest, Jason Baker, Principal Security Consultant at GuidePoint Security, joins us to share an update on the state of ransomware. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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." Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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. Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. The research can be found here: Cleopatra’s Shadow: A Mass Exploitation Campaign Deploying a Java Backdoor Through Zero-Day Exploitation of Cleo MFT Software Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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) Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest 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.” Selected Reading 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) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The DOGE team faces growing backlash. The Five Eyes release guidance on protecting edge devices. A critical macOS kernel vulnerability allows privilege escalation, memory corruption, and kernel code execution. Google and Mozilla release security updates for Chrome and Firefox. Multiple Veeam backup products are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks. Zyxel suggests you replace those outdated routers. A former Google engineer faces multiple charges for alleged corporate espionage. CISA issues nine new advisories for ICS vulnerabilities. A house Republican introduces a cybersecurity workforce scholarship bill. On our CertByte segment, a look at ISC2’s CISSP exam. Google updates its stance on AI weapons. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CertByte Segment Welcome to CertByte! On this bi-weekly segment hosted by Chris Hare. This week, Chris is joined by Steven Burnley to break down a question targeting ISC2®'s CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional) exam. Today’s question comes from N2K’s ISC2® CISSP - Certified Information Systems Security Professional Practice Test. Have a question that you’d like to see covered? Email us at [email protected]. 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. Selected Reading Federal Workers Sue to Disconnect DOGE Server (WIRED) Treasury says DOGE review has ‘read-only’ access to federal payments system (The Record) ‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government (404 Media) Cybersecurity, government experts are aghast at security failures in DOGE takeover (CyberScoop) Five Eyes Launch Guidance to Improve Edge Device Security (Infosecurity Magazine) Apple's MacOS Kernel Vulnerability Let Attackers Escalate Privileges - PoC Released (Cyber Security News) Chrome 133, Firefox 135 Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) Critical Veeam Vulnerability (CVE-2025-23114) Exposes Backup Servers to Remote Code Execution (SOCRadar) Router maker Zyxel tells customers to replace vulnerable hardware exploited by hackers (TechCrunch) US cranks up espionage charges against ex-Googler accused of trade secrets heist (The Register) CISA Releases Nine Advisories Detailing vulnerabilities and Exploits Surrounding ICS (Cyber Security News) CISA hires former DHS CIO into top cyber position (Federal News Network) Proposal for federal cyber scholarship, with service requirement, returns in House (The Record) Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance (Washington Post) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DOGE’s unchecked access to federal networks sparks major cybersecurity fears. Senator Hawley’s AI ban targets China and raises free speech concerns. Apple service ticket portal vulnerability exposed millions of users’ data. North Korean ‘FlexibleFerret’ malware targets macos via job scams and fake zoom apps. February 2025 android security update fixes 48 vulnerabilities, including exploited zero-day. Grubhub data breach exposes customer and driver information. Abandoned cloud infrastructure creates major security risks. Texas to launch its own Cyber Command amid rising cyber threats. Dell PowerProtect vulnerabilities pose critical security risks. On our Threat Vector segment, David Moulton and his guests look at the potential dangers of DeepSeek. U.S. Government is quietly altering the Head Start database. And a moment of inspiration from a spacefaring poet. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Threat Vector Segment Artificial intelligence is advancing fast, but with innovation comes risk. In this segment of Threat Vector, host David Moulton sits down with Sam Rubin, SVP of Consulting and Threat Intelligence at Unit 42, and Kyle Wilhoit, Director of Threat Research, to explore the vulnerabilities of DeepSeek, a new large language model. 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. Selected Reading Musk’s DOGE effort could spread malware, expose US systems to threat actors (CSO Online) As DOGE teams plug into federal networks, cybersecurity risks could be huge, experts say (The Record) Senator Hawley Proposes Jail Time for People Who Download DeepSeek (404 Media) Apple Service Ticket portal Vulnerability Exposes Millions of Users Data (Cyber Security News) N. Korean ‘FlexibleFerret’ Malware Hits macOS with Fake Zoom, Job Scams (Hackread) Google fixes Android kernel zero-day exploited in attacks (Bleeping Computer) GrubHub Data Breach - Customers Phone Numbers Exposed (Cyber Security News) Here’s all the ways an abandoned cloud instance can cause security issues (CyberScoop) Texas to Establish Cyber Command Amid “Dramatic” Rise in Attacks (Infosecurity Magazine) Multiple Dell PowerProtect Vulnerabilities Let Attackers Compromise System (Cyber Security News) ‘Forbidden Words’: Github Reveals How Software Engineers Are Purging Federal Databases (404 Media) T-Minus Deep Space: Inspiration4 with Dr. Sian “Leo” Proctor. (T-Minus Deep Space podcast) Dr. Sian Proctor got her ticket to space after being selected for her poetry (Instagram) 2025 SpaceCom: Interview with Dr. Sian Proctor (YouTube) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal agencies become battlegrounds in an unprecedented power struggle. XE Group evolves from credit-card skimming to exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities. WhatsApp uncovers a zero-click spyware attack linked to an Israeli firm.Texas expands its ban on Chinese-backed AI and social media apps. Data breaches expose the personal and medical information of over a million people.NVIDIA patches multiple critical vulnerabilities. Arm discloses critical vulnerabilities affecting its Mali GPU Kernel Drivers and firmware. The UK government aims to set the global standard for securing AI. Tim Starks from CyberScoop has the latest from Senate confirmation hearings. The National Cryptologic Museum rights a wrong. