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Authorities Disrupt SocksEscort Proxy Botnet Exploiting 369,000 IPs Across 163 Countries

A court-authorized international law enforcement operation has dismantled a criminal proxy service named SocksEscort that enslaved thousands of residential routers worldwide into a botnet for committing large-scale fraud. “SocksEscort infected home and small business internet routers with malware,” the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said. “The malware allowed SocksEscort to direct internet

Veeam Patches 7 Critical Backup & Replication Flaws Allowing Remote Code Execution

Veeam has released security updates to address multiple critical vulnerabilities in its Backup & Replication software that, if successfully exploited, could result in remote code execution. The vulnerabilities are as follows – CVE-2026-21666 (CVSS score: 9.9) – A vulnerability that allows an authenticated domain user to perform remote code execution on the Backup Server. CVE-2026-21667…

Building Trust in AI SOC Analyst Solutions: A UK and EU CISO Perspective

By Brett Candon, VP International at Dropzone AI Trust has always been critical in security operations, but in the UK and Europe it carries significant regulatory weight. GDPR, NIS2 and similar related data‑protection frameworks shape far more than legal risk, they directly influence architectural decisions, supplier selection, and how security data can be accessed, processed…

Telus Digital hit with massive data breach

Telus Digital, which provides business process outsourcing (BPO) services to a range of organizations worldwide, has been hit with a massive cyberattack conducted by extortion group ShinyHunters The group, which has been in operation since 2020, specializes in stealing data from Salesforce and other SaaS vendors, and has also recently been conducting voice phishing (vishing)…

Stryker attack highlights nebulous nature of Iranian cyber activity amid joint U.S.-Israel conflict

A cyberattack that an Iranian hacking group said it carried out against medical device manufacturer Stryker might mark Tehran’s first significant cyber action since the start of the joint U.S.-Israel conflict. But even that may have been a happy accident for Iranian hackers in what has been a low buzz of activity during that timeframe,…

Medical giant Stryker crippled after Iranian hackers remotely wipe computers

A major cyberattack on US medical supplies giant Stryker has resulted in thousands of devices being remotely wiped, after a pro-Iranian hacking group may have compromised the company’s Microsoft Intune management system. Details remain sketchy, but what appears to have happened on Wednesday at one of the world’s largest medical supplies companies could, if confirmed,…

AI Agent Safety Checklist

As organizations rapidly adopt AI agents to automate workflows, summarize data, and assist decision-making, security and governance teams face a new challenge: how to deploy AI safely without introducing unmanaged risk.  Unlike traditional SaaS tools, AI agents can interpret, generate, and act on data dynamically — often across multiple systems. That makes oversight, scope control,…

Rust-Based VENON Malware Targets 33 Brazilian Banks with Credential-Stealing Overlays

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a new banking malware targeting Brazilian users that’s written in Rust, marking a significant departure from other known Delphi-based malware families associated with the Latin American cybercrime ecosystem. The malware, which is designed to infect Windows systems and was first discovered last month, has been codenamed VENON by Brazilian

Hive0163 Uses AI-Assisted Slopoly Malware for Persistent Access in Ransomware Attacks

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a suspected artificial intelligence (AI)-generated malware codenamed Slopoly put to use by a financially motivated threat actor named Hive0163. “Although still relatively unspectacular, AI-generated malware such as Slopoly shows how easily threat actors can weaponize AI to develop new malware frameworks in a fraction of the time it used…

How to manage the lifecycle of Amazon Machine Images using AMI Lineage for AWS

As organizations scale their cloud infrastructure, maintaining proper lifecycle management of Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) is a critical component of their security and risk management goals. AMIs provide the essential information required to launch Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, however; they present security and compliance challenges if not tracked and managed throughout their…

Active Directory Flaw Enables SYSTEM Privilege Escalation

A vulnerability in Microsoft’s Active Directory Domain Services could allow attackers to escalate privileges and potentially take full control of affected systems.  “Improper restriction of names for files and other resources in Active Directory Domain Services allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network,” said Microsoft in its advisory. How the Active Directory…

