Attack of the automated ops. [Research Saturday]

The FCC plans to roll back cybersecurity mandates that followed Salt Typhoon. The alleged cybercriminal MrICQ has been extradited to the U.S. Ransomware negotiators are accused of conducting ransomware attacks. Ernst & Young accidentally exposed a 4-terabyte SQL Server backup. A hacker claims responsibility for last week’s University of Pennsylvania breach. The UK chronicles cyberattacks on Britain’s drinking water suppliers. Monday business brief. Our guest is Caleb Tolin, host of Rubrik's Data Security Decoded podcast. Hackers massage the truth.  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 Caleb Tolin, host of Rubrik's Data Security Decoded podcast, as he is introducing himself and his show joining the N2K CyberWire network. You can catch new episodes of Data Security Decoded the first and third Tuesdays of each month on your favorite podcast app. Selected Reading FCC plans vote to remove cyber regulations installed after theft of Trump info from telecoms (The Record) Alleged Jabber Zeus Coder ‘MrICQ’ in U.S. Custody (Krebs on Security) Chicago firm that resolves ransomware attacks had rogue workers carrying out their own hacks, FBI says (Chicago Sun Times) Ernst & Young cloud misconfiguration leaks 4TB SQL Server backup on Microsoft Azure (Beyond Machines) Penn hacker claims to have stolen 1.2 million donor records in data breach (Bleeping Computer) Hackers are attacking Britain’s drinking water suppliers (The Record) JumpCloud acquires Breez. Chainguard secures $280 million in growth financing. Sublime Security closes $150 million Series C round. (N2K Pro) Hackers steal data, extort $350,000 from massage parlor clients (Korea JoongAng Daily) 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

Risk Management and Privacy Knowledge Leader at A-LIGN, Arti Lalwani shares her story from finance to risk management and how she made the transition. Arti started her career in finance after graduating with a finance degree. Quickly learning the field was not for her, she decided to dip her toes into the tech world. She credits her mentors for helping her and said "they were able to push me up and get me there faster than I even thought." Arti says that she would like to be a part, and hopes to be apart, of the change where women are supporting women in the field. We thank Arti for sharing her story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we are joined by Dario Pasquini, Principal Researcher at RSAC, sharing the team's work on WhenAIOpsBecome “AI Oops”: Subverting LLM-driven IT Operations via Telemetry Manipulation. A first-of-its-kind security analysis showing that LLM-driven AIOps agents can be tricked by manipulated telemetry, turning automation itself into a new attack vector. The researchers introduce AIOpsDoom, an automated reconnaissance + fuzzing + LLM-driven telemetry-injection attack that performs “adversarial reward-hacking” to coerce agents into harmful remediations—even without prior knowledge of the target and even against some prompt-defense tools. They also present AIOpsShield, a telemetry-sanitization defense that reliably blocks these attacks without harming normal agent performance, underscoring the urgent need for security-aware AIOps design. The research can be found here: ⁠When AIOps Become “AI Oops”: Subverting LLM-driven IT Operations via Telemetry Manipulation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

CISA says cooperation between federal agencies and the private sector remains steady. Long-standing Linux kernel vulnerability in active ransomware campaigns confirmed. A Chinese-linked group targets diplomatic organizations in Hungary, Belgium, and other European nations. A government contractor breach exposes data of over 10 million Americans. Luxury fashion brands fall victim to impersonation scams. Phishing shifts from email to LinkedIn. Advocacy groups urge the FTC to block Meta from using chatbot interactions to target ads. A man pleads guilty to selling zero-days to the Russians. Emily Austin, Principal Security Researcher at Censys, discusses why nation state attackers continue targeting critical infrastructure. When M&S went offline, shoppers hit ‘Next’. 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 Emily Austin, Principal Security Researcher at Censys, as she discusses why nation state attackers continue targeting critical infrastructure. Selected Reading Cyber info sharing ‘holding steady’ despite lapse in CISA 2015, official says (The Record) CISA: High-severity Linux flaw now exploited by ransomware gangs (Bleeping Computer) CISA and NSA share tips on securing Microsoft Exchange servers (Bleeping Computer) UNC6384 Weaponizes ZDI-CAN-25373 Vulnerability to Deploy PlugX Against Hungarian and Belgian Diplomatic Entities (Arctic Wolf) More than 10 million impacted by breach of government contractor Conduent (The Record) Luxury Fashion Brands Face New Wave of Threats in Lead-up to 2025 Holiday Shopping Season (BforeAI) LinkedIn phishing targets finance execs with fake board invites (Bleeping Computer) Coalition calls on FTC to block Meta from using chatbot interactions to target ads, personalize content (The Record) Ex-L3Harris exec pleads guilty to selling zero-day exploits to Russian broker (CyberScoop) Business rival credits cyberattack on M&S for boosting profits (The Record) 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

Happy Halloween from the team at N2K Networks! We hope you share in our Halloween tradition of listening to the Malware Mash. You can check out our video ⁠here⁠. Lyrics I was coding in the lab late one night when my eyes beheld an eerie sight  for my malware threat score began to rise  and suddenly to my surprise... It did the Mash  It did the Malware Mash  The Malware Mash  It was a botnet smash  It did the Mash  It caught on 'cause of Flash  The Malware Mash  It did the Malware Mash From the Stuxnet worm squirming toward the near east  to the dark web souqs where the script kiddies feast  the APTs left their humble abodes  to get installed from rootkit payloads.  They did the Mash  They did the Malware Mash  The Malware Mash  It was an adware smash  They did the Mash  It caught on 'cause of Flash  The Malware Mash  They did the Malware Mash The botnets were having fun  The DDoS had just begun  The viruses hit the darknet,  with ransomware yet to come.  The keys were logging, phishing emails abound,  Snowden on chains, backed by his Russian hounds.  The Shadow Brokers were about to arrive  with their vocal group, "The NotPetya Five." They did the Mash  They played the Malware Mash The Malware Mash  It was a botnet smash  They did the Mash  It caught on 'cause of Flash  The Malware Mash  They played the Malware Mash Somewhere in Moscow Vlad's voice did ring  Seems he was troubled by just one thing.  He opened a shell then shook his fist  and said, "Whatever happened to my Turla Trojan twist."  It's now the Mash  It's now the Malware Mash  The Malware Mash  And it's a botnet smash  It's now the Mash  It caught on 'cause of Flash  The Malware Mash  It's now the Malware Mash Now everything's cool, Vlad's a part of the band  And the Malware Mash is the hit of the land.  For you, defenders, this mash was meant to  when you get to my door, tell them Creeper sent you. Then you can Mash  Then you can Malware Mash  The Malware Mash  And be a botnet smash  It is the Mash  Don't you dare download Flash  The Malware Mash  Just do the Malware Mash Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Texas telecom confirms a nation-state attack. A global outage disrupts Azure and Microsoft 365 services.  Malicious npm packages steal sensitive data from Windows, Linux, and macOS systems.  Hacktivists have breached multiple critical infrastructure systems across Canada. Major chipmakers spill the TEE. TP-Link home routers fall under federal scrutiny. Cloud Atlas targets Russia’s agricultural sector. Israel’s cloud computing deal with Google and Amazon allegedly includes a secret “winking mechanism.”The FCC tamps down on overseas robocalls. Mike Anderson, from Netskope, discusses why CIOs should think like HR leaders when considering Agentic AI. Danes Draw the line at digital doppelgängers.  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 Mike Anderson, Netskope’s Chief Digital and Information Officer, to discuss why CIOs must think like HR leaders when considering Agentic AI. Selected Reading US company with access to biggest telecom firms uncovers breach by nation-state hackers (Reuters) Huge Microsoft outage hit 365, Xbox, and beyond — deployment of fix for Azure breakdown rolled out (Tom's Hardware) Malicious NPM packages fetch infostealer for Windows, Linux, macOS (Bleeping Computer) Canada says hacktivists breached water and energy facilities (Bleeping Computer) New physical attacks are quickly diluting secure enclave defenses from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel (Ars Technica) U.S. agencies back banning top-selling home routers on security grounds (The Washington Post) Cloud Atlas hackers target Russian agriculture sector ahead of industry forum (The Record) Revealed: Israel demanded Google and Amazon use secret ‘wink’ to sidestep legal orders (The Guardian) FCC adopts new rule targeting robocalls (The Record) Denmark to tackle deepfakes by giving people copyright to their own features (The Guardian) 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

Explosions rock a shuttered Myanmar cybercrime hub. The Aisuru botnet shifts from DDoS to residential proxies. Dentsu confirms data theft at Merkle. Boston bans biometrics. Proton restores journalists’ email accounts after backlash. Memento labs admits Dante spyware is theirs. Australia accuses Microsoft of improperly forcing users into AI upgrades. CISA warns of active exploitation targeting manufacturing management software. A covert cyberattack during Trump’s first term disabled Venezuela’s intelligence network. Our guest is Ben Seri, Co-Founder and CTO of Zafran, discussing the trend of AI native attacks. New glasses deliver fashionable paranoia. 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 Ben Seri, Co-Founder and CTO of Zafran, discussing the trend of AI native attacks and how defenders should use AI to defend and remediate. Selected Reading Stragglers from Myanmar scam center raided by army cross into Thailand as buildings are blown up (AP News) Aisuru Botnet Shifts from DDoS to Residential Proxies (Krebs on Security) Advertising giant Dentsu reports data breach at subsidiary Merkle (Bleeping Computer) Boston Police Can No Longer Use Facial Recognition Software (Built in Boston) Proton Mail Suspended Journalist Accounts at Request of Cybersecurity Agency (The Intercept) CEO of spyware maker Memento Labs confirms one of its government customers was caught using its malware (TechCrunch) Australia sues Microsoft for forcing Copilot AI onto Office 365 customers (Pivot to AI) CISA warns of actively exploited flaws in Dassault DELMIA Apriso manufacturing software (Beyond Machines) CIA cyberattacks targeting the Maduro regime didn’t satisfy Trump in his first term. Now the US is flexing its military might (CNN Politics) Zenni’s Anti-Facial Recognition Glasses are Eyewear for Our Paranoid Age (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

