A patchwork of problems.

Patch Tuesday. Maersk investigates a legacy system breach. A chip-smuggling probe stalls after Nvidia reaches out to Commerce. A US Army officer is arrested in the UK for alleged Russian espionage. Kazakhstan-linked hackers deploy AI agents across Central Asia. Opsec blunders unmask an alleged Qilin ransomware boss. Researchers hijack connected cars via Android apps. Our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop to discuss what Democratic control of Congress means for cybersecurity. A New Jersey township holds the news until after the votes.  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 Tim Starks from CyberScoop is back today to discuss what Democratic control of Congress means for cybersecurity. You can check out Tim’s coverage here.  Selected Reading Exploited Outlook Zero-Day Among 1,094 Flaws Patched by Microsoft (SecurityWeek) Asus, Zoom Release Security Patches  (SecurityWeek) Citrix, Ivanti Patch Critical and High-Severity Vulnerabilities  (SecurityWeek) Fortinet Patches Nearly 100 Vulnerabilities  (SecurityWeek) Shipping giant Maersk probes 'IT security incident,' data theft (The Register) U.S. Commerce Dept. Inquiry Into Megaspeed Was Halted After Nvidia Intervention (The New York Times) Nvidia Intervened in US Probe of Megaspeed Chip Smuggling (Bloomberg) U.S. Army officer arrested in U.K. on suspicion of trying to steal secrets for Russia (The Washington Post) Kazakhstan-linked hackers used AI agent to spy on Central Asian governments (The Record) Who Runs the Ransomware Group Qilin? (Krebs on Security) Researchers pwn automakers’ Android apps to remotely unlock cars, honk horns (The Register) The $26 Million Cyber Heist Rocking a Small New Jersey Town (Wall Street Journal) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry’s most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. 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

In this episode, Dave Bittner joins Maria Varmazis to explore how AI in cybersecurity has changed over the past decade, from opaque, marketed machine-learning features to widely accessible generative AI. They examine defensive automation, attacker enablement, workforce consequences, and why human oversight remains essential, before looking ahead and recalling the early chatbot ELIZA. Join Maria and Dave as they discuss: Cybersecurity AI development from anomaly detection, Watson, and the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge to today’s generative AI and autonomous agents. How AI has changed phishing, deepfakes, vulnerability discovery, sensitive-data exposure, and the speed of attacker operations. TheAutomation’s impact on security teams, including entry-level roles and the balance between machine-speed analysis and human judgment. Keeping humans in the loop while remaining optimistic that AI could ultimately give defenders an advantage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Palantir’s CISO gets the nod for CISA. Tehran takes the rap for sabotaging European grocery freezers. Russia’s Turla turns victim Exchange servers into passive spy hubs. Barracuda battles actively chained gateway zero-days. Vanderbilt grapples with a BYOD ransomware outbreak. CISA rushes patches for critical IBM and SignalWire flaws, while revamping its national incident portal. ENISA tracks the EU’s cyber maturity gap. Cryptographers debate whether AI will crack modern encryption. Our guest is Duncan Greatwood, CEO at Xage Security, discussing the cybersecurity problem you can’t patch away. Chinese AI labs set up shop in Silicon Valley's backyard. 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 On today’s Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Duncan Greatwood, CEO at Xage Security, discussing the cybersecurity problem you can’t patch away. If you enjoyed this conversation be sure to check out the full interview here. Selected Reading White House Nominates Palantir Security Chief Michael LoSapio to Lead CISA (HSToday) CISA updates Cyber Incident Reporting form to improve threat intelligence analysis, national cyber defense (Industrial Cyber) ENISA reveals the State of Cybersecurity in the Union (ENISA) France, U.S. Suspect Iran Was Behind Cyberattack on European Fridges (Wall Street Journal) Quantum Computers Are Poised to Crack Encryption. AI Could Beat Them to It. (Wall Street Journal) Hackers now exploit critical Barracuda ESG flaws to gain root access (Bleeping Computer) Exchange for breakfast: Turla’s Cereal tricks are not for kids (ESET) Vanderbilt University hit in BYOD ransomware attack, data theft claimed (Bleeping Computer) IBM Aspera Faspex, SignalWire FreeSwitch Vulnerabilities Exploited in Attacks (SecurityWeek) Chinese AI labs hire Silicon Valley engineers to rival OpenAI, Anthropic (Rest of World) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry’s most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. 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 classified memo ties Nvidia’s chief executive to Chinese espionage. AI coding agents crack under peer pressure, coughing up private keys. Big breaches hit seven million Japanese shoppers and three million students here in the States, while a French bank takes a multi-million-dollar hit through a vendor compromise. Adversaries weaponize a fresh OpenSSH bypass in the wild, pro-Russian hacktivists put dark web bounties on senior European officials, and Google drafts digital IDs to solve the passkey recovery puzzle. Monday business briefing. Our guest is Chris Grove, Director of Cybersecurity Strategy at Nozomi Networks, discussing the critical infrastructure implications of the European refrigeration attacks. Beijing goes all-in on domestic silicon.  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 are joined by Chris Grove, Director of Cybersecurity Strategy at Nozomi Networks, to discuss the critical infrastructure implications of the European refrigeration attack part 2. Selected Reading Rubio Warned Officials About Nvidia Chief’s Entanglement With Chinese Spy (The New York Times) Agents reveal secrets when offered to team up with each other (The Register) Japanese homeware giant pulls online store after cloud breach puts 7.7M records at risk (The Register) Hackers Exploiting ‘SSHole’ Authentication Bypass in OpenSSH (SecurityWeek) Crédit Mutuel Arkéa Targeted in Reported $133m Heist (Infosecurity Magazine) Over 3 Million People Hit by Frontline Education Data Breach (SecurityWeek) Google proposes using digital credentials for secure account recovery (Biometric Update) Pro-Russian hackers target European officials, offer rewards for personal information (The Record) CrowdStrike acquires Fiddler AI and Dreadnode. (N2K Pro Business Briefing) Huawei says it’s made a 100 percent Chinese PC (The Register) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show.  Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry’s most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. 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