Authorities takedown global proxy network SocksEscort

Authorities from multiple countries dismantled SocksEscort, a residential proxy network cybercriminals used to commit large-scale fraud, claiming access to about 369,000 IP addresses since 2020, the Justice Department said Thursday. Europol, which aided the investigation alongside various law enforcement agencies, Lumen’s Black Lotus Labs and the Shadowserver Foundation, said the malicious proxy service compromised routers…

LevelBlue Introduces New Resilience Retainer Solution

Managed and professional cybersecurity services provider LevelBlue has announced the debut of Resilience Retainer, a new tool that enables prioritized, rapid access to its elite roster of 300+ incident response (IR) experts, under a more versatile, client-friendly evolution of the traditional IT retainer. Resilience Retainer to unify frontline expertise and provide various security solutions This…

400K WordPress Sites Exposed by Elementor Ally Plugin SQL Flaw

A vulnerability in a widely used WordPress accessibility plugin could allow attackers to steal sensitive data from vulnerable websites without logging in.  The flaw affects the Ally plugin developed by Elementor, which is installed on hundreds of thousands of sites worldwide This vulnerability “… can be leveraged to extract sensitive data from the database, such…

Report: AI Accelerates Attacks on Trusted Identities

A recent report from ConnectWise found that attackers are increasingly exploiting trusted identities, along with remote access infrastructure and software supply chains, while AI continues to accelerate in speed and scale. 2026 MSP Threat Report shows trusted identities and legitimate tools are top targets The research, ConnectWise’s 2026 MSP Threat Report, provides global threat intelligence…

Netrio CEO on Building an AI-Powered Services Platform

Managed services provider Netrio is investing heavily in AI to reshape how it delivers IT services to midmarket customers. Through its NetrioNow platform, the company is integrating automation, sentiment analysis, and AI-driven service workflows to streamline support operations and improve customer insights. In a conversation with Channel Insider, CEO Mark Clayman discussed how the platform…

Officials worry Salt Typhoon apathy is killing momentum for tougher telecom security rules

Two years ago, it was revealed that Chinese hackers had compromised at least ten U.S. telecoms, giving them broad access to phone data affecting nearly all Americans. Since then, public officials charged with responding to the campaign and bolstering the nation’s cyber defenses have reported a common problem. Many of their constituents struggle to understand…

CVE-2026-21262: SQL Server Zero-Day Fixed in Microsoft’s March Patch Tuesday Release

The beginning of 2026 has brought a wave of zero-day vulnerabilities affecting Microsoft products, including the actively exploited Windows Desktop Window Manager flaw (CVE-2026-20805), the Microsoft Office zero-day (CVE-2026-21509) that prompted an out-of-band fix, and the Windows Notepad RCE bug (CVE-2026-20841). Microsoft’s March Patch Tuesday release keeps defenders busy again, this time shifting attention to…

Feds say another DigitalMint negotiator ran ransomware attacks and extorted $75 million

A 41-year-old South Florida man is accused of conducting at least 10 ransomware attacks and extorting a combined $75.25 million in ransom payments while he was working as a ransomware negotiator for DigitalMint.  Five of Angelo John Martino III’s alleged victims hired DigitalMint, which assigned Martino to conduct ransomware negotiations on their clients’ behalf —…

How to Scale Phishing Detection in Your SOC: 3 Steps for CISOs

Phishing has quietly turned into one of the hardest enterprise threats to expose early. Instead of crude lures and obvious payloads, modern campaigns rely on trusted infrastructure, legitimate-looking authentication flows, and encrypted traffic that conceals malicious behavior from traditional detection layers. For CISOs, the priority is now clear: scale phishing detection in a way that…

Critical SQL Injection bug in Ally plugin threatens 400,000+ WordPress sites

An unauthenticated SQL injection flaw (CVE-2026-2413) in the Ally WordPress plugin, used on 400K+ sites, could allow attackers to steal sensitive data. An unauthenticated SQL injection flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-2413 (CVSS score 7.5), in Ally plugin could allow attackers to steal sensitive data. The offensive security engineer Drew Webber at Acquia discovered the vulnerability on…

