WhatsAppened to Samsung?

FBI botnet disruption leaves cybercriminals scrambling to pick up the pieces. Notorious ransomware gangs announce their retirement, but don’t hold your breath. Hacktivists leak data tied to China’s Great Firewall. A new report says DHS mishandled a key program designed to retain cyber talent at CISA. GPUGate malware cleverly evades analysis. WhiteCobra targets developers with malicious extensions. North Korea’s Kimsuky group uses AI to generate fake South Korean military IDs. My guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop, discussing offensive cyber operations. A cyberattack leaves students hung out to dry. 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 once again by Tim Starks from CyberScoop discussing offensive cyber operations. You can read Tim’s article Google previews cyber ‘disruption unit’ as U.S. government, industry weigh going heavier on offense for more background. Selected Reading The FBI Destroyed an Internet Weapon, but Criminals Picked Up the Pieces (Wall Street Journal) 15 ransomware gangs ‘go dark’ to enjoy 'golden parachutes' (The Register) 600 GB of Alleged Great Firewall of China Data Published in Largest Leak Yet (HackRead) China Enforces 1-Hour Cybersecurity Incident Reporting (The Cyber Express) ​​DHS watchdog finds mismanagement in critical cyber talent program (FedScoop) GPUGate Malware: Malicious GitHub Desktop Implants Use Hardware-Specific Decryption, Abuse Google Ads to Target Western Europe (Arctic Wolf) 'WhiteCobra' floods VSCode market with crypto-stealing extensions (Bleeping Computer) AI-Forged Military IDs Used in North Korean Phishing Attack (Infosecurity Magazine) Mitsubishi to acquire Nozomi Networks for nearly $1 billion. (N2K CyberWire Business Briefing)  Dutch students denied access to jailbroken laundry machines (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? 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. Advisory CISO at Cisco, Helen Patton, shares that a combination of dumb luck, hard work and serendipity that got her to where she is today. Growing up in the country in Australia, Helen notes that computers were not really a thing. She happened into technology after moving to the US, as she was the only person in her office under 40. Of course she would be comfortable with computers and able to handle a database conversion, right? That launched her into a career that spanned supporting small nonprofits, working at one of the biggest banks on Wall Street while leading a global team, being the CISO of a major university, and now Advisory CISO at Cisco. Helen recently wrote a book, "Navigating the Cybersecurity Career Path," to help others know when it's time to move on from one role to another role as part of desire to give back to the community. We thank Helen for sharing her story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are joined by Amanda Rousseau, Principal AI Security Researcher from Straiker, discussing their work on "The Silent Exfiltration: Zero‑Click Agentic AI Hack That Can Leak Your Google Drive with One Email." Straiker’s research found that enterprise AI agents can be silently manipulated to leak sensitive data, even without user clicks or alerts. By chaining small gaps across tools like Gmail, Google Drive, and calendars, attackers achieved zero-click exfiltration, system mapping, and even policy rewrites. The findings highlight that excessive agent autonomy creates a new attack surface, requiring least-privilege design, runtime guardrails, and continuous red-teaming to stay secure. The research can be found here: The Silent Exfiltration: Zero‑Click Agentic AI Hack That Can Leak Your Google Drive with One Email Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Samsung patches a critical Android zero-day vulnerability. Microsoft resolves a global Exchange Online outage. CISA reaffirms its commitment to the CVE program. California passes a bill requiring web browsers to let users automatically send opt-out signals. Apple issues spyware attack warnings. The FTC opens an investigation into AI chatbots on how they protect children and teens. A hacker convicted of attempting to extort more than 20,000 psychotherapy patients is free on appeal. Our guest is Dave Lewis, Global Advisory CISO at 1Password, discussing how security leaders can protect M&A deal value and integrity. Schools face insider threats from students. 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 Dave Lewis, Global Advisory CISO at 1Password, discussing how security leaders can protect deal value and integrity.Selected Reading Samsung patches actively exploited zero-day reported by WhatsApp (Bleeping Computer) Microsoft fixes Exchange Online outage affecting users worldwide (Bleeping Computer) CISA looks to partners to shore up the future of the CVE Program (Help Net Security) California legislature passes bill forcing web browsers to let consumers automatically opt out of data sharing (The Record) Apple warns customers targeted in recent spyware attacks (Bleeping Computer) FTC to AI Companies: Tell Us How You Protect Teens and Kids Who Use AI Companions (CNET) Defence, Space and Cybersecurity. Why the General Assembly in Frascati matters (Decode39) DSEI Takeaways: Space and Cyber and the Invisible Front Line (Via Satellite)  Hacker convicted of extorting 20,000 psychotherapy victims walks free during appeal (The Record) Children hacking their own schools for 'fun', watchdog warns (BBC) - kicker 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? 