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Joining us today is Tim Starks, Senior Reporter from CyberScoop, to discuss two of his recent articles: FBI nominee Kash Patel getting questions on cybercrime investigations, Silk Road founder, surveillance powers Even the US government can fall victim to cryptojacking Selected Reading Top Security Officials at Aid Agency Put on Leave After Denying Access to Musk Team (New York Times) Exclusive: Musk aides lock workers out of OPM computer system (Reuters) Federal Workers Block Doors of Admin Building Over Elon Musk Data Breach (DC Media Group) Trump Broke the Federal Email System and Government Employees Got Blasted With Astonishingly Vulgar Messages (Futurism) CISA employees told they are exempt from federal worker resignation program (The Record) From credit card fraud to zero-day exploits: Xe Group expanding cybercriminal efforts (CyberScoop) Israeli Firm Paragon Attack WhatsApp With New Zero-Click Spyware (Cyber Security News) Texas Gov. Greg Abbott bans DeepSeek, RedNote and other Chinese-backed AI platforms (Statesman) Hundreds of Thousands Hit by Data Breaches at Healthcare Firms in Colorado, North Carolina (SecurityWeek) Insurance Company Globe Life Notifying 850,000 People of Data Breach (SecurityWeek) NVIDIA GPU Display Driver Vulnerability Lets Attackers Steal Files Remotely - Update Now (Cyber Security News) Arm Mali GPU Kernel Driver 0-Day Vulnerability Actively Exploited in the Wild (Cyber Security News) UK Announces “World-First” AI Security Standard (Infosecurity Magazine) Larry Pfeiffer on Bluesky (Bluesky) Possibly related to the Bluesky post: Trailblazers in U.S. Cryptologic History Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please enjoy this encore episode with Principal Research Scientist for Human Behavior at Forcepoint, Margaret Cunningham. She shares her story of how she landed in cybersecurity. With a background in psychology and counseling and not feeling that one-on-one counseling was her thing, Margaret had a transformational moment in her PhD program in applied experimental technology when she realized she could "provide helping services and good work services at a broader scale." Margaret found her professional footing at DHS's Human Systems Integration Branch of Science and Technology Department as the person who figured out how to measure how new technologies impacted human performance. Margaret points out that making connections and reading whatever you can is important to stay up to date in the field. She notes that her statistical analysis skills are an asset. She hopes to create champions in human behavior and performance in the world of technology. We thank Margaret for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Dave Bittner is joined by Juan Andres Guerrero-Saade (JAGS) from SentinelOne's SentinelLabs to discuss the work his team and Tinexta Cyber did on "Operation Digital Eye | Chinese APT Compromises Critical Digital Infrastructure via Visual Studio Code Tunnels." Tinexta Cyber and SentinelLabs have been tracking threat activities targeting business-to-business IT service providers in Southern Europe. Based on the malware, infrastructure, techniques used, victimology, and the timing of the activities, we assess that it is highly likely these attacks were conducted by a China-nexus threat actor with cyberespionage motivations. The relationships between European countries and China are complex, characterized by cooperation, competition, and underlying tensions in areas such as trade, investment, and technology. Suspected China-linked cyberespionage groups frequently target public and private organizations across Europe to gather strategic intelligence, gain competitive advantages, and advance geopolitical, economic, and technological interests. The research can be found here: Operation Digital Eye | Chinese APT Compromises Critical Digital Infrastructure via Visual Studio Code Tunnels Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Authorities dismantle a Pakistan-based cybercrime network. Lawmakers question the feasibility of establishing a U.S. Cyber Force as a standalone military branch. The DOJ sues to block HPE’s acquisition of Juniper Networks. Tangerine Turkey deploys cryptomining malware. Major healthcare providers send breach notifications. Norwegian police seize a Russian-crewed ship suspected of damaging a communications cable. Researchers discover critical vulnerabilities in GitHub Copilot. D-Link patches a critical router vulnerability. CISA and the FDA have warned U.S. healthcare organizations of severe security vulnerabilities in Chinese-made patient monitors. Pauses in funding create confusion for federal cybersecurity vendors. We bid a fond farewell to a pair of N2K colleagues. The case of the disappearing government data. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today’s guest segment is bittersweet as we offer our thanks and see you laters to two of our beloved colleagues N2K President Simone Petrella, who’s taking her leadership role to our advisory board, and Executive Editor Brandon Karpf, who will be taking up the mantle of protecting our national security starting his own company, Hedy Cyber. Join us in celebrating their incredible journeys, contributions to our successes, and letting them both know just how deeply they will be missed by all of us here at N2K. Selected Reading US, Dutch Authorities Disrupt Pakistani Hacking Shop Network (SecurityWeek) Lawmakers push for guardrails, deadline on cyber military study (The Record) US Sues to Stop HPE $14 Billion Deal to Buy Juniper Networks (Bloomberg) Tangerine Turkey mines cryptocurrency in global campaign (Red Canary) US healthcare provider data breach impacts 1 million patients (Bleeping Computer) NorthBay Health Data Breach Impacts 569,000 Individuals (SecurityWeek) Norway seizes ship suspected of sabotage, says crew are Russian nationals (The Record) GitHub Copilot Jailbreak Vulnerability Let Attackers Train Malicious Models (Cyber Security News) D-Link Routers Vulnerability Let Attackers Gain Full Router Control Remotely (Cyber Security News) CISA, FDA Warn of Dangerous Backdoor in Contec Patient Monitors (SecurityWeek) Federal Cybersecurity Contractors Whiplashed By Uncertainty (GovInfo Security) Archivists Work to Identify and Save the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov (404 Media) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