ENISA advisory examines package manager security risks

Developers install external libraries with a single command, and that step can introduce more code than expected into a project environment. Dependency resolution inside package managers extends software supply chains across large collections of external components. ENISA’s Technical Advisory for Secure Use of Package Managers, released in March 2026, examines how this development practice expands…

SurePath AI Announces New MCP Policy Controls

Security and governance platform SurePath AI recently announced MCP Policy Controls to provide real-time controls over which MCP servers and tools are allowed to be used. MCP presents a new attack surface and security challenges These new controls are designed to assist organizations in adopting MCP, ensuring safety, visibility, and safeguards from day one. MCP…

Binary Defense’s NightBeacon brings AI-driven analysis to SOCs

Binary Defense has announced the launch of NightBeacon, an AI-powered security operations platform built directly into the company’s security operations center (SOC). NightBeacon serves as the intelligence infrastructure behind Binary Defense’s MDR service, supporting every analyst shift, detection, and investigation across the SOC. Customers benefit from an approximately 30% reduction in mean time to resolution,…

Iran-Linked Hacktivists Claim Wiper Attack on Stryker Systems

A cyberattack has disrupted global operations at medical technology manufacturer Stryker, forcing employees in multiple countries offline and cutting access to core corporate systems.  The incident, which began March 11, triggered widespread outages across the company’s Microsoft environment and left staff temporarily unable to access internal applications and devices.  “When a company the size of…

Attackers Don’t Just Send Phishing Emails. They Weaponize Your SOC’s Workload

The most dangerous phishing campaigns aren’t just designed to fool employees. Many are designed to exhaust the analysts investigating them. When a phishing investigation takes 12 hours instead of five minutes, the outcome can shift from a contained incident to a breach. For years, the cybersecurity industry has focused on the front door of phishing…

Atlassian cuts 1,600 jobs to fund AI and enterprise expansion

Atlassian will reduce its global workforce by approximately 10%, eliminating around 1,600 roles, as the collaboration software maker redirects capital toward artificial intelligence development and enterprise sales. Co-CEO and co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes disclosed the cuts in a blog post. The decision, he said, was made to “self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales” while…

MicroStealer Analysis: A Fast-Spreading Infostealer with Limited Detection 

Security teams depend on early signals to spot and contain new threats. But what happens when a fully capable infostealer spreads while traditional detections stay limited?  In recent investigations, ANY.RUN researchers observed MicroStealer in 40+ sandbox sessions in less than a month, despite low public visibility. Early activity points to distribution through compromised or impersonated accounts,…

Saviynt Taps NEXTGEN, an Exclusive Networks Company, to Accelerate Digital Identity Security in Australia

COMPANY NEWS:    Collaboration strengthens Saviynt’s partner-first strategy as AI-driven identity risk builds across the APJ region Key Highlights: Saviynt will broaden access to AI-ready identity security for organisations navigating growing digital risks NEXTGEN will help scale Saviynt’s partner ecosystem across APJ, enabling faster adoption of identity-centric security in the AI era 

North Korean fake IT worker tradecraft exposed

Research from GitLab has exposed the latest tradecraft behind North Korean fake IT worker scams. GitLab banned 131 North Korean-attributed accounts last year, most of which involved JavaScript repositories that acted as resources in the so-called Contagious Interview campaign. In most cases, GitLab projects acted as obfuscated loaders for malware payloads — such as BeaverTail…

ENISA Technical Advisory on Secure Package Managers: Essential DevSecOps Guidance

ENISA’s first Technical Advisory on Secure Package Managers helps developers safely use third-party packages. ENISA has released its first Technical Advisory on Package Managers, focusing on how developers can safely consume third-party packages. The document (March 2026, v1.1) follows public feedback incorporating 15 contributions from stakeholders, experts, and the open-source community. “This document focuses on…

U.S. CISA adds a flaw in n8n to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) adds a flaw in n8n to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added an n8n flaw, tracked as CVE-2025-68613 (CVSS score of 10.0), to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. n8n is a workflow automation platform designed for technical teams that combines the…

Codoxo’s Deepfake Detection identifies AI-generated medical records for health plans