WSUS attacks escalate as emergency patch fails to fully contain exploited flaw. Schneider Electric and Emerson are listed among victims in the Oracle EBS cyberattack. Google debunks reports of a massive GMail breach. A new banking trojan mimics human behavior for stealth. Sweden’s power grid operator confirms a cyberattack. Italian spyware targets Russian and Belarusian organizations. The U.S. declines to sign the new UN cyber treaty. Ransomware payments fall to record lows. U.S. Cyber Chief calls for a “clean American tech stack” to counter China's global surveillance push. On today's Threat Vector segment, David Moulton⁠ speaks with two cybersecurity leaders from Palo Alto Networks:⁠ Sarit Tager⁠ and⁠ Krithivasan Mecheri⁠. AI mistakes Doritos for a deadly weapon.  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 On today's Threat Vector segment, David Moulton⁠ speaks with two cybersecurity leaders from Palo Alto Networks:⁠ Sarit Tager⁠ and⁠ Krithivasan Mecheri⁠ (Krithi). Together, they dive into the urgent challenges of securing modern development in the age of AI and "Shifting Security Left". You can listen to their full conversation here, and catch new episodes every Thursday on your favorite podcast app.  Selected Reading Microsoft WSUS attacks hit 'multiple' orgs, Google warns (The Register) Industrial Giants Schneider Electric and Emerson Named as Victims of Oracle Hack (SecurityWeek) Google says talk of Gmail breach impacting millions not true (The Register) 'Herodotus' Android Trojan Mimics Human Sluggishness (Gov Infosecurity) Hackers Target Swedish Power Grid Operator  (SecurityWeek) Italian-made spyware spotted in breaches of Russian, Belarusian systems  (The Record) US declines to join more than 70 countries in signing UN cybercrime treaty (The Record) Ransomware profits drop as victims stop paying hackers (Bleeping Computer) National cyber director says U.S. needs to counter Chinese surveillance, push American tech (CyberScoop) Armed police handcuff teen after AI mistakes crisp packet for gun in US (BBC 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? 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

Privacy is one of the most universally valued rights. Yet, despite its importance, data breaches exposing millions of people's sensitive information have become routine. Many have come to assume that their personal data has already been, or inevitably will be, compromised. Despite this reality, prioritizing privacy is more important than ever. In this episode of CISO Perspectives, host ⁠Kim Jones⁠ sits down with Kristy Westphal, the Global Security Director of Spirent Communications, to explore data privacy's impacts on cybersecurity efforts. Together, Kristy and Kim discuss why privacy cannot be an afterthought but rather must be something actively addressed through proactive security efforts, shifting security culture mindsets, and staying ahead of rapidly changing technologies. This episode of N2K Pro's CISO Perspectives podcast is brought to you by our sponsor, Meter. Meter provides a full-stack, enterprise-grade networking solution—wired, wireless, and cellular—designed, deployed, and managed end-to-end. From hardware to software, ISP to security, Meter delivers seamless, secure, and scalable connectivity for modern business environments. Learn more about ⁠Meter⁠. Want more CISO Perspectives? Check out a companion ⁠⁠blog post⁠⁠ by our very own Ethan Cook, where he breaks down key insights, shares behind-the-scenes context, and highlights research that complements this episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UN launches the world’s first global treaty to combat cybercrime. A House Democrats’ job portal left security clearance data exposed online. A new data leak exposes 183 million email addresses and passwords. Threat actors target Discord users with an open-source red-team toolkit. A new campaign targets unpatched WordPress plugins. The City of Gloversville, New York, suffers a ransomware attack. Jen Easterly hopes AI could eliminate the buggy software that fuels cybercrime. A Connecticut health system agrees to an $18 million settlement following a ransomware attack. Monday business brief. Tim Starks from CyberScoop is discussing concerns over budget cuts and visibility. Meta’s privacy safeguard goes dark. 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 Tim Starks from CyberScoop who is discussing concerns over budget cuts and visibility. You can read the articles Tim references here:  US ‘slipping’ on cybersecurity, annual Cyberspace Solarium Commission report concludes (CyberScoop) F5 vulnerability highlights weak points in DHS’s CDM program (CyberScoop) Selected Reading⁠ UN Cybercrime Treaty wins dozens of signatories (The Register) Hundreds of People With ‘Top Secret’ Clearance Exposed by House Democrats’ Website (WIRED) Gmail passwords confirmed in 183 million account data breach (Tribune Online) Hackers steal Discord accounts with RedTiger-based infostealer (Bleeping Computer) Year-Old WordPress Plugin Flaws Exploited to Hack Websites (SecurityWeek) Gloversville hit by ransomware attack (WNYT.com NewsChannel 13) Ex-CISA chief says AI could mean the end of cybersecurity (The Register) Yale New Haven Health Will Pay $18M to Settle Hack Lawsuit (GovInfo Security) Veeam to acquire Securiti AI for $1.7 billion. (N2K Pro) A $60 Mod to Meta’s Ray-Bans Disables Its Privacy-Protecting Recording Light (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