International law enforcement takes down a pair of notorious hacking forums. Wiz discovers an open DeepSeek database. Time Bandit jailbreaks ChatGPT. Ransomware hits one of the largest U.S. blood centers. A cyberattack takes the South African Weather Service offline. Researchers describe a new “browser syncjacking” attack. TeamViewer patches a high-severity privilege escalation flaw. Over three dozen industry groups urge Congress to pass a national data privacy law. CISA faces an uncertain future. N2K’s Brandon Karpf speaks with Ellen Chang, Vice President Ventures at BMNT and Head of BMNT Ventures. OpenAI Cries Foul After Getting a Taste of Its Own Medicine. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today, N2K’s Brandon Karpf speaks with Ellen Chang, Vice President Ventures at BMNT and Head of BMNT Ventures, about the venture model, why it exists, how it works, and its impact. Selected Reading Police seizes Cracked and Nulled hacking forum servers, arrests suspects (Bleeping Computer) Wiz Research Uncovers Exposed DeepSeek Database Leaking Sensitive Information, Including Chat History (Wiz) Time Bandit ChatGPT jailbreak bypasses safeguards on sensitive topics(Bleeping Computer) US blood donation giant warns of disruption after ransomware attack (TechCrunch) South Africa’s government-run weather service knocked offline by cyberattack (The Record) Syncjacking Attack Enables Full Browser and Device Takeover (Infosecurity Magazine) TeamViewer Patches High-Severity Vulnerability in Windows Applications (SecurityWeek) Industry groups call on Congress to enact federal data privacy law (The Record) US Cyber Agency’s Future Role in Elections Remains Murky Under the Trump Administration (SecurityWeek) OpenAI Furious DeepSeek Might Have Stolen All the Data OpenAI Stole From Us (404 Media) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hackers linked to China and Iran are using AI to enhance cyberattacks. An AI-powered messaging tool for Slack and Discord is reportedly leaking user data. British engineering giant Smiths Group suffers a cyberattack. Rockwell Automation details critical and high-severity vulnerabilities. Researchers warn of new side-channel vulnerabilities in Apple CPUs. The Hellcat ransomware gang looks to humiliate its victims. SparkRAT targets macOS users and government entities. Flashpoint looks at FleshStealer malware. Cybercriminals leverage trust in government websites. Our guest is Ivan Novikov, CEO at Wallarm, sharing insights on the recent United States ruling that bars certain Chinese and Russian connected car tech from being imported into the US. QR code shenanigans. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest is Ivan Novikov, CEO at Wallarm, sharing insights on the recent United States ruling that bars certain Chinese and Russian connected car tech from being imported into the US and its impact. Selected Reading Chinese and Iranian Hackers Are Using U.S. AI Products to Bolster Cyberattacks (Wall Street Journal) Update: Cybercriminals still not fully on board the AI train (yet) (Sophos) Unprotected AI service streams private Slack messages for 30 bucks a month (Cybernews) Engineering giant Smiths Group discloses security breach (Bleeping Computer) Rockwell Patches Critical, High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Several Products (SecurityWeek) New Apple CPU side-channel attacks steal data from browsers (Bleeping Computer) SLAP (Predictors Fail) Meow-ware gang: the cyber cats who humiliate their prey (Cybernews) Hackers Attacking Windows, macOS, and Linux systems With SparkRAT (GB Hackers) Unmasking FleshStealer: A New Infostealer Threat in 2025 (Flashpoint) Threat Actors Exploit Government Websites for Phishing (Infosecurity Magazine) Christian Walther: "@gvy_dvpont Got me thinking… c…" (Mastodon) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

DeepSeek blames DDoS for recent outages. Hackers behind last year’s AT&T data breach targeted members of the Trump family, Kamala Harris, and Marco Rubio’s wife.The EU sanctions Russians for cyberattacks against Estonia. ENGlobal confirms personal information was taken in last year’s ransomware attack. CISA issues a critical warning about a SonicWall vulnerability actively exploited. A large-scale phishing campaign exploits users’ trust in PDF files and the USPS. Apple patches a zero-day affecting many of their products. A ransomware attack on an Ohio-based operator of skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities affects over 70,000. President Trump has a tumultuous first week back in office. Our guest is Bogdan Botezatu, Director, Threat Research and Reporting at Bitdefender, to discuss the dark market subculture and its parallels to holiday shopping. A nonprofit aims to clean up the AI industry’s mess. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest We are joined by Bogdan Botezatu, Director, Threat Research and Reporting at Bitdefender, to discuss the dark market subculture and its parallels to holiday shopping. Check out Bitdefender’s research on the topic here. Selected Reading DeepSeek Blames Disruption on Cyberattack as Vulnerabilities Emerge (SecurityWeek) DeepSeek FAQ (Stratechery) We tried out DeepSeek. It worked well, until we asked it about Tiananmen Square and Taiwan (The Guardian) Hackers Mined AT&T Breach for Data on Trump's Family, Kamala Harris (404 Media) European Union Sanctions Russian Nationals for Hacking Estonia (SecurityWeek) ENGlobal Says Personal Information Accessed in Ransomware Attack (SecurityWeek) CISA Warns of SonicWall 0-day RCE Vulnerability Exploited in Wild (Cyber Security News) Hackers Use Malicious PDFs, pose as USPS in Mobile Phishing Scam (Security Boulevard) Amazon Prime Security Warning As Hackers Strike—What You Need To Know (Forbes) Apple plugs exploited security hole in iOS, updates macOS (The Register) Nursing Home, Rehab Chain Says Hack Affects Nearly 70,000 (GovInfo Security) A Tumultuous Week for Federal Cybersecurity Efforts (Krebs on Security) Initiative Aims to Enable Ethical Coding LLMs (IEEE Spectrum) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek shakes up the market. Trump freezes cyber diplomacy funding and puts a vital U.S.-EU data-sharing agreement at risk. A trojanized RAT targets script kiddies. U.K. telecom giant TalkTalk investigates a data breach. Researchers uncover a critical flaw in Meta’s Llama Stack AI framework. Attackers leverage hidden text salting in emails. The “FlowerStorm” phishing framework targets multiple brands to steal customer credentials. A critical zero-day hits SonicWall VPN appliances. Swedish authorities seized a cargo ship suspected of damaging a key fiber optic cable. Freezing out crypto-kidnappers. Our guest is Jon Miller, CEO and Co-founder from Halcyon, sharing trends in ransomware and insights on Brain Cipher. The British Museum defends its artefacts from IT attacks. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest today is Jon Miller, CEO and Co-founder from Halcyon, sharing trends in ransomware along with some insights on Brain Cipher. For more detail, check out Halcyon’s Power Rankings: Ransomware Malicious Quartile Q4-2024. Selected Reading A shocking Chinese AI advancement called DeepSeek is sending US stocks plunging (CNN Business) Politicization of intel oversight board could threaten key US-EU data transfer agreement (The Record) Cyber diplomacy funding halted as US issues broad freeze on foreign aid (The Record) Weaponised XWorm RAT builder Attacking script kiddies to Steal Sensitive Data (GB Hackers) Change Healthcare Breach Almost Doubles in Size to 190 Million Victims (Infosecurity Magazine) TalkTalk investigating data breach after hacker claims theft of customer data (TechCrunch) Meta rushes to fix critical Llama Stack AI flaw (Cybernews) Seasoning email threats with hidden text salting (Cisco Talos) New Phishing Framework Attacking Multiple Brands To Steal Customer Logins (Cyber Security News) More than 2,000 SonicWall devices vulnerable to critical zero-day (The Record) Sweden seizes vessel after another undersea cable damaged (The Register) Nicolas Bacca: "We have invented a unique organisational model for intervening in cryptocurrency ransom" (The Big Whale) British Museum hit by alleged IT attack by ex-worker (BBC News) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please enjoy this encore episode with VP of Information Security at Barracuda Dave Farrow, and how he shares how a teenage surfer fell in love with software development and made his way in the cybersecurity field. Dave chose to study electrical engineering in college because he wanted to learn something that didn't make sense to him. He says he's done things in his career that he said he'd never do: for example, he went into and fell in love with software development. Taking on leadership of a bug bounty program at Barracuda blossomed into the creation of an internal security team. Dave wants to be the guy who enables the business and not the one who prevented it. He hopes all will come to recognize that there are other threats besides cybersecurity threats to business. We thank Dave for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are joined by Ismael Valenzuela, VP of Threat Research & Intelligence, and Jacob Faires, Principal Threat Researcher, from Blackberry discussing the team's work on "LightSpy: APT41 Deploys Advanced DeepData Framework In Targeted Southern Asia Espionage Campaign." In April 2024, BlackBerry uncovered a significant evolution of the LightSpy malware campaign, attributed to Chinese cyber-espionage group APT41. The newly introduced DeepData framework, a modular Windows-based surveillance tool, expands data theft capabilities with 12 specialized plugins for tasks like communication surveillance, credential theft, and system intelligence gathering. The campaign targets a wide range of communication platforms, including WhatsApp, Signal, and WeChat, with advanced techniques for monitoring and stealing sensitive information from victims across the Asia-Pacific region. The research can be found here: LightSpy: APT41 Deploys Advanced DeepData Framework In Targeted Southern Asia Espionage Campaign Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal court finds the FBI’s warrantless section 702 searches unconstitutional. The DOJ charges five in a fake IT worker scheme. The Texas Attorney General expands his investigation into automakers’ data sharing. CISA highlights vulnerabilities in the aircraft collision avoidance system. Estonia will host Europe's new space cybersecurity testing ground. Hackers use hardware breakpoints to evade EDR detection. Subaru’s Starlink connected vehicle service exposed sensitive customer and vehicle data. Asian nations claim progress against criminal cyber-scam camps. Our guest today is Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak, with his outlook on 2025. Sticking AI crawlers in the tar pit. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest today is Dr. Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak, joining us to share trends he sees coming our way in 2025. Selected Reading Court rules FBI’s warrantless searches violated Fourth Amendment (Ars Technica) US Charges Five People Over North Korean IT Worker Scheme (SecurityWeek) Texas probes four more car companies over how they collect and sell consumer data (The Record) CISA Warns of Flaws in Aircraft Collision Avoidance Systems (BankInfo Security) ESA - Estonia to host Europe's new space cybersecurity testing ground (European Space Agency) Bypassing EDR Detection by Exploiting Hardware Breakpoints at CPU Level (Cyber Security News) Subaru Starlink Vulnerability Exposed Cars to Remote Hacking (SecurityWeek) China and friends say they're hurting cyber-slave scam camps (The Register) Developer Creates Infinite Maze That Traps AI Training Bots (404 Media) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CISA and FBI detail exploit chains used by Chinese hackers to compromise Ivanti Cloud Service Appliances. Energy systems in Central Europe use unencrypted radio signals. A critical SonicWall vulnerability is under active exploitation. The Nnice ransomware strain isn’t. Cisco discloses a critical vulnerability in its Meeting Management tool. GhostGPT is a new malicious generative AI chatbot. ClamAV patches critical vulnerabilities in the open-source anti-virus engine. A new report questions the effectiveness of paying ransomware demands. DOGE piggybacks on the United States Digital Service. On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Joe Gillespie, Senior Vice President at Booz Allen, discussing Cyber AI. Jen Easterly leaves CISA a legacy of resilience and dedication. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Industry Voices Today on our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Joe Gillespie, Senior Vice President at Booz Allen, discussing Cyber AI. Selected Reading FBI/CISA Share Details on Ivanti Exploits Chains: What Network Defenders Need to Know (SecurityWeek) Researchers say new attack could take down the European power grid (Ars Technica) Critical SonicWall Vulnerability Exploited In Attacks Execute Arbitrary OS Commands (Cyber Security News) Nnice Ransomware Attacking Windows Systems With Advanced Encryption Techniques (GB Hackers) Cisco Fixes Critical Vulnerability in Meeting Management (Infosecurity Magazine) New GhostGPT AI Chatbot Facilitates Malware Creation and Phishing (Infosecurity Magazine) Open-Source ClamAV Releases Critical Security Patch Updates – What’s Inside! (Cyber Security News) Companies who pay off ransomware attackers rarely get their data back, survey shows (Cybernews) Elon Musk Plays DOGE Ball—and Hits America’s Geek Squad (WIRED) Under Trump, US Cyberdefense Loses Its Head (WIRED) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest cyber moves from the Trump White House. Pompompurin faces resentencing. An attack on a government IT contractor impacts Medicaid, child support, and food assistance programs. Helldown ransomware targets unpatched Zyxel firewalls. Murdoc is a new Mirai botnet variant. Cloudflare maps the DDoS landscape. North Korea’s Lazarus group uses fake job interviews to deploy malware. Hackers are abusing Google ads to spread AmosStealer malware. Pwn2Own Automotive awards over $382,000 on its first day. In our CertByte segment, Chris Hare and Steven Burnley take on a question from N2K’s Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Practice Test. NYC Restaurant week tries to keep bots off the menu. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CertByte Segment 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, and a study tip to help you achieve the professional certifications you need to fast-track your career growth in IT, cyber security, or project management. In each segment, Chris is joined by an N2K Content Developer to help illustrate the learning. This week, Chris is joined by Steven Burnley to break down a question targeting the CC - Certified in Cyber Security certification by ISC2®. Today’s question comes from N2K’s Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® Practice Test. Have a question that you’d like to see covered? Email us at [email protected]. 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. 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 sources: https://www.pmi.org/certifications/agile-acp https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/certifications/agile-certified-exam-outline.pdf Selected Reading Trump Fires DHS Board Probing Salt Typhoon Hacks (Dark Reading) TSA chief behind cyber directives for aviation, pipelines and rail ousted by Trump team (The Record) Trump pardons Silk Road dark web market creator Ross Ulbricht (BBC) BreachForums Admin Conor Fitzpatrick (Pompompurin) to Be Resentenced (Hackread) Government IT contractor Conduent says 'third-party compromise’ caused outages (The Record) Helldown Ransomware Exploiting Zyxel Devices Using Zero-Day Vulnerability (Cyber Security News) New Mirai botnet variant Murdoc Botnet targets AVTECH IP cameras and Huawei HG532 routers (Security Affairs) Record-Breaking DDoS Attack Reached 5.6 Tbps (SecurityWeek) InvisibleFerret Malware Attacking Windows Users Through Fake Job Interview Tactics (Cyber Security News) Fake Homebrew Google ads target Mac users with malware (Bleeping Computer) Over $380,000 Paid Out on First Day of Pwn2Own Automotive 2025 (SecurityWeek) Security Alert: Bots Target NYC Restaurant Week (DataDome) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Trump rolls back AI regulations and throws TikTok a lifeline. Attackers pose as Ukraine’s CERT-UA tech support. A critical vulnerability is found in the Brave browser. Sophos observes hacking groups abusing Microsoft 365 services and exploiting default Microsoft Teams settings. Researchers uncover critical flaws in tunneling protocols. A breach exposes personal information of thousands of students and educators. Oracle patches 320 security vulnerabilities. Kaspersky reveals over a dozen vulnerabilities in a Mercedes-Benz infotainment system. Tim Starks from CyberScoop discusses executive orders on cybersecurity and the future of CISA. We preview coming episodes of Threat Vector. Honesty isn’t always the best policy. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Threat Vector Segment On our Threat Vector podcast preview today: IoT devices are everywhere, with billions deployed globally in industries like healthcare, manufacturing, and critical infrastructure. But this explosion of connectivity brings unprecedented security challenges. Host David Moulton speaks with Dr. May Wang, CTO of IoT Security at Palo Alto Networks, about how AI is transforming IoT security. Stay tuned for the full conversation this Thursday. CyberWire Guest Our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop discussing executive orders on cybersecurity and the future of CISA. You can read Tim’s article on the recent Biden EO here. Selected Reading Trump revokes Biden executive order on addressing AI risks (Reuters) TikTok is back up in the US after Trump says he will extend deadline (Bleeping Computer) Hackers impersonate Ukraine’s CERT to trick people into allowing computer access (The Record) Brave Browser Vulnerability Let Malicious Website Mimic as Legitimate One (Cyber Security News) Ransomware Groups Abuse Microsoft Services for Initial Access (SecurityWeek) Tunneling Flaws Put VPNs, CDNs and Routers at Risk Globally (Hackread) Students, Educators Impacted by PowerSchool Data Breach (SecurityWeek) Oracle To Address 320 Vulnerabilities in January Patch Update (Infosecurity Magazine) Details Disclosed for Mercedes-Benz Infotainment Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) Washington Man Admits to Role in Multiple Cybercrime, Fraud Schemes (SecurityWeek) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You can learn more about AWS in Orbit at space.n2k.com/aws. Our guests today are Araz Feyzi, Co-founder and CTO at Kayhan Space and Tim Sills, Lead Security Solutions Architect at AWS for Aerospace and Satellite. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. Selected Reading AWS Aerospace and Satellite Audience Survey We want to hear from you! Please complete our short survey. It’ll help us get better and deliver you the most mission-critical space intel every day. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. Want to join us for an interview? Please send your pitch to [email protected] and include your name, affiliation, and topic proposal. T-Minus is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © 2023 N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please enjoy this encore of the Managing Director at Cerberus Sentinel, Chief Compliance Officer and the President of TalaTek, Baan Alsinawi as she shares her cybersecurity journey from a teenager who wanted to understand computers and held several positions in IT from help desk to systems engineering and cybersecurity. Founding her own business focusing on compliance, Baan says she spends maybe only 20% of her day on technical tasks and that there is always so more to do. Finding the right people for her team is a marker of success for Baan. She talks of the importance of sharing the sense of community of women in technology and nurturing women in the field. We thank Baan for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nati Tal, Head