Codoxo has announced the launch of Deepfake Detection, an AI-driven fraud detection tool now being deployed by health plans across the U.S. The solution helps identify AI-generated or manipulated medical documentation and diagnostic images submitted in support of claims before payment is made. Healthcare fraud is already a multibillion-dollar problem, and generative AI is turning…

SOC Prime Launches DetectFlow Enterprise To Enhance Security Data Pipelines with Agentic AI

BOSTON, MA — March 12, 2026 — SOC Prime today announced the release of DetectFlow Enterprise, a solution that brings real-time threat detection to the ingestion layer, turning data pipelines into detection pipelines. Running tens of thousands of Sigma detections on live Kafka streams with millisecond MTTD using Apache Flink, DetectFlow Enterprise enables security teams…

AI use is changing how much companies pay for cyber insurance

In July 2025, McDonald’s had an unexpected problem on the menu, one involving McHire, its AI-powered platform used to recruit and screen job applicants. The system, developed by Paradox.ai, featured a rookie-level security flaw: the backend for restaurant operators accepted “123456” as both username and password, and lacked multi-factor authentication. As a result, the personal…

Stop fixing OT security with IT thinking

In this Help Net Security interview, Ejona Preçi, Group CISO at Lindal Group, discusses the specific cybersecurity challenges in manufacturing environments. The conversation covers why standard IT security practices break down on shop floors, where PLCs and decade-old firmware were never designed to be networked. She explains how nation-state actors quietly settle into industrial networks,…

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“Zombie ZIP”: Neue Angriffstechnik täuscht Virenscanner

Mithilfe sogenannter Zombie-ZIPs lassen sich fast alle Virenscanner austricksen. Pressmaster | shutterstock.com Eine neue Technik mit dem Namen „Zombie ZIP“ ist in der Lage, Payloads in komprimierten Dateien zu verbergen. Sicherheitslösungen wie Antiviren- und EDR-Produkte (Endpoint Detection and Response) können sie nicht entdecken, denn die digitalen Untoten wurden speziell geschaffen, um die Security zu umgehen.…

Agentic attack chains advance as infostealers flood criminal markets

Cybercriminals spent much of 2025 automating their operations, shifting from one-off attacks to systems that can run entire intrusion cycles with minimal human input. Data collected from criminal forums, illicit marketplaces, and underground chat services shows a threat environment where stolen identity data, unpatched vulnerabilities, and ransomware operations are interdependent. The findings come from Flashpoint’s…

Bell Ambulance data breach impacted over 238,000 people

Bell Ambulance confirms a February 2025 breach affecting 238,000 people, exposing personal, financial, and health information. Nearly 238,000 individuals are impacted by a February 2025 Bell Ambulance data breach. Bell Ambulance is a U.S.-based emergency medical services provider offering ambulance transport, paramedic care, and patient support. It serves communities with urgent medical response, interfacility transfers,…

Wie CISOs schlechte Angebote enttarnen

Drum prüfe… Ground Picture | shutterstock.com Security-Anbietern stehen viele Wege offen, um CISOs und Sicherheitsentscheider mit Lobpreisungen und Angeboten zu ihren jeweils aktuellen Produkten und Lösungen zu penetrieren. Und die nutzen sie auch: Manche Sicherheitsverantwortliche erhalten mehr als 30 solcher Anfragen pro Woche – per Telefon, E-Mail oder auch über LinkedIn. Um erkennen zu können,…

When your IoT Device Logs in as Admin, It?s too Late! [Guest Diary], (Wed, Mar 11th)

[This is a Guest Diary by Adam Thorman, an ISC intern as part of the SANS.edu BACS program] Introduction Have you ever installed a new device on your home or company router? Even when setup instructions are straightforward, end users often skip the step that matters most: changing default credentials. The excitement of deploying a…

How not to steal $46 million from the US government

A Wikipedia security engineer accidentally wakes a dormant JavaScript worm that hadn’t stirred since 2024 – and within minutes, giant woodpecker images are plastered across the internet’s favourite encyclopaedia. Meanwhile, a crypto contractor hired to help the US Marshals manage seized digital assets allegedly decides to help himself to $46 million of it – and…

Resumés with malicious ISO attachments are circulating, says Aryaka

Threat actors are still having success tricking human resources staff into opening malware-infected phishing emails. The latest example is detailed by researchers at Aryaka, who this week described a campaign by an unnamed threat actor who is distributing resumés containing a malicious ISO file to HR departments. It’s delivered through recruitment channels, and hosted on…

CISA warns of actively exploited Ivanti EPM and Cisco SD-WAN flaws

The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has warned that an authentication bypass vulnerability patched in Ivanti Endpoint Manager (EPM) last month is now being exploited in the wild. The agency has also updated its directive related to two Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN flaws that were also fixed last month after being used in zero-day…

News alert: Qevlar AI raises $30M to turn security alerts into actionable defense insights across SOCs

PARIS, March 10, 2026 — Qevlar AI, a leader in AI for transforming security operations centres (SOCs), has raised $30 million in funding for its autonomous AI SOC platform. The funding will support development of technology designed to turn alert investigations into security insights that help SOC teams strengthen their overall security posture. The round…

Pro-Palestinian hacktivist group Handala targets Stryker in global disruption

Pro-Palestinian hacktivist group Handala claims a cyberattack on Stryker, alleging it wiped 200,000 systems and disrupted global operations. Pro-Palestinian hacktivist group Handala claims responsibility for a disruptive cyberattack against medical technology firm Stryker. “Medical technology giant Stryker is experiencing a global outage across its systems after a cyberattack early Wednesday. Staff and contractors report that…

Anthropic announces think tank to examine AI’s effect on economy and society

Fresh from battling the US Department of Defense (DoD) over AI guardrails, Anthropic has returned this week with a new initiative: the company is founding a think tank, the Anthropic Institute, “to confront the most significant challenges that powerful AI will pose to our societies.” Headed by Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, who will take up…

BeatBanker malware targets Android users with banking Trojan and crypto miner

BeatBanker Android malware spreads through fake Starlink apps on websites imitating Google Play Store, hijacking devices, stealing credentials, and mining crypto. A new Android malware called BeatBanker spreads through fake Starlink apps distributed on websites posing as the Google Play Store. Once installed, it hijacks devices, steals login credentials, tampers with cryptocurrency transactions, and secretly…

Microsoft SQL Server Vulnerability Enables Privilege Escalation

A vulnerability in SQL Server could allow attackers to escalate their privileges to system administrator level within affected database environments.  “Improper access control in SQL Server allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network,” said Microsoft in their security advisory. Understanding CVE-2026-21262 The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-21262, carries a CVSS score of 8.8…

ShinyHunters claims new campaign targeting Salesforce Experience Cloud sites

Salesforce customers have, once again, been targeted by the ShinyHunters group – or, at least, it’s what the group claims. Attackers modified and abused benign tool On Saturday, Saleforce confirmed that its security team has identified an attack campaign by unnamed malicious actors looking to access customers’ data. The attackers are not leveraging a vulnerability…

Microsoft .NET Vulnerability Enables Remote DoS Attacks

Microsoft has released a security update to address a vulnerability in the .NET platform that could allow attackers to remotely crash affected applications.  The flaw enables unauthenticated attackers to trigger a Denial-of-Service (DoS) condition, potentially causing applications or services running on vulnerable .NET environments to become unavailable.  Exploitation of the vulnerability “… allows an unauthorized…

Researchers uncover AI-powered vishing platform

A vishing-as-a-service platform that helps scammers carry out so-called “press 1” scams is misusing text-to-speech (TTS) capabilities provided by AI voice technology company ElevenLabs, Mirage Security researchers claim. How “press 1” vishing scams work For “press 1” scams, fraudsters spoof phone numbers of trusted institutions (e.g., bank), call up potential victims and try to scare…

Iran-Backed Hackers Claim Wiper Attack on Medtech Firm Stryker

A hacktivist group with links to Iran’s intelligence agencies is claiming responsibility for a data-wiping attack against Stryker, a global medical technology company based in Michigan. News reports out of Ireland, Stryker’s largest hub outside of the United States, said the company sent home more than 5,000 workers there today. Meanwhile, a voicemail message at…