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Analysts Say Pentagon Must Add Guardrails to Musk's Grok in Military Systems
Cybersecurity analysts said Elon Musk’s Grok artificial intelligence model lacks compliance with key federal AI risk frameworks, which will likely force the Pentagon to rely on containment measures while conducting adversarial testing and restricting access to prevent unpredictable or unsafe behavior when embedding the model across its systems.

Israeli Startup Novee's Custom AI Agents Mimic Human Attackers to Scale Detection
Novee launched with $51.5 million in funding to build AI agents trained to find and fix vulnerabilities. Its proprietary model combines human-led research, prompt engineering and simulations to offer scalable penetration testing as AI-fueled threats outpace traditional tools.

Suit Alleges Competitor Lets 'Shell Firms' Exploit National Data Exchanges
Electronic health records giant Epic Systems is accusing a rival health information network vendor, Health Gorilla, of enabling a syndicate of "sham" entities "masquerading" as healthcare providers to improperly access patient records from national health data exchanges in pursuit of money.

Lumen Spotted More Than 500 Command and Control Servers Since October
A major U.S. internet service provider said it's blocked incoming traffic to more than 550 command and control servers botnets identified over the past four months that administer the Kimwolf and Aisuru botnets.

Joint US, UK and Five Eyes Guidance Flags OT Exposure as National Risk
U.S. and allied cyber agencies issued new guidance warning that insecure operational technology connectivity - driven by remote access, third-party vendors and IT integration - remains a major threat vector, enabling cyber intrusions to escalate into physical disruptions.

Also, Venezuela Cyberattack, Endesa Confirms Breach and Telegram IP Leak
This week, a software flaw caused the Verizon outage. U.S. cyberattack in Venezuela. ICE identities published online. BreachForums users leaked. Spanish energy provider Endesa data breach. Telegram privacy risk. A MuddyWater upgrade. Dutch man sentenced for hacking a maritime port. A ServiceNow patch.

Funding at $1.2B Valuation to Propel Federal Market Entry and R&D in GenAI
Torq secured $140 million in Series D funding at a $1.2 billion valuation to expand its generative AI-powered security operations platform. With backing from Merlin Ventures, Torq will grow internationally, deepen AI research and pursue U.S. federal opportunities including FedRAMP certification.

Forrester's Sandy Carielli on Quantum Readiness, Key Steps for Successful Migration
Quantum security migrations are multi-year, cross-functional projects that touch product, infrastructure and supply chains. While the scope of migration can be daunting, CIOs can follow several practical steps to make the project more manageable, said Forrester's Sandy Carielli.

New Agency Focuses on Public Programs, Ignores Private Sector Fraud
Citing recent high-profile arrests of fraud rings in Minnesota, President Donald Trump announced the creation of National Fraud Enforcement division in the Department of Justice. Sounds nice, but will it make a difference without deeper coordination with banks, payment platforms and businesses?

Former NSC Cyber Adviser Renominated to Lead CISA Amid Ongoing Senate Gridlock
The White House has renominated Sean Plankey to head CISA, reviving a stalled bid hindered by Senate holds and demands to release a report on telecom sector threats linked to China, as the agency continues to operate without a permanent director amid rising cyber risks.

Health Info in Mix With Compromised Data in Latest Breach Hitting a School
A for-profit university with campuses in New York and the Caribbean is notifying nearly 321,000 individuals of a December 2024 data theft incident that compromised their personal and health information. Monroe University is among the latest educational institutions disclosing hacks.

AI-Powered Axur Brings Digital Risk Protection, 99% Takedown Rate to Infoblox
Infoblox is acquiring Axur, a Brazilian leader in digital risk protection, to bolster its preemptive cyberthreat defense. Axur automates phishing and rogue site takedowns using AI, delivering near-instant response and visibility into attacker infrastructure.

In this webinar, we’ll explore how CIS MDR adapts to your environment, extends your team’s capabilities, and delivers actionable insights — not just alerts. You’ll also see a real anonymized incident walkthrough that demonstrates how CIS MDR moves from detection to resolution with speed and precision.

How to Deal With Having Influence Without Authority in Cybersecurity Roles
In some cybersecurity organizations, expertise and visible leadership don't reside in the same role. Usually, the person with the most influence on cybersecurity decisions is the owner, but it does not always work out that way. Fortunately, there are things you can do to change that for your career.

Ransomware Gang Money Message Claimed It Exfiltrated 4.7TB of Firm's Data
Pharmacy services firm PharMerica will pay at least $5.27 million - plus millions more on enhancing its security - as part of a preliminary class action settlement approved this week by a federal court involving a 2023 data theft incident the company reported as affecting 5.8 million individuals.

Misstatement Claims Tossed in Class-Action Securities Case After CrowdStrike Outage
A U.S. district judge tossed most claims from investors accusing CrowdStrike of misrepresenting its software testing rigor before a July 2024 outage. The judge said two statements about federal compliance could plausibly be misleading, but said plaintiffs failed to establish intent or recklessness.

Cause Unknown But Many Previous Outages Due to Software Misconfiguration
Verizon customers along the Eastern Seaboard and Southern parts of the United States lost mobile phone connectivity Wednesday in an incident that appears to have peaked around 1 p.m.

Scenario Planning Must Model Disruption, Strengthen Cyber Basics, Build Redundancy
IT organizations know how to plan for outages, but even the most rigorously designed strategy is vulnerable to the shifting winds of geopolitics. CIOs and technology leaders need to know how their organizations will respond to geopolitical disruptions, and scenario planning needs to be a priority.