Ransomware DataBreachToday.com

Despite Some Well-Known Groups Disappearing, Ransomware Competition Remains Fierce
Here's unwelcome ransomware news: Groups' victim listings and underground chatter suggest that the count of victims and number of criminal groups behind such attacks have both risen over the past 12 months, despite repeat disruptions by law enforcement, fierce competition and fewer victims paying.

Also: NodeCordRAT Malware, North Korean QR-Phishing Campaign
This week, U.K. crypto exchanges linked to Iranian sanctions evasion, NodeCordRAT malware spread via npm, an FBI alert on North Korean QR-code phishing, illicit crypto hit $154 billion in 2025 and U.S. President Donald Trump said he won't pardon Sam Bankman-Fried.

How UX Decisions Are Becoming Regulatory Liabilities for CISOs
Children's data is entering a new regulatory era where dark patterns, defaults and monetization choices can signal breached fiduciary duty. As privacy, safety and consumer laws converge globally, CISOs must treat manipulative UX, consent flows and retention practices as core security and governance risks.

Analysts Warn Foreign Adversaries Gaining Footholds in US Networks
Cyber policy analysts told lawmakers that the United States' cyber deterrence efforts are failing, allowing China and others to embed in critical infrastructure networks with minimal cost, while calling for faster, coordinated offensive actions across federal agencies.

Experts on How CIOs Can Avoid 'Geopolitical Lock-In' in AI, Cloud and Supply Chains
Geopolitical instability is a part of reality in 2026, and the stakes are high for CIOs who must rely on global supply chains to develop IT, artificial intelligence, cloud and cybersecurity strategies.

Stealthy Group Taps Blockchain 'EtherHiding' to Facilitate Victim Communications
The DeadLock ransomware group, a newly emerged digital extortion group, is using blockchain smart contracts to store proxy server addresses for facilitating ransomware negotiations with victim organizations. The technique suggests the group is made up of experienced cybercriminals.

3 Major Tech Firms Shipped Vulnerable Open-Source Tools to Hugging Face
Researchers discovered remote code execution vulnerabilities in three AI libraries from Apple, Salesforce and Nvidia used by models with tens of millions of Hugging Face downloads, allowing attackers to hide malicious code in model metadata.

Growing Third-Party Breach Trend Is Spreading to AI Suppliers
IT organizations have built processes for reducing vendor risk, but in the AI era, that operating model is being dismantled. Modern AI environments are built on dynamic external foundational models, countless APIs, open-source components and continuous data pipelines that pose risks.

Black Duck Researchers Discover Flaw in Widely Used Broadcom Chipset
A flaw in Broadcom chipsets commonly used in wireless routers allows attackers to repeatedly knock offline the 5 gigahertz band, no matter how strong the security settings, say researchers.

Former AWS Exec Nancy Wang to Lead 1Password's Agentic AI Security Strategy
1Password named former AWS executive Nancy Wang as chief technology officer to oversee the evolution of its platforms to manage new artificial intelligence-driven workflows. "Agents are really their own class of identities," Wang said.

NIST Seeks Input to Protect AI Systems Used in Government, Critical Infrastructure
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking public input from security experts and stakeholders to weigh in on security threats from agentic AI warning they may be vulnerable to exploits like hijacking, backdoors and misaligned behavior across federal networks.

New CEO Jesper Zerlang Plans Global Growth, US Push and Vertical Expansion
Former Logpoint chief Jesper Zerlang, now CEO at SecurityBridge, says SAP security remains a weak link in enterprise risk strategies. As CEO of SecurityBridge, he’s launching a global expansion and leaning into the company's product differentiators to fill the gap.

Why Identity Life Cycles, Visibility and Privilege Are Falling Out of Sync
Modern enterprises are struggling to maintain control over identity management. While authentication still works, a systemic drift in how identities are created and discarded is creating an expanded attack surface that adversaries are increasingly exploiting.

Hitachi Energy Security Head Joe Doetzl on Common Tools and Practices
While IT and OT environments were traditionally seen as two separate parts of the organization, security teams can use common tools and practices to protect both areas, said Joe Doetzl, head of cybersecurity at Hitachi Energy. The company designated a single leader for IT-OT environments years ago.

Mapping Platform Exposed Addresses and Medical Assistance Plans
The Illinois Department of Human Services is notifying more than 700,000 people of a breach involving "incorrect privacy settings" left in place for several years that exposed online data pertaining to Medicare, Medicaid and rehabilitation services recipients.

$740M SGNL Acquisition Boosts Dynamic Identity Enforcement for Humans and AI Agents
With the $740M acquisition of SGNL, CrowdStrike aims to deliver dynamic access control for human and nonhuman identities. The real-time enforcement layer expands CrowdStrike's identity capabilities amid a market shift toward zero standing privilege and agentic workforce security.

Also: Turning AI Data Into AI Defense, Autonomous Border Patrol Robots
In this week's panel, ISMG editors discussed how basic security failures are still opening the door to major breaches, how researchers are rethinking data protection in the age of artificial intelligence and the implications of robots with AI patrolling national borders.

Also, Sedgwick Confirms Breach, Romanian Power Firm Hit, D-Link Flaws Exploited
This week, Moody's said firewalls will be obsolete, Romanian critical infrastructure hacked, Sedgwick breach and a D-Link DSL flaw. Finland seized the Fitburg. Microsoft said Direct Send not to blame for Exchange phishing. Malicious Chrome extensions, European hotels targeted and health breaches.

Also, Sedgwick Confirms Breach, Romanian Power Firm Hit, D-Link Flaws Exploited
This week, Moody's said firewalls will be obsolete, Romanian critical infrastructure hacked, Sedgwick breach and a D-Link DSL flaw. Finland seized the Fitburg. Microsoft said Direct Send not to blame for Exchange phishing. Malicious Chrome extensions, European hotels targeted and health breaches.

OpenAI: Tool Will 'Securely' Connect With Medical Records, But How Will That Work?
OpenAI is rolling out a new version of ChatGPT dedicated to health that the company said will also "securely" connect users' medical records and wellness apps to better personalize responses. OpenAI says more than 230 million people each week ask ChatGPT wellness and health related questions.