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Attacks Move From China to Malaysia Using Phishing PDFs
Seemingly unrelated attacks targeting Chinese-speakers throughout the Asia-Pacific region with a remote access trojan trace back to the same threat actor, says researchers. Hackers' most likely motivation is regional intelligence collection.

Concerns Grow Over F5 Hacking Amid Stalled Government Shutdown
Federal officials are scrambling to contain nation-state hackers exploiting stolen source code from networking devices and software maker F5 amid staffing pressures created by the ongoing government shutdown. Stolen files reportedly include undisclosed vulnerabilities F5 had been researching.

Also: Continued Turmoil at CISA, MSSP Level Blue's Acquisition of Cybereason
In this week's panel, four ISMG editors discussed the FBI's takedown of Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters, turmoil inside CISA amid the U.S. federal government shutdown and how LevelBlue's acquisition of Cybereason signals big shifts in the XDR and MDR markets.

Swalwell: Sweeping CISA Cuts Leave Nation Vulnerable to Major Cyberattacks
A top Democratic lawmaker is demanding transparency and calling for the immediate reversal of major workforce cuts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which is only operating with 35% of its total staff amid the ongoing government shutdown and resulting reductions-in-force.

2022 Ransomware Attack, Data Theft Affected 3.4 Million Patients
A California-based network of nine affiliated physician practices will pay nearly $50 million to settle consolidated class action litigation involving a 2022 ransomware and data theft attack that affected more than 3.4 million patients. Plaintiffs claimed their data was leaked on the darkweb.

Also, Internet-Exposed Call Center Software Under Attack and Patch Tuesday
This week: Chinese hackers exploited ArcGIS, Internet-exposed call center software under attack, October patch Tuesday, Massachusetts student sentenced for $3 million extortion hack, New York fined eight insurers $14.2M over data breaches, more than 100 VS Code extensions leak secrets.

Synthetic Identities for Superprime Borrowers Generate 3 Times Higher Fraud Losses
Auto lenders operate on a simple principle - the higher a borrower's credit score, the lower the risk. But new data from TransUnion reveals a troubling contradiction: Superprime borrowers with a credit score higher than 720 are generating three times more fraud losses than subprime borrowers.

State cybersecurity regulations that apply to some hospitals in New York state go well compliance under the federal HIPAA security rule, posing expanded data governance challenges for providers, said Matthew Bernstein of consulting firm Bernstein Data.

Capita Ignored EDR Alert for 58 Hours, Say Investigators
British outsourcing giant Capita must pay 14 million pounds to British data regulators for privacy violations tied to a 2023 hack that impacted 6 million individuals. An EDR system caught the malicious file within 10 minutes but the company didn't respond to the alert until 58 hours later.

Risk Scoring to Enable Real-Time Action by Imprivata on Suspicious Access Attempts
Imprivata's acquisition of Verosint adds 150 real-time behavioral and environmental signals to its access management suite. CEO Fran Rosch says the combined risk scoring system will enable smarter authentication, especially for remote and third-party users.

Symantec Says It Spotted Likely Supply Chain Hack
Suspected Chinese state-linked hackers reportedly breached a Russian IT service provider in an espionage campaign targeting government-related networks. Symantec uncovered Chinese hackers they named Jewelbug, infiltrating a Russian company between January and May.

Point Wild's Zulfikar Ramzan Says Cryptography Is Crucial Against Quantum Risks
Cyber resilience is a critical part of defense strategies today, and resilience is rooted in strong, well-managed cryptography, said Zulfikar Ramzan, chief technology officer at cybersecurity firm Point Wild. He shares key drivers for organizations to move toward quantum migration.

Cambodian Firm Worked Directly With North Korea, Say US Officials
The U.S. and U.K. imposed sanctions on Cambodia’s Huione Group and 146 affiliates linked to the Prince Group TCO, citing human trafficking, forced labor and over $4 billion in laundered cybercrime proceeds tied to North Korean hacks and Western-targeted scams.

Recent Cybersecurity Conferences Highlight Resilience and Shoring Up Critical Infrastructure Systems
Learn how recent cybersecurity conferences focused on resilience and shoring up critical infrastructure systems spotlight the need for virtual segmentation, OT visibility and zero trust adoption.

Cybercriminals Demanded Ransom Payments Directly From Some Affected Patients
An Oklahoma health system will pay $30 million to settle class action litigation involving a 2023 data theft hack that affected 2.4 million people. Some of the patients - including minors - have received blackmail demands directly from cybercriminals threatening to sell their data on the darkweb.

Cybereason Deal Bolsters LevelBlue's XDR, DFIR and Global Incident Response Reach
LevelBlue is acquiring Cybereason to enhance its extended detection and response, digital forensics, and global threat intelligence capabilities. The move brings top talent, expands the firm's footprint in Japan and follows LevelBlue's acquisitions of Aon and MDR provider Trustwave.

NCSC Chief Says Recent Retailer Hacks Should Be 'Wake-Up Call' for Cyber Defenders
The number of cyberattacks in the United Kingdom surged 50% in the past year, with ransomware continuing to be the top threat. National Cyber Security Centre CEO Richard Horne said recent high-profile hacks at major retailers exposed supply chain vulnerabilities and are a "wake-up call" to defenders.

Researchers Show Minimal Data Poisoning Can Disrupt Large Language Models
Only a couple hundred malicious training documents are needed before a large language model puts out meaningless text when prompted with a specific trigger phrase, say researchers.