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 House passes a defense policy bill that includes new provisions on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Senator Wyden accuses Microsoft of “gross cybersecurity negligence” after a 2024 ransomware attack crippled healthcare giant Ascension. The White House shelves plans to split U.S. Cyber Command and the NSA. The Pentagon finalizes its long-awaited Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC 2.0) rule. Akira ransomware group targets SonicWall devices. Officials warn solar-powered highway infrastructure should be checked for hidden radios. The Atlantic Council maps the global spyware market. Researchers uncover serious flaws in Apple’s AirPlay. A European DDoS mitigation provider thwarts a record-breaking attack. My Caveat cohosts Ethan Cook and Ben Yelin unpack the cyber elements of the Big Beautiful Bill. Who fixes the vibe code?  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 have Ethan Cook joining Caveat hosts Dave Bittner and Ben Yelin for this month’s Policy Deep Dive. Together, they unpack HR1, the “Big Beautiful Bill”, and how its investments in technology, supply chain security, and defensive resiliency reflect the Trump administration’s push for long-term technological dominance. If you want to hear the full conversation, head over to Caveat. Selected Reading House moves ahead with defense bill that includes AI, cyber provisions (The Record) FTC should investigate Microsoft after Ascension ransomware attack, senator says (The Record) Cyber Command, NSA to remain under single leader as officials shelve plan to end 'dual hat' (The Record) Pentagon Releases Long-Awaited Contractor Cybersecurity Rule (GovInfo Security) Akira Ransomware Group Utilizing SonicWall Devices for Initial Access (Rapid7) Exclusive: US warns hidden radios may be embedded in solar-powered highway infrastructure (Reuters) Mythical Beasts: Diving into the depths of the global spyware market (Atlantic Council) Remote CarPlay Hack Puts Drivers at Risk of Distraction and Surveillance (SecurityWeek) DDoS defender targeted in 1.5 Bpps denial-of-service attack (Bleeping Computer) The Software Engineers Paid to Fix Vibe Coded Messes (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? 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

Patch Tuesday. A data leak sheds light on North Korean APT Kimsuky. Apple introduces Memory Integrity Enforcement. Ransomware payments have dropped sharply in the education sector in 2025. A top NCS official warns ICS security lags behind, and a senator calls U.S. cybersecurity a “hellscape”. A Ukrainian national faces federal charges and an $11 million bounty for allegedly running multiple ransomware operations. Our guest is Jake Braun sharing the latest on Project Franklin. WhoFi makes WiFi a new spy. 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 Jake Braun, longtime DEF CON organizer, former White House official, and lead on DEF CON Franklin, sharing the latest on Project Franklin. Selected Reading Two Zero-Days Among Patch Tuesday CVEs This Month (Infosecurity Magazine) Fortinet, Ivanti, Nvidia Release Security Updates (SecurityWeek) ICS Patch Tuesday: Rockwell Automation Leads With 8 Security Advisories (SecurityWeek) SAP 'wins' Patch Tuesday with worse flaws than Microsoft  (The Register) Adobe Patches Critical ColdFusion and Commerce Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) Data leak sheds light on Kimsuky operations (SC Media) Apple Unveils iPhone Memory Protections to Combat Sophisticated Attacks (SecurityWeek) Learn about ChillyHell, a modular Mac backdoor (jamf) Ransomware Payments Plummet in Education Amid Enhanced Resiliency (Infosecurity Magazine) Critical infrastructure security tech needs to be as good as our smartphones, top NSC cyber official says (CyberScoop) Sen. King: Cyber domain is a ‘hellscape’ that will be made worse by cuts (The Record) US indicts alleged ransomware boss tied to $18B in damages (The Register)Jeremy Clarkson's pub has been 'swindled' out of £27,000 by hackers (Manchester Evening News) 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? 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 open source community heads off a major npm supply chain attack. The Treasury Department sanctions cyber scam centers in Myanmar and Cambodia. Scammers abuse iCloud Calendar invites to send callback phishing emails. Researchers discover a new malware variant exploiting exposed Docker APIs. Phishing attacks abuse the Axios user agent and Microsoft’s Direct Send feature. Plex warns users of a data breach.  