CyberWire Daily

Please enjoy this encore of Career Notes.

Richard Melick, Director of Threat Reporting for Zimperium, talks about his journey, from working in the military to moving up to the big screens. He shares that he's been in the business of solving unique cybersecurity problems for so long that he has found his own path that works very well for him. He says, "if I go to a unique problem and try to solve it, I find that I'm solving it the same way that I would've solved it five years ago, because I found my pattern." Richard reflects on his time working in the industry, from moving away from the military and into different roles over the years. He notes that giving credit where credit is due, to those who deserve it, is how you keep the audience engaged as a storyteller. We thank Richard for sharing his story.
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A popular chatbot exposes millions of private user messages. The White House rescinds Biden-era federal software security guidance. A senior Secret Service official urges more scrutiny of domain registration. The President’s NSA pick champions section 702. France looks to reduce reliance on U.S. digital infrastructure. CISA shares guidance on insider threats. Hugging Face infrastructure was abused to distribute an Android RAT. Ivanti discloses a pair of critical zero-days. Popular dating sites suffer a data breach. Our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop, discussing how the US looks to push its view of AI cybersecurity standards to the rest of the world. The Nobel Committee blames hackers for a spoiler alert. 

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CyberWire Guest

Our guest is Tim Starks from CyberScoop discussing how the US looks to push its view of AI cybersecurity standards to the rest of the world. You can read Tim’s coverage here. 

Selected Reading

Massive AI Chat App Leaked Millions of Users Private Conversations (404 Media)

White House Scraps 'Burdensome' Software Security Rules (SecurityWeek)

The 'staggering' cybersecurity weakness that isn't getting enough focus, according to a top Secret Service official (CyberScoop)

NSA pick champions foreign spying law as nomination advances (The Record)

French Government To Replace Zoom and Teams With Visio, a Local Alternative (The New York Times)

CISA Urges Critical Infrastructure Organizations to Take Action Against Insider Threats (HSToday)

Hugging Face Abused to Deploy Android RAT (SecurityWeek)

Ivanti warns of two EPMM flaws exploited in zero-day attacks (Bleeping Computer)

Match Group breach exposes data from Hinge, Tinder, OkCupid, and Match (Bleeping Computer)

Nobel Hacking Likely Leaked Peace Prize Winner Name, Probe Finds (Bloomberg)

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Google dismantles a huge residential proxy network. Did the FBI take down the notorious RAMP cybercrime forum? A long running North Korea backed cyber operation has splintered into three specialized threat groups. U.S. military cyber operators carried out a covert operation to disrupt Russian troll networks ahead of the 2024 elections. Phishing campaigns target journalists using the Signal app. SolarWinds patches vulnerabilities in its Web Help Desk product. Amazon found CSAM in its AI training data. Initial access brokers switch up their preferred bot. China executes scam center kingpins. Our guest is Tom Pace, CEO of NetRise, explaining how open-source vulnerabilities are opening doors for nation-states.  An unsecured webcam peers into Pyongyang. 

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CyberWire Guest

Today, Tom Pace, former DOE cyber analyst and CEO of NetRise, joins the show to explain how open-source vulnerabilities are opening doors for nation-states and why visibility into who maintains code repositories matters.

Selected Reading

Google Disrupted World’s Largest IPIDEA Residential Proxy Network (Cyber Security News)

Notorious Russia-based RAMP cybercrime forum apparently seized by FBI (The Record)

Long-running North Korea threat group splits into 3 distinct operations (CyberScoop)

Secret US cyber operations shielded 2024 election from foreign trolls, but now the Trump admin has gutted protections (CNN Politics)

Phishing attack: Numerous journalists targeted in attack via Signal Messenger (Netzpolitik.org)

Signal president warns AI agents are making encryption irrelevant (Cyber Insider)

SolarWinds Patches Critical Web Help Desk Vulnerabilities (SecurityWeek) 

Amazon Found ‘High Volume’ Of Child Sex Abuse Material in AI Training Data (Bloomberg)

Initial access hackers switch to Tsundere Bot for ransomware attacks (Bleeping Computer)

China Executes 11 People Linked to Cyberscam Centers in Myanmar   (Bloomberg)

North Korean Hackers' Daily Life Leaked in Video (The Chosun)

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The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc.
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CISA’s interim director uploaded sensitive government material into the public version of ChatGPT. The cyberattack on Poland’s power grid compromised roughly 30 energy facilities. The EU and India sign a new partnership that includes expanded cyber cooperation. Meta rolls out enhanced WhatsApp security features. Researchers uncover a campaign targeting LLM service endpoints. Fortinet and OpenSSL patch multiple vulnerabilities. A high-severity WinRAR vulnerability continues to see widespread exploitation six months after it was patched. The SoundCloud data breach affected nearly 30 million users. Ben Yelin explains the California lawsuit accusing social media platforms of harming kids. A Spanish resort town gets hit with low-rent ransomware.  

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CyberWire Guest

Today, Dave is joined by his Caveat co-host Ben Yelin, Program Director for Public Policy & External Affairs at the University of Maryland Center for Cyber Health and Hazard Strategies, to discuss the upcoming trial where Meta and YouTube will make their case against accusations of social media being harmful to children. You can learn more here. 

T-Minus Guest Host

Our T-Minus Space Daily podcast team is in Orlando, FL this week covering Commercial Space Week. Yesterday while the crew was on travel making their way to the event, Dave Bittner took his first spin behind the mic on T-Minus. Tune in and let us know how Dave did!

You can follow along with host Maria Varmazis and producers Alice Carruth and Liz Stokes for event coverage via our LinkedIn profile.

Selected Reading

Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT (POLITICO)

Cyberattack on Poland’s power grid hit around 30 energy facilities, new report says (The Record)

Europe/India • Indian 'hackers for hire' to continue to thrive under Brussels-New Dehli trade deal (Intelligence Online)

New WhatsApp lockdown feature protects high-risk users from hackers (Bleeping Computer)

Hackers hijack exposed LLM endpoints in Bizarre Bazaar operation (Bleeping Computer)

Fortinet Patches Exploited FortiCloud SSO Authentication Bypass (SecurityWeek)

High-Severity Remote Code Execution Vulnerability Patched in OpenSSL (SecurityWeek)

Cybercriminals and nation-state groups are exploiting a six-month old WinRAR defect (CyberScoop)

SoundCloud breach added to HIBP, 29.8 million accounts exposed (CyberInsider)

Spanish municipality Sanxenxo City Council calls hackers bluff as malware takes over network (Cryptopolitan)

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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.
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Microsoft rushes an emergency fix for an actively exploited Office zero-day. A suspected cyberattack halts rail service in Spain. The FBI probes Signal chats in Minnesota. The UK moves to overhaul policing for the cyber age. Romania investigates a hitman-for-hire site. A UK court awards $4.1 million in a Saudi spyware case. Google agrees to a voice assistant settlement. CISA maps post-quantum crypto readiness. Prosecutors charge an Illinois man over a Snapchat hacking scheme targeting hundreds of women. Our guest today is Cynthia Kaiser, SVP of the Ransomware Research Center at Halcyon, sharing some insight into the AI and quantum threats to cybersecurity and the national cyber strategy. A Best Buy guy tries a creative alibi. 

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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 Cynthia Kaiser, SVP of the Ransomware Research Center at Halcyon, sharing some insight into the AI and quantum threats to cybersecurity and the national cyber strategy.

Selected Reading

Microsoft Issues Emergency Patch for Actively Exploited Office Zero-Day (Beyond Machines)

Catalonia travel chaos: thousands stranded as suspected cyber attack disrupts rail network (The Olive Press) 

FBI is investigating Minnesota Signal groups tracking ICE, Patel says (NBC News)

UK plans sweeping overhaul of policing amid surge in online crimes (The Record)

Romania probes two suspects over alleged hitman-for-hire website (The Record)

Judge awards British critic of Saudis $4.1 million, finds the regime hacked his devices (The Record)

Google to pay $68 million over allegations its voice assistant eavesdropped on users (CBS News)

CISA releases technology readiness list for post-quantum cryptography (CSO Online)

Illinois man charged with hacking Snapchat accounts to steal nude photos (Bleeping Computer)

Savannah BSavannah Best Buy employee says 'hacker group' blackmailed him into theft ring scheme (WJCL 22)

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.  

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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.
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