CyberWire Daily

The U.S. disrupts a Chinese hacking operation blamed for intrusions at several sensitive government agencies. CISA says more than 100 water systems were targeted in July. Attackers exploit a critical Gitea flaw, while malicious pages masquerade as Cloudflare verification screens. Cyber insurance claims get costlier, and AI agents break out of their sandboxes. Boston Scientific battles a cyber incident. Plus, a new standard tracks AI agent activity, criminals target stolen iPhones, and an alleged money mule is charged in a $7.5 million scam. Our guest is Stephen Hilt, Sr. Threat Researcher at TrendAI, on the risks facing data centers. Some breach data doesn’t quite measure up.

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CyberWire Guest

On today’s Industry Voices, we are joined by Stephen Hilt, Sr. Threat Researcher at TrendAI discussing the cybersecurity risks facing data centers and the thousands of internet-exposed industrial control systems that could leave them vulnerable to attack. And if you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out the full interview here.

If you’d like to hear more on this topic from TrendAI, you can check out this recent episode of the AI Security Brief podcast that focuses on data center security. Guest Mark Houpt, CISO at DataBank, joined hosts Johnny Hand and Dustin Childs to explain why securing the AI era starts with protecting the physical data centers that power it—and why proven security fundamentals still matter against rapidly evolving threats. AI Security Brief podcast publishes every other Thursday on the N2K CyberWire network. Subscribe today!

Selected Reading

China-sponsored hacking platforms seized by US, Justice Department says (Reuters)

CISA: Over 100 Internet-Exposed Water Systems Targeted in July Cyberattacks (SecurityWeek)

Hackers now exploit critical Gitea flaw in code injection attacks (Bleeping Computer)

Hackers abuse npm mirrors to host phishing redirect pages (Bleeping Computer)

Average Cyber Insurance Losses Increase Despite Fewer Claims (Infosecurity Magazine)

VMs won't contain cyber-capable agents (Trail of Bits)

Boston Scientific hit by cyberattack, global operations affected (Reuters)

Linux Foundation Introduces TRACE Standard for AI Runtime Evidence (Infosecurity Magazine)

AnonyMousKIT PhaaS uses voice AI agents to phish iPhone passcodes (Bleeping Computer)

Indian man who fled US arrested on charges he helped scammers siphon $7.5 million from the elderly (The Record)

Trump signs memo to help drastically boost US commercial space launches (Reuters)

A Cautionary Tale About Data Breach Claims, Verification and Carhartt (Troy Hunt)

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Lawmakers request an investigation into cuts at CISA. Threat actors actively exploit a Zimbra Collaboration Suite vulnerability. A Chinese AI lab preps release of a powerful open-weight model. A new phishing toolkit deploys attacker-controlled passkeys. Using audio hardware to fingerprint browsers. A DDoS attack knocks Norwegian government services offline. CISA orders patching of a critical Oracle vulnerability. Taiwanese prosecutors charge nine people over the alleged illegal export of high-end AI servers to mainland China. Operation Jackal IV cracks down on West African cybercrime networks. On our Industry Voices segment, Christy Wyatt, CEO from Absolute Security, discusses "Cyber Resilience: The Emerging Category." AI music hits a sour note down under.

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 on our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Christy Wyatt, CEO from Absolute Security, discussing "Cyber Resilience: The Emerging Category." If you enjoyed this conversation, be sure to check out the full interview here.

Selected Reading

Lawmakers call for investigation into impact of CISA staffing cuts (The Record)

Hackers breached over 270 Zimbra servers in ongoing attacks (Bleeping Computer)

By Opening a Model, a Chinese A.I. Lab May Test the World’s Cybersecurity (NY Times)

iAuthFlow v2: The $10,000 Phishing Toolkit That Survives Your Password Reset (SecurityAffairs)

AliExpress was silently running audio in your browser to fingerprint and track your device (TechSpot)

Large DDoS attack knocks Norwegian public services offline (The Record)

U.S. CISA adds maximum-severity Oracle flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (SecurityAffairs)

Taiwan Charges 9 Over Illegal AI Server Exports to China, Including Nvidia and Super Micro Staff (SecurityWeek)

Police arrests dozens of suspects in global cybercrime crackdown (Bleeping Computer)

Songs created by AI banned from Australia's music charts (BBC News)

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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.