of Guardio Labs, sits down to share their work on “CrossBarking” — Exploiting a 0-Day Opera Vulnerability with a Cross-Browser Extension Store Attack. Guardio Labs has uncovered a critical vulnerability in the Opera browser, enabling malicious extensions to exploit Private APIs for actions like screen capturing, browser setting changes, and account hijacking. Highlighting the ease of bypassing extension store security, researchers demonstrated how a puppy-themed extension exploiting this flaw could infiltrate both Chrome and Opera's extension stores, potentially reaching millions of users. This case underscores the delicate balance between enhancing browser productivity and ensuring robust security measures, revealing the alarming tactics modern threat actors employ to exploit trusted platforms. The research can be found here: “CrossBarking” — Exploiting a 0-Day Opera Vulnerability with a Cross-Browser Extension Store Attack Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FBI warns agents of hacked call and text logs. The US Treasury sanctions entities tied to North Korea’s fake IT worker operations. Russian hacking group Star Blizzard attempted to infiltrate WhatsApp accounts of nonprofits supporting Ukraine. Yubico discloses a critical vulnerability in its Pluggable Authentication Module)software. Google releases an open-source library for software composition analysis. CISA hopes to close the software understanding gap. Pumakit targets critical infrastructure. Simplehelp patches multiple flaws in their remote access software. The FTC bans GM from selling driver data. HHS outlines their efforts to protect hospitals and healthcare. Our guest Maria Tranquilli, Executive Director at Common Mission Project, speaks with N2K’s Executive Editor Brandon Karpf about the origins and impact of Hacking for Defense. Even the best of red teamers are humbled by AI. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest Maria Tranquilli, Executive Director at Common Mission Project, speaks with N2K’s Executive Editor Brandon Karpf about the origins and impact of Hacking for Defense, and how universities can get involved. Selected Reading FBI Has Warned Agents It Believes Hackers Stole Their Call Logs (Bloomberg) US Announces Sanctions Against North Korean Fake IT Worker Network (SecurityWeek) Russian Star Blizzard hackers exploit WhatsApp accounts to spy on nonprofits aiding Ukraine (The Record) Yubico PAM Module Vulnerability Let Attackers Bypass Authentications In Certain Configurations (Cyber Security News) Google Releases Open Source Library for Software Composition Analysis (SecurityWeek) Closing the Software Understanding Gap (CISA) Pumakit - A Sophisticated Linux Rootkit Attack Critical Infrastructure (Cyber Security News) Vulnerabilities in SimpleHelp Remote Access Software May Lead to System Compromise (SecurityWeek) FTC hands GM a 5-year ban on selling sensitive driver info to data brokers (The Record) How HHS has strengthened cybersecurity of hospitals and health care systems (CyberScoop) Microsoft AI Red Team says security work will never be done (The Register) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden issues a comprehensive cybersecurity executive order. Updates on Silk Typhoon’s US Treasury breach. A Chinese telecom hardware firm is under FBI investigation. A critical vulnerability has been found in the UEFI Secure Boot mechanism. California-based cannabis brand Stiiizy suffers a data breach. North Korea’s Lazarus Group lures freelance developers. The FTC highlights major security failures at web hosting giant GoDaddy. Veeam patches a critical vulnerability in their Backup for Microsoft Azure product. Hackers leak sensitive data from over 15,000 Fortinet firewalls. Our guest today is Oren Koren, Veriti's Co-founder and CPO, sharing insights about the state of healthcare cybersecurity. Shiver me timbers! Meta’s AI trains on a treasure chest of pirated books. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest today is Oren Koren, Veriti's Co-founder and CPO, sharing insights about the state of healthcare cybersecurity. You can read more in their “The State of Healthcare Cybersecurity 2025” report. Selected Reading Biden to sign executive order on AI and software security (Axios) Treasury Breach by Chinese Sponsored Hackers Focused on Sanctions, Report Says (Bloomberg) Exclusive: Chinese tech firm founded by Huawei veterans in the FBI's crosshairs (Reuters) New UEFI Secure Boot Bypass Vulnerability Exposes Systems to Malicious Bootkits (Cyber Security News) 380,000 Impacted by Data Breach at Cannabis Retailer Stiiizy (SecurityWeek) North Korean Hackers Targeting Freelance Software Developers (SecurityWeek) GoDaddy Accused of Serious Security Failings by FTC (Infosecurity Magazine) Veeam Azure Backup Solution Vulnerability Allows Attackers To Enumerate Network (Cyber Security News) Hacking group leaks Fortinet users’ details on dark web (Computing) Meta Secretly Trained Its AI on a Notorious Piracy Database, Newly Unredacted Court Docs Reveal (WIRED) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FBI deletes PlugX malware from thousands of U.S. computers. Researchers uncover vulnerabilities in Windows 11 allowing attackers to bypass protections and execute code at the kernel level. A look at (a busy) Patch Tuesday. Researchers uncovered six critical vulnerabilities in a popular Linux file transfer tool. Texas sues Allstate for allegedly collecting, using, and selling driving data without proper consent. An executive order enables AI developers to build data centers on federal lands. On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Mike Hamilton, Chief Information Officer at Cloudflare, discussing how tech sprawl emulates the snake game. Meta profits while users suffer. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. Industry Voices Segment On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Mike Hamilton, Chief Information Officer at Cloudflare, discussing how tech sprawl emulates the snake game. You can read Mike’s thoughts here. Selected Reading FBI deletes Chinese PlugX malware from thousands of US computers (Bleeping Computer) Windows 11 Security Features Bypassed to Obtain Arbitrary Code Execution in Kernel Mode (Cyber Security News) Microsoft Patches Eight Zero-Days to Start the Year (Infosecurity Magazine) Chrome 132 Patches 16 Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) Nvidia, Zoom, Zyxel Patch High-Severity Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) Ivanti Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in Endpoint Manager (SecurityWeek) Zoom Patches Multiple Vulnerabilities That Let Attackers Escalate Privileges (Cyber Security News) Apple Patches Flaw That Allows Kernel Security Bypassing (GovInfo Security) ICS Patch Tuesday: Security Advisories Published by Schneider, Siemens, Phoenix Contact, CISA (SecurityWeek) Linux Rsync File Transfer Tool Vulnerability Let Attackers Execute Arbitrary Code (Cyber Security News) Allstate car insurer sued for tracking drivers without permission (Bleeping Computer) Biden Opens US Federal Sites for AI Data Center Growth (BankInfo Security) Instagram Ads Send This Nudify Site 90 Percent of Its Traffic (404 Media) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A draft cybersecurity executive order from the Biden administration seeks to bolster defenses. Researchers identify a “mass exploitation campaign” targeting Fortinet firewalls. A Chinese-language illicit online marketplace is growing at an alarming rate. CISA urges patching of a second BeyondTrust vulnerability. The UK proposes banning ransomware payments by public sector and critical infrastructure organizations. A critical flaw in Google’s authentication flow exposes millions to unauthorized access.OWASP releases its first Non-Human Identities (NHI) Top 10. A Microsoft lawsuit targets individuals accused of bypassing safety controls in its Azure OpenAI tools. Our guest is Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak, discussing digital executive protection. The feds remind the health care sector that AI must first do no harm. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest is Chris Pierson, Founder and CEO of BlackCloak, discussing digital executive protection. Selected Reading Second Biden cyber executive order directs agency action on fed security, AI, space (CyberScoop) Snoops exploited Fortinet firewalls with 'probable' 0-day (The Register) The ‘Largest Illicit Online Marketplace’ Ever Is Growing at an Alarming Rate, Report Says (WIRED) CISA Warns of Second BeyondTrust Vulnerability Exploited in Attacks (SecurityWeek) UK Considers Ban on Ransomware Payments by Public Bodies (Infosecurity Magazine) Google OAuth "Sign in with Google" Vulnerability Exposes Millions of Accounts to Data Theft (Cyber Security News) OWASP Publishes First-Ever Top 10 “Non-Human Identities (NHI) Security Risks (Cyber Security News) Microsoft Sues Harmful Fake AI Image Crime Ring (GovInfo Security) Feds Tell Health Sector to Watch for Bias in AI Decisions (BankInfo Security) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An MFA outage affects Microsoft 365 Office apps. The Biden administration introduces new export controls to block adversaries from accessing advanced AI chips. A Dutch university cancels lectures after a cyberattack. Three Russian nationals have been indicted for operating cryptocurrency mixers. Juniper Networks releases security updates for Junos OS. Spain’s largest telecommunications company confirms a data breach. The “Banshee” infostealer leverages a stolen Apple encryption algorithm. Researchers uncover a novel ransomware campaign targeting Amazon S3 buckets. A major data broker suffers a major data breach. Our guest Philippe Humeau, CEO and Founder of CrowdSec, shares the biggest issues currently facing cybersecurity and how open-source cybersecurity platforms combat them. The weirdness of AI. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest Philippe Humeau, CEO and Founder of CrowdSec, shares the biggest issues currently facing cybersecurity and how open-source cybersecurity platforms combat them. Selected Reading Microsoft MFA outage blocking access to Microsoft 365 apps (Bleeping Computer) White House Moves to Restrict AI Chip Exports (GovInfo Security) New Ransomware Group Uses AI to Develop Nefarious Tools (Infosecurity Magazine) Cyberattack forces Dutch university to cancel lectures (The Record) 3 Russians Indicted for Operating Blender.io and Sinbad.io Crypto Mixers (Hackread) Juniper Networks Fixes High-Severity Vulnerabilities in Junos OS (SecurityWeek) Aviatrix Controller RCE Vulnerability Exploited In The Wild (Cyber Security News) Hackers Exploiting YouTube to Spread Malware That Steals Browser Data (GB Hackers) Banshee 2.0 Malware Steals Apple's Encryption to Hide on Macs (Dark Reading) A breach of a data broker's trove of location data threatens the privacy of millions (TechCrunch) Abusing AWS Native Services: Ransomware Encrypting S3 Buckets with SSE-C (Halcyon) AI Mistakes Are Very Different Than Human Mistakes (IEEE Spectrum) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are joined by Kyla Cardona and Aurora Johnson from SpyCloud discussing their research "China’s Surveillance State Is Selling Citizen Data as a Side Hustle." Chinese technology companies, under CCP mandate, collect vast amounts of data on citizens, creating opportunities for corrupt insiders to steal and resell this information on dark markets. These stolen datasets, aggregated into "Social Work Libraries" (SGKs), mirror lower-tech versions of CCP internal security databases. Kyla and Aurora discuss how Chinese cybercriminals use these SGKs and their implications compared to Western, European, and Russian cybercrime ecosystems. With expertise in Chinese OSINT and cybersecurity policy, both researchers bring deep insights into the geopolitical and technical dynamics of China's digital landscape. The research can be found here: “Pantsless Data”: Decoding Chinese Cybercrime TTPs A Deep Dive Into the Intricate Chinese Cybercrime Ecosystem China’s Surveillance State Is Selling Citizen Data as a Side Hustle Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Please enjoy this encore episode, where we are joined by Senior Security Officer at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Michael Bishop Jr. as he shares his journey from Army infantryman deployed to Iraq to working in cybersecurity. After 12 years in the U.S. Army, Mike found himself in a rough spot. Looking for work and having some personal challenges, Mike's mentor, an Army officer he met while enlisted, recognized Mike's struggles and helped to nudge him toward cybersecurity. Mike credits his mentor with helping him transition to where he is today. Undergoing training for cybersecurity, he was tested in many areas and found the route he wanted to go. We thank Michael for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New details emerge about Chinese hackers breaching the US Treasury Department. The Supreme Court considers the TikTok ban. Chinese hackers exploit a zero-day flaw in Ivanti Connect Secure VPN. A new credit card skimmer malware targets WordPress checkout pages. The Banshee macOS info-stealer has been updated. A California health services organization reports a data breach. A Florida firm pays a $337,750 HIPAA settlement following a 2018 breach. Samsung patches Android devices. A Proton Mail outage hits users worldwide. A popular e-card site recovers from malware. CertByte segment host Chris Hare interviews our guest Casey Marks, ISC2's Chief Qualifications Officer, about the future of certifications. That’s a feature, not a hack. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest CertByte segment host Chris Hare interviews our guest Casey Marks, ISC2's Chief Qualifications Officer, about certifications and where they could be heading. You can check out their 2024 ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce study here. Selected Reading Chinese hackers breached US government office that assesses foreign investments for national security risks (CNN) Supreme Court considers whether to allow TikTok ban to take effect (NBC News) Ivanti VPN zero-day exploited by Chinese hackers (SC Media) New Skimmer Malware Hijacking WordPress Websites to Steal Credit Cards (Cyber Security News) Banshee macOS Malware Expands Targeting (SecurityWeek) BayMark Health Services Reports Data Breach, Exposing Patient Information (The Cyber Express) Florida Firm Fined $337K by Feds for Data Deleted in Hack (BankInfo Security) Samsung Patches Multiple Vulnerabilities That Let Attackers Execute Arbitrary Code (Cyber Security News) Proton Mail still down as Proton recovers from worldwide outage (Bleeping Computer) GroupGreeting e-card site attacked in “zqxq” campaign (Malwarebytes) Microsoft DRM Hacking Raises Questions on Vulnerability Disclosures (SecurityWeek) Facebook awards researcher $100,000 for finding bug that granted internal access (RocketNews) Developers sent into security panic by 'useful feature' (The Register) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Biden administration is finalizing an executive order to bolster U.S. cybersecurity. Ivanti releases emergency updates to address a critical zero-day vulnerability. A critical vulnerability is discovered in Kerio Control firewall software. Palo Alto Networks patches multiple vulnerabilities in its retired migration tool. Fake exploits for Microsoft vulnerabilities lure security researchers. A medical billing company data breach affects over 360,000. A cyberattack disrupts the city of Winston-Salem. CrowdStrike identifies a phishing campaign exploiting its recruitment branding. Our guest is Danny Allen, CTO from Snyk, sharing how a balanced approach between AI and human oversight can strengthen cybersecurity. The worst of the worst from CES. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Our guest is Danny Allen, CTO from Snyk, sharing how a balanced approach between AI and human oversight can strengthen cybersecurity. Learn more in Snyk’s AI Readiness Report about how some companies are still hesitant to adopt AI, despite its clear benefits in addressing human error and keeping up with fast-evolving technology. Selected Reading White House Rushes to Finish Cyber Order After China Hacks (Bloomberg) Zero-Day Patch Alert: Ivanti Connect Secure Under Attack (GovInfo Security) GFI KerioControl Firewall Vulnerability Exploited in the Wild (SecurityWeek) Palo Alto Networks Patches High-Severity Vulnerability in Retired Migration Tool (SecurityWeek) Security pros baited by fake Windows LDAP exploits (The Register) Major US medical billing firm breached, 360K+ customers' healthcare data leaked (Cybernews) Recruitment Phishing Scam Imitates CrowdStrike Hiring Process (CrowdStrike) Some Winston-Salem city services knocked offline by cyberattack (The Record) Excelsior Orthopaedics Data Breach Impacts 357,000 People (SecurityWeek) The 'Worst in Show' CES Products Put Your Data at Risk and Cause Waste, Privacy Advocates Say (SecurityWeek) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Researchers ID a new Mirai-based botnet. Android devices get their first round of updates for the new year. Criminals exploit legitimate Apple and Google services in sophisticated voice phishing attacks. Japan attributes over 200 cyberattacks to the Chinese hacking group MirrorFace. A PayPal phishing scam exploits legitimate platform functionality. SonicWall addresses critical vulnerabilities in its SonicOS software. CISA warns of active exploitation of vulnerabilities in Mitel MiCollab. A new government backed labelling program hopes to help consumers choose more secure devices. On today’s CertByte segment, Chris Hare and Steven Burnley unpack a question from N2K’s ISC2® Certified in Cyber Security (CC) Practice Test. Streaming license plate readers - no password required. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CertByte Segment Welcome to CertByte! On this bi-weekly segment hosted by Chris Hare, a content developer and project management specialist at N2K. In each segment, Chris is joined by an N2K Content Developer to help illustrate the learning. This week, Chris is joined by Steven Burnley to break down a question targeting the CC - Certified in Cyber Security certification by ISC2®. Today’s question comes from N2K’s ISC2® Certified in Cyber Security (CC) Practice Test. The CC(SM) - Certified in Cyber Security is an entry-level, ANAB accredited exam geared towards anyone who wants to prove their foundational skills, knowledge, and abilities. To learn more about this and other related topics under this objective, please refer to the following resource: ISC2 (n.d.). https://www.isc2.org/landing/cc-etextbook Have a question that you’d like to see covered? Email us at [email protected]. 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. 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.isc2.org/certifications/cc Selected Reading New Mirai Botnet Exploits Zero-Days in Routers and Smart Devices (Infosecurity Magazine) First Android Update of 2025 Patches Critical Code Execution Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) A Day in the Life of a Prolific Voice Phishing Crew (Krebs on Security) Japan links Chinese hacker MirrorFace to dozens of cyberattacks targeting security and tech data (AP News) Casio says hackers stole personal data of 8,500 people during October ransomware attack (TechCrunch) New PayPal Phishing Scam Exploits MS365 Tools and Genuine-Looking Emails (Hackread) Multiple Sonicwall VPN Vulnerabilities Let Attackers Bypass Authentication (Cyber Security News) CISA Warns of Mitel MiCollab Vulnerabilities Exploited in Attacks (SecurityWeek) New Labels Will Help People Pick Devices Less at Risk of Hacking (SecurityWeek) Researcher Turns Insecure License Plate Cameras Into Open Source Surveillance Tool (404 Media) Share your feedback. 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. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here’s our media kit. Contact us at [email protected] to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices