SN 1049: DNS Cache Poisoning Returns - Ransomware Payments Plummet

A devastating new React vulnerability earned a "perfect 10" for risk, letting attackers remotely run code on a million-plus servers with a single HTTP request. Find out what happened, how fast attackers moved in, and why this bug changes everything for web security. France's VanityFair face a stiff fine over cookies. GrapheneOS pulls out of France over coercion worries. The EU adds to the pile-on over underage social media. India mandates the tracking of all smartphones. Apple says no. India abandons its smartphone tracking mandate. India requires all encrypted messaging to be SIM-tied. Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters --becomes--> SLH. AI demand has driven RAM pricing sky high. GRC's DNS Benchmark is finished and available. Cisco may talk a good game, but they're still Cisco. Browsers to ask users for local network access permission. React: The worst remote code exploit in a LONG time. Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1055-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: 1password.com/securitynow veeam.com bigid.com/securitynow zscaler.com/security hoxhunt.com/securitynow

Cisco has finally admitted it's time for real change and is vowing to build "secure by default" gear after decades of criticism. Steve Gibson reacts to a rare moment when a tech giant actually gets security right—and what it means for everyone running critical infrastructure. • Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters strikes (Salesforce) again. • Cisco actually (no kidding) sees the light. • Next week, Australia bans all underage social media. • The EU Parliament moves to replace US computer tech. • When to use Passwords, Passkeys or Yubikeys. • Do unpowered SSDs lose their data. • How about a "Joy of Coding" podcast. • A Bitwarden Passkeys integration glitch. • XSLT is sneaky. It's where you don't expect it. • We know where last week's picture came from. • The long-awaited return of a new Stargate series. • A simple test to check our networks for any bot infections. Show Notes: https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1054-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT vanta.com/SECURITYNOW bitwarden.com/twit threatlocker.com/twit canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT

Could banning VPNs really become law in the US? This episode breaks down the jaw-dropping legislation in Wisconsin and Michigan that targets VPN access for everyone, not just kids—and what it means for your digital privacy. The EU finally comes to its "Chat Control" senses. Windows 11 to include SysInternals Sysmon natively. Chrome's tabs (optionally) go vertical. The Pentagon begins its investment in warfare AI. Members of the military are being doxed by social media. A look inside the futility of trying to corral AI. The surprising lack of WhatsApp user privacy. Exactly what happened last week to Cloudflare? Britain (over)reacts to the Jaguar Land Rover incident. Project: Hail Mary's second trailer released. US state legislatures want to ban VPNs altogether Show Notes: https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1053-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: bigid.com/securitynow zscaler.com/security Melissa.com/twit hoxhunt.com/securitynow 1password.com/securitynow

Think your cell phone is safe from tracking? Steve reveals how global networks let anyone pinpoint your location—no hacking required and no malware involved. Apple introduces a new Digital ID inside Wallet. Checkout.com refuses to pay a ransom demand. Google announces "Private AI Compute" in the cloud. Google backpedals on their "devs must register" demand. Win11 added a Passkeys API which 1Password & Bitwarden support. Russia tracks SIM card appearances to thwart drone usage. Google sues Chinese Phishing as a Service platform. Lots of interesting listener feedback. Global cellphone tracking is alive, well, malware free and a distressingly common commercial enterprise Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1052-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com/twit bigid.com/securitynow veeam.com bitwarden.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

Amazon is taking Perplexity AI to court over its agentic browser that shops on your behalf, raising urgent questions about who controls your online buying experience when bots do the heavy lifting. FFmpeg teaching assembly language for performance. The state of Nevada recovers after not paying ransom. A "rounding error" nets a clever attacker $128 million. Why would Chrome decide to start form-filling driver's licenses. The UK's six major telecom providers to block number spoofing. XSLT support being removed from browsers. Will anyone notice. Firefox introduced paid support options for organizations. Russia continues to fight against non-Russian Internet. Google acquires another Internet security company (Wiz). The EU to finally fix their cookie permission mistake. More countries drop Microsoft office for open choices. More countries question and examine Chinese made buses. Microsoft discovers some information leakage from LLMs. What does Amazon's lawsuit against Perplexity's agents mean for next-generation browsers Show Notes: https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1051-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: veeam.com hoxhunt.com/securitynow zscaler.com/security zapier.com/securitynow vanta.com/SECURITYNOW

AI-powered web browsers are hitting the scene fast, but Steve and Leo unpack why these smart assistants could usher in an era of security chaos most users aren't ready for. Brace yourself for the wild risks, real-world scams, and the privacy questions no one else is asking. Secret radios discovered in Chinese-made busses. Edge & Chrome introduce LLM-based "scareware" blocking. A perfect example of what scareware blocking hopes to prevent. Aardvark: OpenAI's new vulnerability scanner for code. Italy to require age verification from 48 specific sites. Russia to require the use of only Russian software within Russia. Russia further clamping down on non-MAX Telegram and WhatsApp messaging. 187 new malicious NPM packages. Could AI help with that? BadCandy malware has infiltrated Australian Cisco routers. Github's 2025 report with the dominance of TypeScript. Windows 11 gets new extra-secure Admin Protection feature. A bunch of interesting feedback and listener thoughts. And why the new AI-driven web browsers may be bringing a whole new world of hurt Show Notes: https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1050-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: bitwarden.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT bigid.com/securitynow threatlocker.com/twit

Just when you thought DNS cache poisoning was a thing of the past, Steve and Leo reveal why this 17-year-old bug is making a dramatic comeback—and why most DNS resolvers still can't manage high-quality random numbers after all this time. The unsuspected sucking power of a Linux-based robot vacuum. Russia to follow China's vulnerability reporting laws. A pair of Scattered Spider UK teen hackers arrested. Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok violating the EU's DSA. Microsoft Teams bringing user WiFi tracking by policy. You backed up. That's great. Did you test that backup? Coveware reports all-time low ransomware payment rate. Ransomware negotiator reports how the bad guys get in. Lots of listener thoughts and feedback about NIST passwords. And against all reason and begging credulity, it seems we still haven't managed to put high-quality random number generators into our DNS resolvers. Show Notes: https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1049-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: hoxhunt.com/securitynow zapier.com/securitynow 1password.com/securitynow veeam.com zscaler.com/security

Think your mouse is harmless? Steve and Leo uncover how modern optical mice might be secretly "listening" in, and reveal why satellite data pouring down on us is almost entirely unsecured. The long awaited lawsuit to block Texas SB2420. Embattled Texas SB2420 also impacts Google Play. At long last, NIST modernizes their password policy. Scattered LAPSUS$ Hunters demise was exaggerated. China claims that the NSA has been hacking them. Half of all geosynchronous satellite traffic is unencrypted. The AWS outage highlights the rising risk of Internet monoculture. A terrific collection of listener feedback and... Could your PC's mousehave much bigger ears than you know? https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1048-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: Melissa.com/twit hoxhunt.com/securitynow threatlocker.com/twit joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT bitwarden.com/twit

Texas is on the brink of forcing Apple and Google to overhaul app downloads with strict age verification laws—are tech giants ready, or is your privacy about to get caught in the crossfire? The EU aborted their Chat Control vote knowing it would fail. Salesforce says it's not going to pay; customer data is released. Hackers claim Discord breach netted 70,000 government IDs. Microsoft to move Github to Azure. What could possibly go wrong. New California law allows universal data sharing opt-out. OpenAI reports that it's blocking foreign abuse. Who cares. IE Mode refuses to die, so Microsoft is burying it deeper. The massive mess created by Texas legislation SB2420. The BreachForums website gets a makeover. 100,000 strong global botnet attacking U.S. RDP services. UI experts weigh in on Apple's iOS 26 user-interface. 330,000 publicly exposed REDIS servers are RCE-vulnerable Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1047-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: zscaler.com/security expressvpn.com/securitynow vanta.com/SECURITYNOW canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT bigid.com/securitynow

Google's new demand for developer registration could spell the end for open-source app stores, while Europe's controversial chat control vote threatens privacy for everyone—Steve and Leo break down what's at stake for devs and users alike. Qantas says no one can releak their stolen data. Brave's usage is up. But is it really 3 times faster. Next Tuesday the EU votes on "Chat Control". Microsoft formally launches a "Security Store". Outlook moves to block JavaScript in SVG's. A new release of Chrome. Gmail will no longer pull external email via POP. Googe Drive starts blocking ransomware encryptions. The UK issues another order to Apple. Researchers create a "Battering RAM" attack device. HackerOne's significant bug bounty payouts. The Imgur service goes dark across the UK. Guess why. The Netherlands plans to say NO to "Chat Control." Discord was breached and government IDs leaked. Salesforce says it's not another new breach. Signal introduces a new post-quantum ratchet. Your motherboard MIGHT support TPM 2.0. Google to force Android app devs to register and pay Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-1046-Notes.pdf Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte Download or subscribe to Security Now at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now. You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page. For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6. Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free shows, a members-only Discord, and behind-the-scenes access. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Sponsors: threatlocker.com for Security Now joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT hoxhunt.com/securitynow bitwarden.com/twit veeam.com