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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.

New Research Uncovers Tokenizer Blind Spots in Leading LLMs
Subtle obfuscation techniques can systematically evade the guardrails that today's large language models rely on. Researchers from Mindgard team found that adversaries can "smuggle" malicious payloads past tokenizers using emojis, zero-width spaces and homoglyphs.

Loss of 5% of Staff Is Cybersecurity Industry's Second-Largest Workforce Reduction
CrowdStrike plans to axe 500 employees as the endpoint security behemoth looks to operate more efficiently. Saying its use of AI technology "flattens our hiring curve," the company revealed plans to reduce its nearly 10,000-person staff by 5% to scale its business with more focus and discipline.

NCSC Expects Attack Volume by 'Advanced Threat Actors' to Rise Sharply by 2027
Proliferation of AI-enabled technology will widen access to offensive tools by nation-state groups and other hackers. The volume of attacks is expected to rise significantly by 2027, and British critical infrastructure will be a prime target, the National Cybersecurity Center said.

California Man Pleads Guilty to Two Felony Charges Related to Hacking Employee's PC
A California man agreed to plead guilty to hacking a Disney employee's personal computer and stealing over one terabyte of confidential company data. Authorities say the man posted a malicious artificial intelligence art application online and used it to steal an employee's credentials.

Don't Fall for Easy Social Engineering Traps, Advises Mandiant
The teenage hackers behind Scattered Spider tend to launch attacks in waves against specific sectors - and it may be the retail sector's turn. High street British mainstays Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods have all felt a wave of incidents.

Homeland Security Secretary Accuses Cyber Agency of Failing to Stop China Hacks
U.S. President Donald Trump will "shortly" reveal a "grand cyber plan," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told lawmakers Tuesday, even as the administration seeks to cut the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency budget by $500 million. "CISA’s mission is to hunt and harden," Noem said.

Startup Says It Cuts Software Vulnerability Volume, Helps Developers Avoid Overload
Backed by YL Ventures and Mayfield, Minimus says its new curated software containers reduce vulnerabilities by over 95%—freeing developers from excessive scanning and patching and reframing the traditional relationship between development and security teams.

Jury Slams NSO With $167M Verdict for WhatsApp Hack
Meta has secured a $167 million punitive damages verdict against Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group, with a U.S. jury finding the firm illegally used Pegasus malware to hack 1,400 WhatsApp accounts tied to diplomats, dissidents and journalists using encrypted messaging platforms.

Hackers Bypass MFA to Steal Australians' Banking Credentials
Melbourne-based ANZ Bank will introduce passwordless authentication for digital banking services amid news that hackers have stolen the banking credentials of tens of thousands of Australians. Cybercriminals used infostealer malware to steal the credentials of more than 30,000 Australians.

Critics Say Public Benefit Corporation Model May Undermine AI Safety and Oversight
OpenAI’s nonprofit parent will retain control as its for-profit subsidiary becomes a public benefit corporation. While the company frames the change as mission-driven, critics fear it may strip the nonprofit of meaningful control and expose AGI development to uncontrolled commercial interests.

Hacker Breaches Government-Approved Messaging App Used by Top Trump Officials
A Signal clone messaging app apparently being used by top advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly went dark Monday following a reported hacking incident. TeleMessage said it temporarily suspended messaging services "out of an abundance of caution."

Huione Group Helped Criminals Launder Over $4 Billion Worth of Cybercrime Proceeds
The U.S. Department of Treasury set in motion a process to ban a Cambodian company's access to the dollar financial system for running a vast illicit marketplace for cybercrime tools and laundering billions of dollars on behalf of North Korean and other cybercrime groups.

Wiz's Ami Luttwak on Managing the 'Speed of AI' Trade-Off in Security Control
"AI is the fastest adopted technology in the history, in the enterprise," said Ami Luttwak, co-founder and chief technology officer at Wiz, explaining how AI-enabled application development has outpaced the speed at which security personnel try to attain complete visibility over stored data.

Elastic CEO Ash Kulkarni on How AI Transforms Security Data Analysis
Ash Kulkarni, CEO at Elastic, discussed how bug bounty projects and close scrutiny by millions of developers worldwide have made open-source projects more secure than proprietary solutions. He recommends open APIs and interoperability as the future of effective security solutions.

Ex-Interpol Director Craig Jones on How Geopolitics Affects Global Cybercrime
Geopolitical conflicts have affected intergovernmental cooperation. Craig Jones, immediate past director of cybercrime at Interpol, says geopolitical instability has pushed countries to shift their focus toward data sovereignty, scrutinizing data storage, access and regulations.

Phosphorus Cybersecurity's Phillip Wylie on Asset Inventory, Password Hygiene
Organizations inadvertently create cybersecurity gaps by trusting connected devices. Threat actors are shifting tactics to exploit IoT vulnerabilities when traditional attack vectors strengthen, said Phillip Wylie, xIoT security evangelist at Phosphorous Cybersecurity.

National Cybersecurity Alliance's Lisa Plaggemier on Replacing Shrinking Public Funds
Lisa Plaggemier, executive director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance, urges nonprofits to embrace private-sector partnerships and creative outreach to protect vulnerable groups such as senior citizens as federal funding support wanes.

Ex-National Cyber Director Emphasizes a Unified Approach to Cybersecurity
Public-private partnerships are of grave importance to tackle cyberthreats, given their ability to transcend geographical boundaries and affect individuals regardless of location, says Harry Coker, secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce and former U.S. national cyber director.