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Machine Learning, Generative AI Bolster Continuous User Authentication
Financial institutions can use AI-fueled behavioral biometrics for real-time identity assurance. By continuously profiling how users interact with devices, firms can shift from one-time authentication to real-time identity assurance, turning every click, pause and keystroke into a frontline defense.

Analysts Warn White House IT Plan Could Conflict With Deregulation Directives
Experts warn a new strategy that aims to centralize federal IT procurement under the General Services Administration with standardized terms and deep vendor discounts may actually undermine deregulation goals while excluding small vendors and clashing with agency-specific cybersecurity mandates.

State Accused Tech Giant of Geolocation, Incognito Search, Biometric Violations
Texas has reached a nearly $1.4 billion settlement agreement with technology giant Alphabet after accusing its Google subsidiary of violating state privacy laws via its geolocation, incognito search and biometric data capture and retention practices.

Malware Targets Western Officials, NGOs and Journalists
Russian cyber espionage hackers are using a new malware strain dubbed "Lostkeys" in a targeted espionage campaign aimed at Western officials, NGOs and journalists. Google researchers attribute Lostkeys to the threat group Coldriver, an operational unit within the Federal Security Service.

Pharmaceutical companies typically have more mature cyber programs than other healthcare factions, but these firms also face unique risks involving their large attack surfaces, complex manufacturing, supply chains and sensitive intellectual property, said Joshua Mullen of Booz Allen Hamilton.

University of Texas CISO George Finney on Zero Trust Challenges and His New Book
Enterprises need to mature their zero trust models to recognize how trust is inherently built into artificial intelligence and how to proactively identify vulnerabilities. George Finney, CISO at University of Texas Systems, says security teams need to be trained to spot implicit trust across systems.

Strategic Plan Includes Human Risk Management Platform Expansion, IPO Preparation
Bryan Palma outlines his vision to grow KnowBe4 beyond security awareness training by investing in agentic AI, expanding email and behavioral tools and positioning the company for IPO readiness. He highlights Vista Equity's support and platform depth as key assets.

Also: Cyber IPOs and the Investment Climate, the Urgency of AI Explainability
In this week's update, ISMG editors unpacked Trump's teased "grand cyber plan" amid budget cuts to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, key business takeaways from RSAC Conference 2025 and why explainability in artificial intelligence is becoming critical to trust and security.

Government Officials Sound 'Wake Up' Alarms
A rash of cyber incidents felt by British businesses add up to a wake-up call that cybersecurity is an absolute priority, top government officials warned during an annual conference hosted by the National Cyber Security Centre. The NCSC unveiled cyber resilience measures timed for the conference.

After Vendor Paid for Data-Deletion Promise, Criminals Extort Schools Directly
Students, gather round for the sad story of how PowerSchool got schooled by hackers, who stole data on students and teachers. After PowerSchool paid a ransom for a guarantee that the data would be deleted, the bad hackers failed to honor their promise.

Not Just Ransomware But Verbal Disclosure of Personal Data Common, Watchdog Finds
Two decades after California Senate Bill 1386 introduced the world to data breach notifications, organizations have collectively battened down their cybersecurity hatches and fixed the problem once and for all. Of course, I'm joking, with the results of recent data breach root cause report in hand.

Union Health System Among Many Cerner Legacy Data Clients Affected by Breach
An Indiana health system is among the first healthcare organizations notifying regulators and thousands of people affected by the Oracle hack in January. Attackers compromised legacy patient data hosted by Cerner servers that were set to migrate to Oracle's cloud environment.

CISOs Seek Real Value as Vendors Tout the Latest Batch of AI-Driven Solutions
As the conversation shifts from generative to agentic AI, it's clear that AI holds tremendous potential to ease zero trust fatigue, but only when guided by business context, quality data and human oversight. CISOs see AI as a "basket of opportunities but plenty of "vendor blind spots."

Srivatsan Replaces Prakash Panjwani, Who Led WatchGuard's Push Beyond the Network
The former chief operating officer of SentinelOne and chief strategy officer of Palo Alto Networks has been named interim leader of MSP security stalwart WatchGuard. WatchGuard tapped Vats Srivatsan to serve as interim CEO beginning Wednesday and tasked him with scaling its platform.

Also: Iberian Blackout, Delta Faces Lawsuit Linked to CrowdStrike Outage
Every week, ISMG rounds up cybersecurity incidents and breaches around the world. This week: Mirai Botnet Exploits Flaws in GeoVision, the Iberian blackout under investigation, dueling cybersecurity advisories from India and Pakistan, Delta must face a lawsuit linked to CrowdStrike outage.

Masimo Told SEC Hack Affects On-Premises Systems, Operations and Distribution
A cyberattack against on-premises systems is affecting product manufacturing, fulfillment and distribution operations of Masimo, a manufacturer of patient monitoring devices, the California-based company told the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday.

Funding Will Fuel R&D Push Into Automated Remediation and Risk Prioritization Tools
With code increasingly generated by AI and attackers using AI for exploits, OX Security raised $60 million to scale R&D and help developers prioritize critical vulnerabilities. The company aims to close detection gaps and reduce time-to-remediation in application security.

FIDO-Based Authentication to Replace SMS-Based Verification, Says UK NCSC
The U.K. government is set to replace SMS-based verification systems for digital services with passkeys later this year in a bid to shore-up cyber defenses. The authentication initiative is being developed by the U.K. National Cybersecurity Center using FIDO standards.

Agentic AI Is More Than Just the Latest Cybersecurity Buzzword at RSAC Conference
At RSAC 2025, the message came through loud and clear: Agentic AI is no longer just a concept. It's being deployed today. While much of the buzz focused on performance gains and trust concerns, another story emerged - one that speaks directly to security professionals and those entering the field.