Researchers flag a surge in scans targeting Cisco ASA devices. CISA delays finalizing its incident reporting rule. The GAO says federal cyber workforce figures are incomplete and unreliable. Our guest is Kevin Magee, Global Director of Cybersecurity Startups at Microsoft Security, discussing cybersecurity education going back to school. AI earns its own Darwin awards.  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 Kevin Magee, Global Director of Cybersecurity Startups at Microsoft Security discussing cybersecurity education going back to school. Selected Reading Hackers hijack npm packages with 2 billion weekly downloads in supply chain attack (Bleeping Computer) Open Source Community Thwarts Massive npm Supply Chain Attack (Infosecurity Magazine) US sanctions companies behind cyber scam centers in Cambodia, Myanmar (The Record) New Apple Warning, This iCloud Calendar Invite Is Actually An Attack (Forbes) New Docker Malware Strain Spotted Blocking Rivals on Exposed APIs (HackRead) Axios User Agent Helps Automate Phishing on “Unprecedented Scale” (Infosecurity Magazine) Plex Urges Password Resets Following Data Breach (SecurityWeek) Surge in networks scans targeting Cisco ASA devices raise concerns (Bleeping Computer) CISA pushes final cyber incident reporting rule to May 2026 (CyberScoop) US government lacks clarity into its infosec workforce (The Register) AI Darwin Awards launch to celebrate spectacularly bad deployments (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? 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 EU fines Google $3.5 billion over adtech abuses. Cloudflare blocks record-breaking Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. The Salesforce-Salesloft breach began months earlier with GitHub access. Researchers say the new TAG-150 cybercriminal group has been active since March. Hackers use stolen secrets to leak more than 6,700 Nx private repositories. Subsea cable outages disrupt internet connectivity across India, Pakistan, and parts of the UAE. Monday Business Breakdown. On our Industry Voices segment Todd Moore, Global Vice President, Data Security at Thales, unpacks the perils of insider risk. Hackers claim Burger King’s security flaws are a real whopper. 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 On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by ⁠Todd Moore⁠, Global Vice President, Data Security at ⁠Thales⁠, discussing the biggest threat to your data has a badge, a password, and years of goodwill. Check out Todd's full conversation here. You can learn more about monitoring unstructured data at scale and enabling security teams to leverage AI & ML technologies from Thales. Selected Reading EU fines Google $3.5 billion for anti-competitive ad practices (Bleeping Computer) Cloudflare blocks massive 11.5 Tbps DDoS attack (SDxCentral) Salesloft GitHub Account Compromised Months Before Salesforce Attack (SecurityWeek) From CastleLoader to CastleRAT: TAG-150 Advances Operations with Multi-Tiered Infrastructure (Recorded Future) Over 6,700 Private Repositories Made Public in Nx Supply Chain Attack (SecurityWeek) Red Sea cable cuts disrupt internet across Asia and the Middle East (Reuters) ⁠N2K Pro Business Briefing update⁠ (N2K Networks) Burger King hacked, attackers 'impressed by the commitment to terrible security practices' — systems described as 'solid as a paper Whopper wrapper in the rain,’ other RBI brands like Tim Hortons and Popeyes also vulnerable (Tom’s Hardware) 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? 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. COO and Co-Founder of Query. AI, Andrew Maloney, shares how the building blocks he learned in the military helped him get where he is today. Coming from a blue collar family with a minimal knowledge of computers, Andrew went into computer operations in the Air Force. While deployed to Oman just after the start of the Iraq War, Andrew said he got his break into security. That's where he learned the components that fit together in order to effectively secure an environment. Andrew's words of wisdom: You've got to keep pushing and you've got to believe in yourself and never sell yourself short. We thank Andrew for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are joined by Selena Larson, co-host of Only Malware in the Building and Staff Threat Researcher and Lead Intelligence Analysis and Strategy at Proofpoint, sharing their work on "Microsoft OAuth App Impersonation Campaign Leads to MFA Phishing." Proofpoint researchers have identified campaigns where threat actors use fake Microsoft OAuth apps to impersonate services like Adobe, DocuSign, and SharePoint, stealing credentials and bypassing MFA via attacker-in-the-middle phishing kits, mainly Tycoon. These attacks redirect users to fake Microsoft login pages to capture credentials, 2FA tokens, and session cookies, targeting nearly 3,000 Microsoft 365 accounts across 900 environments in 2025. Microsoft’s upcoming security changes and strengthened email, cloud, and web defenses, along with user education, are recommended to reduce these risks. The research can be found here: ⁠Microsoft OAuth App Impersonation Campaign Leads to MFA Phishing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices