CyberWire Daily

As space becomes an increasingly important part of global communications, national security, and critical infrastructure, European governments are confronting a difficulty: How much control do they need over their own space capabilities? In this week’s episode, host Maria Varmazis sits down with producer Ethan Cook⁠⁠⁠ to examine the growing push for European space sovereignty and the challenges standing in the way. The conversation explores how supply-chain dependencies can undermine national and regional independence, even when satellites and launch systems are built domestically. Additionally, the two also discuss the trade-offs between complete self-sufficiency and maintaining resilient, diversified internat...

This week, we are joined by Ondrej Kubovič, Security Awareness Specialist from ESET, discussing their work on "FrostyNeighbor: Fresh mischief and digital shenanigans." Ondrej walks us through ESET's latest research into FrostyNeighbor, a long-running Belarus-aligned cyberespionage group that has continued to target Ukrainian government organizations with increasingly sophisticated spearphishing campaigns. We discuss how the group uses malicious PDF lures, server-side victim validation, and an updated JavaScript-based malware chain to selectively deploy espionage tools, demonstrating its ongoing efforts to evade detection while compromising high-value targets across Eastern Europe. The research and executive brief can be found h...

Laundry Bear snuffles through unpatched Zimbra Collaboration servers. The State Department puts visa restrictions on cybercriminals. Oracle drops a record 1,449 security patches. Researchers disclose a critical vulnerability in OpenAI’s ChatGPT Workspace Agents. A new benchmark evaluates frontier AI model malware reverse engineering. LunchPoke uses the Notepad++ application to establish persistence. A Swiss rail manufacturer refuses to pay the ransom. Dave Bittner sits down with Maria Varmazis, host of T-Minus Space Cyber Briefing, to discuss the show's evolution into CyberWire's weekly space cyber briefing. The AI goes to space.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and rev...

Google gets a billion dollar fine from the EU. The White House considers sanctions against Chinese AI developers. The GAO criticizes overlap in cyber reporting regulations. The Feds warn of Iranian agents targeting OT systems. Researchers disclose a high-severity Linux kernel vulnerability. Dolphin X uses AI profiling to find high-value victims. A new backdoor routes C2 through the browser. Check Point confirms a critical zero-day. A lawsuit accuses ChatGPT of unauthorized medical advice. Ben Yelin explains how political campaigns attempt to influence LLMs. Baseball benches the bots. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in...

GPT escapes the sandbox and hacks Huggingface. SolarWinds patches multiple critical flaws. CISA orders patching of a critical Langflow AI vulnerability. A Paidwork breach affects over 23 million users. A recently patched SharePoint vulnerability is under active exploitation. Oracle patches over 1,400 vulnerabilities. Apps turn Smart TVs into residential proxies. The FCC considers expanding direct to satellite communications. German and U.S. authorities dismantle a major phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform. Our guest is Jimmy McNary, Deputy Federal CTO at Semperis, discussing comprehensive identity security assessments for Microsoft GCC. AI models can’t resist bending the rules. Remember to leave us a...

Trump's latest AI leader resigns. The Army burns through its AI tokens. Scammers impersonate IC3 personnel.HollowGraph malware uses a compromised Microsoft 365 calendar for C2. Qilin ransomware targets a critical Palo Alto Networks flaw. A North Korean campaign targets Web3 and cryptocurrency professionals through fake job recruitment scams. Zimbra patches multiple critical bugs. Shadow AI creates regulatory headaches. Hackers wipe Romania’s land registry database. Our guest is Errol Weiss, Chief Security Officer at Health-ISAC, setting the record straight on ransomware trends. Patching the automotive security system you didn’t know you had.  Remember to leave us a 5-s...

Hugging Face reports an autonomous AI-powered breach. Ernst & Young discloses a client data breach. Attackers are actively exploiting a critical ServiceNow flaw. Ransomware gangs sharpen their tactics against law firms. Capital One open-sources an AI security tool. Text salting fools AI email filters. Hidden gambling apps slip into Apple’s App Store. And federal agents arrest a Florida man accused of spreading malware through video games. Monday business briefing. Tim Starks from CyberScoop discusses election integrity. Fake feathers lead to faulty findings. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. ...

As space becomes an increasingly critical part of modern infrastructure, governments are reevaluating decades of policy to ensure reliable, secure, and independent access to the systems they are increasingly relying on. In this week’s episode, host Maria Varmazis sits down with producer Ethan Cook⁠ to explore Europe's evolving space strategy and how it is increasingly prioritizing space sovereignty. During the conversation, they examine the EU's proposed Space Act and how it aims to improve the region's space security, sustainability, and reliability for years to come.⁠⁠⁠ Key sources: EU Space Act. EU Space Strategy for Securi...

Lauren Fievisohn, Ph.D, Senior Threat Researcher from Silent Push, is sharing their work on "Meet DriveSurge: A New Threat Actor Using ClickFix and Fake Update Drive-By Attacks in Thousands of Compromised Sites." Silent Push researchers have identified a newly named threat actor, DriveSurge, which has compromised thousands of legitimate websites and uses ClickFix and fake browser update lures to distribute malware at scale through a pay-per-install operation. The group leverages a traffic distribution system called zTDS to silently redirect visitors from trusted websites to malicious payloads, while employing sophisticated infrastructure, obfuscation, and fingerprinting techniques to evade...

Nightmare Eclipse drops another Windows zero-day. The Gentlemen take the ransomware crown. CISA orders emergency Fortinet patching. Canada’s surveillance bill faces U.S. scrutiny. Meta’s Oversight Board flags AI censorship bias. Commerce tops the cyber target list. An active espionage campaign hits Bangladesh’s military. The Hewlett Foundation commits $100 million to emerging tech security. And U.S. prosecutors dismantle an alleged cyber-enabled money laundering network. Our guest is Nick Stohlman, Vice President of CJIS Strategy at Imprivata, talking about CJIS readiness and the identity security challenges facing public safety agencies. Leaked source code reveals an AI mixtape. ...

CISA warns of active SharePoint attacks. The NSA pushes coordinated vulnerability disclosure. ClickLock Stealer targets macOS. Splunk and Zoom patch critical flaws. Spirals ransomware strikes in under 24 hours. New Windows evasion techniques emerge. LabubaRAT poses as NVIDIA software. 23andMe settles over its 2023 breach. Plus, a look back at one of the most audacious data center heists ever pulled off. Our guest is Ryan Kalember, Chief Strategy Officer at Proofpoint, discussing why agentic AI is creating a new insider threat. Near, far, wherever you are…the scam must go on. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and re...

Patch Tuesday. SonicWall urges immediate patching of actively exploited vulnerabilities.  The White House launches an AI-backed vulnerability clearinghouse. The Air Force contends with widespread cybersecurity quarantines. The UK and EU blame Russia for last year’s cyberattack on Poland’s power grid. Meta faces accusations of AI-assisted layoffs. NATO allies collaborate in space. The Pentagon offers paid cyber apprenticeships. Spanish police dismantle a cybercrime and money-laundering network. Our guest is Clark Frogley, Global Head of Fraud at Quantexa and former FBI agent, discussing the fraud-as-a-service economy and what banks are missing. Grok Build users data is cloudy with a chanc...

Treasury sanctions a VPN provider tied to ransomware. The Pentagon hits pause on CMMC audits. Critical flaws surface in Google Cloud’s Dialogflow CX. Estée Lauder discloses a data breach. Mobile networks become a battlefield for tracking U.S. personnel. Australia calls out Big Tech over child safety. SAP patches critical bugs. CISA flags an actively exploited Cisco flaw. And the federal government accelerates AI investments. Our guest is Bogdan Botezatu, Senior Director, Threat Research and Reporting at Bitdefender, talking about Cyberthreats to Journalists and Influencers. AI costs savings come at a price. Remember to leave us...

The U.S. and its allies warn of Russian cyber threats targeting critical infrastructure as Europe rolls out new sanctions. Apple sues OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft. Progress investigates a potential ShareFile security incident, Zimbra patches a critical flaw, and researchers uncover the new CrashStealer macOS malware. Plus, the EPA tests water utility resilience, scammers clone trusted news sites, and our Monday business briefing. Our guest is Brandon Karpf, from NTT, discussing the 11th Japan-U.S. Cyber Dialogue. Californians smash that delete button. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast...

As the world prepares itself for quantum computing, governments and private space enterprises alike are looking to get ahead of the technology and manage the rapidly-accelerating risks. In this week’s episode, host Maria Varmazis sits down with ⁠⁠⁠Eddy Zervigon, CEO of Quantum XChange to discuss the impacts that the post-quantum world will have impact on the space sector. During the conversation, they explore what stakeholders are doing to prepare themselves for Q-day and what a post-quantum world could look like.⁠ Key sources: USHERING IN THE NEXT FRONTIER OF QUANTUM INNOVATION Like what...

Today we are joined by Geoff White, host of Cyber Hack and BBC journalist, taking a deep dive into the Conti ransomware gang. Geoff explores an in-depth investigation into the notorious Conti ransomware gang, drawing from thousands of leaked internal messages to reveal how the group operated behind the scenes. The research uncovers surprising internal debates over targeting healthcare organizations, the fallout from accidentally exposing sensitive Saudi royal family data, and frantic efforts to free an arrested gang member. It also offers a rare look at Conti leader Vitaliy Kovalev through newly uncovered video footage, providing an...

Researchers track ransomware they say is getting GoshDarn sophisticated. Zimbra patches a critical vulnerability affecting its Classic Web Client. A sophisticated vishing campaign targeting Microsoft 365 accounts. GigaWiper combines espionage capabilities with multiple destructive payloads. The EU sues member states over lax cybersecurity. The NSA revives TAO. A Puerto Rican agency exposes roughly a million Social Security numbers. A former ransomware negotiator heads to prison for assisting BlackCat. Our guest is Maxim Zavodchik, Senior Director of AI Security Research at Akamai, with insights on the upcoming MCP specification. Bad Wifi leaves a trophy up for grabs.  Remember to l...

GhostApproval puts AI coding assistants under the microscope. Microsoft fixes the RoguePlanet zero-day. More than 70 cybersecurity firms back a new AI Charter. An Ohio county may have paid a $1 million ransom. AssuranceAmerica discloses a breach affecting nearly seven million people. Australia bricks thousands of broadband routers. Israeli fintech Nayax reports a cyber incident. KDDI confirms a massive telecom data breach. A global anti-fraud operation leads to thousands of arrests. Ben Yelin from University of Maryland Center for Cyber Health and Hazard Strategies explains the EU Cloud and AI Development Act. Slopfix fights fire with fire.  Remember to l...

Accenture confirms a data breach. An Australian telecom investigates a nationwide outage. It’s shields up for the UK. CISA eyes September for its critical infrastructure reporting rule. NewsJunkie fakes CTV ad traffic. Agentic AI triggers EDR. CISA taps Mythos for vulnerability scans. Meta faces trillion dollar fines in state lawsuits. Our guest is Russ Anderson, COO and co-founder of RapidFort, sharing a coordinated industry effort to harden the world’s most critical open source software against AI-enabled cyber threats. When it comes to breaches, mum’s the word.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review...

CERT/CC warns of an unpatched Tenda router backdoor. Adobe races to patch an actively exploited ColdFusion flaw. Canada pulls back the curtain on offensive cyber operations. Anthropic quietly removes hidden tracking from Claude Code. Chinese AI gains momentum as U.S. providers sweeten the deal. U.S. cloud firms challenge South Korea’s new security rules. Microsoft’s device telemetry helps unmask an alleged Scattered Spider hacker. And Spanish police arrest an alleged pro-Russia hacktivist.Orla Daly, CIO at Skillsoft, discusses if AI is already bypassing its own guardrails and why most organizations aren't ready. The stochastic parrot is b...