Iran actors' claims raise questions about larger cyber threat to US, allies
Iran-nexus threat actors have placed what they claim is a large trove of data from defense contractor Lockheed Martin for sale on the underground market. The placement comes more than a week after the alleged hack and more than a month after the U.S. and Israel launched a coordinated bombing campaign against Iran, mainly from aircraft and naval ships. A threat group tracked as APT Iran claims to be offering a cache of exfiltrated Lockheed Martin data for more than $598 million. READ MORE...
Entire Claude Code CLI source code leaks thanks to exposed map file
The entire source code for Anthropic's Claude Code command line interface application (not the models themselves) has been leaked and disseminated, apparently due to a serious internal error. The leak gives competitors and armchair enthusiasts a detailed blueprint for how Claude Code works-a significant setback for a company that has seen explosive user growth and industry impact over the past several months. Security researcher Chaofan Shou was the first to publicly point it out on X. READ MORE...
Hacker stripped more than $50 million from Uranium crypto exchange, spent it on trading cards
US prosecutors have charged a Maryland man in connection with two hacks of the Uranium Finance cryptocurrency exchange that led to losses exceeding $50 million. Jonathan Spalletta, also known as "Cthulhon" and "Jspalletta," is accused of abusing vulnerabilities in Uranium Finance smart contracts to siphon assets from the platform. If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison for computer fraud and 20 years for money laundering. READ MORE...
Iran Deploys 'Pseudo-Ransomware,' Revives Pay2Key Operations
Iran is recruiting Russian cybercriminals and engaging in other creative partnerships that blur the lines between state and criminal cyber activities to advance its geopolitical objectives in its ongoing war with the US and Israel. As part of these activities, Iran has once again revived Pay2Key, an Iranian state-backed ransomware operation, by recruiting affiliates from Russian cybercriminal forums. READ MORE...
Axios NPM Package Breached in North Korean Supply Chain Attack
Malicious versions of the highly popular Axios NPM library were distributed to millions in a fresh supply chain attack blamed on North Korean hackers. A promise-based HTTP client that supports asynchronous API requests from Node.js and browsers, Axios is used for fetching, sending, and updating data. With over 100 million weekly downloads, it is a top 10 NPM package and the most popular JavaScript HTTP client library, present in approximately 80% of cloud and code environments. READ MORE...
Alleged RedLine malware developer extradited to United States
A man has appeared in federal court in Austin, Texas, after being extradited to the United States to face charges related to his alleged role as a key developer of the notorious RedLine malware. Prosecutors have charged Armenian national Hambardzum Minasyan with conspiring with others to develop and run RedLine, described by the US Department of Justice as "one of the most prevalent infostealing malware variants in the world." READ MORE...
Asking AI for personal advice is a bad idea, Stanford study shows
Stanford computer scientists just proved what therapists already suspected: AI chatbots will agree with almost anything you say to keep you happy. The researchers caught these systems validating dangerous decisions just to maintain user engagement. That's a worrying development, especially given Pew research figures showing nearly one in eight American teenagers have turned to chatbots for emotional support. The Stanford scientists tested 11 major models including ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. READ MORE...
Crypto industry may be running out of time to prepare for quantum attacks
Google's latest research suggests the cryptocurrency industry may have less time than expected to prepare for quantum computing. In a whitepaper, Google examines risks to elliptic curve cryptography, the system securing most blockchain networks. The researchers revisit earlier assumptions about how difficult it would be for a quantum computer to break these protections, concluding that the required resources may be lower than previously estimated. READ MORE...
Schneier on Security: A Taxonomy of Cognitive Security
Last week, I listened to a fascinating talk by K. Melton on cognitive security, cognitive hacking, and reality pentesting. The slides from the talk are here, but-even better-Melton has a long essay laying out the basic concepts and ideas. The whole thing is important and well worth reading, and I hesitate to excerpt. Melton's taxonomy is compelling, and their parallels to IT systems are fascinating. READ MORE...
- ...in 1920, Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune, who starred in numerous films directed by Akira Kurosawa ("Seven Samurai", "Yojimbo"), is born in Qingdao, China.
- ...in 1929, The yo-yo is introduced in the United States by Louis Marx.
- ...in 1976, Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, CA.
- ...in 1982, The United States transfers control of the Panama Canal Zone to Panama.
