State Department Layoffs Are 'Fracturing' US Cyber Diplomacy

Chris Riotta • July 16, 2025

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's major shakeup of the State Department's operations - including widespread layoffs and controversial restructurings that separate key cyber teams - will hinder U.S. cyber diplomacy as threats continue to escalate, analysts told Information Security Media Group.

Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

AI Rubio Hoax Further Exposes White House Security Gaps

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Cyberwarfare / Nation-State Attacks

It's Time to Include Geopolitical Risk in Defense Planning

Anna Delaney • July 17, 2025

Geopolitical tensions are no longer limited to headlines or high-level diplomacy. They drive cyber risk, supply chain disruption and regulatory fragmentation. CyXcel's Megha Kumar makes the case for why companies need to take notice and embed geopolitical risks in ongoing security planning.

Governance & Risk Management

Lansweeper Purchases Redjack to Strengthen Asset Discovery

Michael Novinson • July 17, 2025

Lansweeper has acquired Redjack to combine detailed scanning with passive discovery, offering real-time asset inventories that fuel zero trust, business continuity and attack surface management. The combined offering enhances support for cybersecurity through automation and real-time data.

Application Security

UK NCSC Announces Software Vulnerability Initiative

Akshaya Asokan • July 16, 2025

The U.K. NCSC will collaborate with industry experts for vulnerability detection and mitigation as part of its latest Vulnerability Research Initiative. The announcement comes on the heels of funding concerns for the U.S. government-based Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program.

3rd Party Risk Management

North Korea Floods NPM Registry with Malware

Prajeet Nair • July 16, 2025

North Korean threat actors escalated their software supply chain attacks by uploading 67 new malicious packages to the npm Registry as part of the ongoing Contagious Interview campaign. The malware targets open-source JavaScript developers with malware loaders.

Geo Focus: Asia

Overcoming the Myths About 5G and OT Security

Suparna Goswami • July 16, 2025

Digital transformation - which now includes a convergence of cloud-based applications, AI and OT systems - introduces new threat vectors particularly as legacy systems struggle to adapt. Speakers at the 5G OT Security Summit discussed cyber defenses and policies and for securing OT systems.

Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

AI Giants Push for Transparency on Models' Inner Monologue

Rashmi Ramesh • July 16, 2025

AI researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind and Anthropic and others have urged deeper study into chain-of-thought monitoring, a technique to track how reasoning models arrive at answers. Their joint paper warns that transparency may erode if not prioritized.

Cybercrime

Email Hack Affects at Least 24 Cancer Care Practices

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee • July 16, 2025

At least two dozen cancer care centers and oncology practices in 12 states are reporting to federal regulators that nearly 123,000 patients were affected by a 2024 email phishing breach involving its parent organization, Integrated Oncology Network, which is owned by Cardinal Health.

Mobile Application Security

Jamf Carries Out Another Round of Layoffs, Axing 6% of Staff

Michael Novinson • July 16, 2025

Jamf will execute its second round of layoffs in two years, cutting 6.4% of its workforce to reduce operating costs and improve operating margins. The Minneapolis-based Apple management and security vendor on Tuesday announced plans to reduce its staff by an estimated 166 employees.

Cybercrime

Hackers Use Backdoor to Steal Data From SonicWall Appliance

Akshaya Asokan • July 16, 2025

A cybercrime group used a backdoor in a fully patched SonicWall appliance to steal credentials and may have sold the stolen data to ransomware groups as part of an ongoing campaign, Google Threat Intelligence Group found. The firm attributed the campaign to a cybercrime group it tracks as UNC6148.

Cloud Security

Drive-By Attack Vector Patched in Oracle Code Editor

Mathew J. Schwartz • July 16, 2025

Exploring Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, researchers at Tenable found that Oracle's console-based Code Editor tool failed to block arbitrary file uploads, and could be silently exploited via drive-by attacks to install malware. They said Oracle has now fixed the vulnerability.

Next-Generation Technologies & Secure Development

iCounter Debuts With Mission to Defeat AI-Enabled Threats

Michael Novinson • July 16, 2025

Former FireEye and Mandiant leader John Watters unveils iCounter, a new cyber risk intelligence startup focused on targeted attacks and AI-enabled adversaries. Backed by Syn Ventures, the firm aims to transform threat detection with deeper visibility into attacker reconnaissance.

Training & Security Leadership

Learn the Next Thing, Not Everything

Brandy Harris • July 16, 2025

The pressure to grow doesn't come from curiosity alone. It comes from real friction in the systems you work with. That's why the smartest way to continue learning is not to try to master everything. Instead, focus on the next thing that will actually help you move forward in your role.