Though many look to ensure that they meet mission readiness requirements, overreliance on these practices can allow hidden risks to go unchecked. Host Maria Varmazis sits down with Vito Askins, founder of Green Until Integration Consulting, to discuss risk accumulation and operational readiness. The two look at how these integration risk can often go overlooking during systems integration monitoring efforts. Key Sources: ⁠Everything Was Green Until Integration.⁠ Like what you heard? Be sure to subscribe to our free Signals and Space Briefing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, our Sunday newsletter covering the intersection of cybersecurity and space. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thecyberwire.com/newsletters/signals-and-space⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Is there a topic or person you’d like to hear on our show? You can send your questions and feedback to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also fill our our audience survey: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NJYCN2P ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing is a production of N2K CyberWire. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠N2K⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ is your nexus for discovery and connection for people, technology, and ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we are joined by Matt Poto, Associate Triage Analyst at Huntress, discussing their work on "Grand Theft Auto VI Hype Leads to Malware." Threat actors are exploiting the hype surrounding the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA6) by distributing fake leaked game downloads designed to infect unsuspecting gamers. Huntress identified malicious ISOs promoted through search engine poisoning, gaming forums, torrent sites, and social media that contain multiple types of malware, including remote access trojans (RATs), an infostealer, and ransomware. The malware can steal credentials and personal information, give attackers control of compromised systems, and encrypt or destroy files, with evidence suggesting the campaign may be targeting Russian-speaking gamers. The research and executive brief can be found here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Grand Theft Auto VI Hype Leads to Malware Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal agencies warn of cyberattacks on industrial refrigeration systems. Healthcare cybersecurity could get a post-midterm boost. Chainalysis exposes customer credentials, and DigiCert discloses a breach. OpenAI's latest model learns to respect boundaries. D-Link warns of unpatched switch vulnerabilities. The EU accuses TikTok of leading users down harmful rabbit holes, while tech giants challenge California's child safety law. Federal prosecutors charge three suspects in a $129 million AI-powered impersonation scheme. Our guest is Greg Notch, CTO of Expel, sharing thoughts on how pacing AI won't stop the bad actors. Meta's AI feeding frenzy gets put on a diet.  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 are joined by Greg Notch, CTO of Expel, sharing thoughts on how pacing AI won't stop the bad actors. Selected Reading US Government Partners Urge Hardening Industrial Refrigeration and Cold Chain Monitoring Systems (IC3) How Democrats' Win Could Reshape Healthcare Cyber Policy (GovInfo Security) Chainalysis says breach exposed credentials for all customers (Bleeping Computer) DigiCert Data Breach Impacts Business Customer Information (SecurityWeek) OpenAI Says New GPT-6 Cyber Model Hunts Flaws Without Crossing the Line (SecurityWeek) D-Link warns of multiple zero-days in DGS-3130 Series switches (Bleeping Computer) EU accuses TikTok of trapping users in harmful ‘rabbit holes’ (The Record) Social media giants sue California to overturn law shielding kids 15 and under from compulsive use (The Record) 3 Charged in Scheme to Use AI to Impersonate CEOs and Attorneys to Steal $129 Million  (SecurityWeek) Everyone Everywhere Hated Meta’s New AI Training Terms. Now, They’re On Pause (404 Media) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show.  Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry’s most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. 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

Claude Dispatch opens the door to hijacking. Residential proxies turn up on White House networks. Asian airlines suffer a wave of data breaches. Cisco and WatchGuard roll out critical patches. GhostMap traps Android phones in endless reboot loops. Hackers exploit a Zyxel zero-day to compromise nearly a thousand devices. Ukraine's scam call center crackdown ensnares senior security officials. AI-powered scammers prey on owners of missing pets. A former U.S. government IT worker admits to spying for Ethiopia. Our guest is Rebecca Krauthamer, CEO and co-founder of QuSecure, with insights on the NIST PQC roadmap. Voters pull the plug on data centers. 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 are joined by Rebecca Krauthamer, CEO and co-founder of QuSecure, sharing insights on the NIST PQC roadmap. Selected Reading Want to Rent an Internet Address at the White House? (Krebs On Security)  Anthropic won't fix a Claude Dispatch flaw that could let attackers execute remote commands across corporate boundaries (The Register) More Asian airlines announce data breaches after attack on Spanish IT provider Amadeus (The Record) Cisco, WatchGuard Release Patches; SonicWall Won’t Fix GMS Flaws (SecurityWeek) GhostMap: The Android flaw that crashes your phone before you open the app (Bitdefender) Zyxel Switch Hacks Blamed on Patched Flaw Actually Exploited a Zero-Day (SecurityWeek) Ukraine fires two senior security officials amid corruption probe into scam call centers (The Record) Scammers using AI-generated images of missing pets to demand rewards (BBC News) US gov IT worker pleads guilty to sending Top Secret files to Ethiopia (The Register) The Results Are In: Voters Hate Data Centers (WIRED) Midterm Data Center Backlash Puts AI Expansion Plans at Risk (BankInfo Security) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our ⁠brief listener survey⁠. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry’s most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at ⁠sponsor.thecyberwire.com⁠. 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

Election Day brings typical cyber threats, technical glitches, and misinformation. Hackers tamper with European refrigeration systems. OpenAI faces questions over years of security warnings. Nvidia reportedly restricts business with Chinese data center customers. Binance details a six-billion-dollar heist attributed to North Korea. Barracuda patches critical security flaws. Gartner predicts an engineering-heavy future for security operations. Canadians face charges for hacking U.S. universities. Our guest is Heather Ceylan, CISO at Box, discussing Enterprise AI in 2026: what security leaders learned — and what comes next. AI takes the pitch, misses the point.  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 On today’s Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Heather Ceylan, CISO at Box, discussing Enterprise AI in 2026: what security leaders learned — and what comes next. If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out the full conversation here. Selected Reading Ballot scanner malfunctions, flurry of federal legal actions test election officials on final day of voting (CyberScoop) Voters deliver "AI earthquake," rebuking tech and billionaires (Axios) Election office reports failed attempts to hack its online services (Nextgov) Hackers Hijacked French Blood Plasma Freezers, Changing Temperature Settings From −30°C to 110°C (Cyber Security News) Hackers Alter Refrigeration Settings, Forcing European Stores to Discard Food (Hackread) OpenAI employees warned about operational security lapses for years, sources say (Reuters) Nvidia tells data center operators to limit business from Chinese customers with new global restrictions, report claims — allegedly restricted to 49% of the total, ensuring 51% are non-Chinese outfits (Tom's Hardware) Qualcomm signs major 5G infrastructure deal with SpaceX for Starlink Mobile network (Reuters) Rigged Coding Assignment, Abused AI Tool Opened Path to $6 Billion Binance Heist (SecurityWeek) North Korea Launches Missiles Toward the Sea as Pyongyang Protests Against US Claims on Binance Hack (SecurityWeek) Barracuda warns of critical flaws allowing root access to devices (Bleeping Computer) Gartner Predicts SOCs Will Have 50% More Engineers Than Analysts by 2028 (Bleeping Computer) US charges two Canadians accused of hacking US universities (Bleeping Computer) I Put a Bunch of AI Agents in Charge of a Fantasy Soccer Team. They’re Not Better Than Humans—Yet (WIRED) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry’s most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. 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 scales back its Election Day role. Google takes down a massive Android TV botnet. The UK warns of AI-powered attacks on critical infrastructure. German lawmakers face potential spyware threats. An AI-enabled infostealer ranks its victims. Ivanti patches more exploited zero-days. NATO launches cyber war games in Estonia. A Harvard breach exposes data linked to 850,000 email addresses. Our guest is Alex Weinert, Chief Product Officer at Semperis, on protecting the identity fabric in the AI era. Democracy is calling. And texting. 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, we are joined by Alex Weinert, Chief Product Officer at Semperis, talking about protecting the identity fabric in the AI era. If you enjoyed this conversation be sure to check out the full interview here. Selected Reading CISA Retreats From Election Security Ahead of Midterms (The New York Times) Tech Firms Dismantle Botnet That Turned 1.3M TV Boxes Into Proxies (Krebs On Security) NCSC Chief Warns of Imminent AI Ransomware Threat to UK Critical Infrastructure (Infosecurity Magazine) Germany says lawmakers' iPhones may have been hacked with spyware (TechCrunch) Spooky New Infostealer Malware Uses AI to ‘Autodox’ Victims (WIRED) Ivanti patches two more Connect Secure zero-days chained in attacks (Bleeping Computer) NATO's Crossed Swords Exercise Brings AI Agents Into Cyber Operations Training (SecurityWeek) Harvard University data breach exposed info of 851,000 accounts (Bleeping Computer) My Journey to the Center of America’s Political Spam Text Hell (WIRED) Share your feedback. What do you think about CyberWire Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. Want to hear your company in the show? N2K CyberWire helps you reach the industry’s most influential leaders and operators, while building visibility, authority, and connectivity across the cybersecurity community. Learn more at sponsor.thecyberwire.com. 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