Polymarket traders win big on U.S. military insider information. Slovakia deactivates speed cameras with Russian backdoors. TikTok pays $400 million to settle kids' privacy allegations. Hackers infect Android-based car systems with botnet malware. CISA orders quick patching of an actively exploited Zimbra Collaboration Suite vulnerability. SynkLoader malware is built for stealthy access to corporate networks. Dutch authorities fine Uber over $900 million over automated hiring practices. An ATM jackpotter gets a record prison sentence. Monday business briefing. A privacy promise loses face.

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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

On our Industry Voices segment, we are joined by Mark Beare, General Manager at Malwarebytes Consumer Business from Black Hat to look at protecting your family in the age of AI. If you enjoyed this conversation, check out the full interview here.

Selected Reading

More than 150 Polymarket wallets may have traded on military secrets, research finds (Reuters)

Slovakia discovers Russian backdoors in 279 new traffic cameras — SMS-triggered shell access and passwordless live feeds found in EU-funded rollout (Tom's Hardware)

TikTok Settles U.S. Child Privacy Case for $400 Million (Security Affairs)

Hackers infecting Android car systems to build proxy botnet (The Record)

CISA orders urgent patching of actively exploited Zimbra flaw (Bleeping Computer)

SynkLoader: when you throw in everything but the kitchen sink (Expel)

Uber Fined Nearly $1 Billion by Dutch Regulators Over Automated Suspensions of Driver Accounts (SecurityWeek)

Venezuelan Gets Record Federal Prison Term for ATM Jackpotting (SecurityWeek)

Fortinet has acquired San Francisco-based AI security company Virtue AI. (N2K Pro Business Briefing)

Reverse-Lookup Service Exposed Millions of Photos of People’s Faces (WIRED)

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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.

As space infrastructure has continued to expand, developing secure space systems has become just as important as launching the spacecraft themselves.

In this week's episode, host Maria Varmazis sits down with Filip Rezabek, co-founder and CTO of Space Computer, to talk about some of the technologies being created to secure space infrastructure in orbit. The two discuss the importance of establishing a chain of trust in space and the challenges of securing hardware against supply chain attacks.

Like what you heard? Be sure to subscribe to our free Signals and Space Briefing⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, our Sunday newsletter covering the intersection of cybersecurity and space. Subscribe at: ⁠⁠⁠https://thecyberwire.com/newsletters/signals-and-space⁠⁠⁠

Is there a topic or person you’d like to hear on our show? You can send your questions and feedback to ⁠⁠⁠space@n2k.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can also fill our our audience survey: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NJYCN2P ⁠⁠⁠

T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing is a production of N2K CyberWire. ⁠⁠⁠N2K⁠⁠⁠ is your nexus for discovery and connection for people, technology, and ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how at ⁠⁠⁠n2k.com⁠⁠⁠.

Today we are joined by Aaron Beardslee, Manager of Threat Research at Securonix, discussing "Analyzing SHEET#CREEP: SHEETCREEP is up again with different config obfuscation." Securonix researchers have identified an evolved version of the SHEETCREEP espionage campaign, using a diplomatic-themed ISO phishing lure to deliver a C# remote access trojan targeting Indian diplomatic interests.

The malware abuses the Google Sheets API as a stealthy command-and-control channel, with researchers identifying 91 active victim tabs, including a high-confidence target in Pakistan. The campaign, assessed with moderate confidence as linked to Pakistan-aligned APT36, has added XOR-obfuscated configurations and other anti-analysis techniques to evade detection and maintain persistent access.

The research and executive brief can be found here:

⁠Analyzing SHEET#CREEP: SHEETCREEP is up again with different config obfuscation