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Rising Attacks Mask Lowering Profits, Attention Economy Competition
Ransomware groups' collective power to command victims' attention and compel extortion is waning, notwithstanding the disruption and chaos that continues to be their hallmark. The criminal underground powering ransomware is a world in flux where old, established groups are giving way to new brands.

Gartner's Pete Redshaw on Why the CISO or CRO Should Take the Lead
Cybersecurity, IAM, fraud and compliance will converge across financial institutions in the next five to six years. This transformation will follow a phased path, beginning with data integration, followed by tool alignment and eventually team restructuring.

Hoxhunt Predicts Phishing-as-a-Service Will Adopt AI Spear Phishing Agents
AI surpassed human red teams in crafting phishing attacks, at scale and with alarming success, asserts research from cybersecurity training firm Hoxhunt. The company's proprietary AI spear phishing agent, outperformed human counterparts by 24%, a turnaround from a31% deficit in 2023.

Analysts Praise FedRAMP's Speed Goals, but Worry About Unclear Execution Details
The General Services Administration is aiming to speed up cloud approvals by automating security assessments for FedRAMP, but experts tell Information Security Media Group that key questions remain on its execution, with concerns over vague directives and the impact on existing processes.

Hackers Use Credential Stuffing to Steal AU$500,000, Breach 20,000 Member Accounts
Australia's largest pension funds faced coordinated credential attacks last week that compromised thousands of user accounts and led to the theft of at least AU$500,000 from four superannuation accounts. The affected funds included AustralianSuper, Rest and Australian Retirement Trust.

Officials Warn Trump's Abrupt Firings Severely Weaken National Cyber Defenses
President Donald Trump fired National Security Agency and Cyber Command chief Gen. Timothy Haugh after a meeting with far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, sparking concerns among cybersecurity experts and lawmakers that the dismissals weaken national cyber defenses and military readiness.

Cybersecurity Wonks Find Fault With Home Office Ransomware Proposals
A collection of British cybersecurity policy wonks poured cold water over a British government proposal to outlaw ransom payments by government agencies and from regulated operators of critical infrastructure. A ban wouldn't likely represent a significant blow to ransomware profits.

CEO Accused of Providing Misleading Revenue, Liquidity Numbers to Key Stakeholders
Financial statement fraud is once again making headlines. Fashion startup CaaStle has accused its co-founder and CEO, Christine Hunsicker, of serious financial misconduct, leading to her resignation. The incident could be one of the biggest cases of start-up fraud in recent years.

More Evidence Surfaces of Chinese Hackers Targeting Ivanti Products
A suspected Chinese cyberespionage operation is behind a spate of malware left on VPN appliances made by Ivanti. The threat actor used a critical security vulnerability the Utah company patched in February. "We are aware of a limited number of customers whose appliances have been exploited."

Lawyer Jonathan Armstrong on Legal, Ethical Fallout From Looming 23andMe Auction
The financial collapse of personal genomics giant 23andMe raises an urgent question: What happens to your most intimate data when the company holding it goes bankrupt? Jonathan Armstrong, partner at Punter Southall Law, warns of cascading legal, ethical and security consequences.

The Health Sector Coordinating Council is urging the Trump administration to drop work on a proposed HIPAA security rule update and instead engage in a collaborative dialogue with healthcare sector leaders to create alternative cyber requirements, said Greg Garcia, executive director of HSCC.

Incentives, Tech Barriers and Fraud Fears Hamper FedNow Growth
Economic hesitation, legacy concerns and escalating fraud fears have hampered the adoption of a payment rail touted as the next big thing in the U.S. payment landscape, with government backing and technological promise of clear benefits to consumers and the financial sector.

Also: Gootloader Malware, GCHQ Intern Pleads Guilty, Check Point Breach Update
This week, a "Fast Flux" warning, Gootloader malware, an GCHQ intern pleaded guilty to stealing top secret data and Check Point undercuts hacking claim. Also, Google rolled out end-to-end encryption for some Gmail users, Apple backported patches and Dutch prosecutors cut internet access.

European Commission Demands Law Enforcement Access to Data
The European Commission's ProtectEU strategy aims to overhaul internal security, proposing law enforcement access to encrypted data by 2026 and a road map to explore lawful encryption backdoors and enhanced intelligence sharing between EU member states and agencies to combat rising cyberthreats.

11 Cyber Stocks Fared Worse Than the Nasdaq Thursday After Trump Announced Tariffs
Cybersecurity vendors took Thursday's sell-off hard, with Cloudflare, Fortinet and SailPoint experiencing big stock price drops after President Trump announced higher-than-expected tariffs. Eleven publicly traded cybersecurity firms fared worse than the Nasdaq while 12 companies fared better.

Technology Giant Accused of Using 'Wordplay' to Previously Deny Breach Reports
Cybersecurity experts have slammed Oracle's handling of a large data breach that it's reportedly confirming to 140,000 affected cloud infrastructure clients - but only verbally, and not in writing - following nearly two weeks of it having denied that any such breach occurred.

Lawsuits Allege Cybercrime Gang Medusa Stole Data of 132,000 People
An Arizona-based medical imaging practice with locations in 11 states is notifying patients that their data was compromised in a January cyberattack. Litigation filed against the company allege ransomware gang Medusa stole sensitive data pertaining to at least 132,000 people in the incident.

Inside North Korea's IT Scam Network Now Shifting to Europe
North Koreans posing as remote IT workers have spread to Europe, where one Pyongyang fraudster assumed at least 12 personas to target companies in Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Western companies have grappled for years with the prospect of unintentionally hiring a North Korean national.