Risky Bulletin

In this sponsored interview Casey Ellis is joined by Push Security’s Field CTO, Mark Orlando. They chat about the ways that browser-based attacks are evolving and how Push Security is finding and cataloging them.

The EU has a problem attracting and retaining cyber talent, the CEO of Coupang resigns following the company’s security breach, Microsoft expands its bug bounty program to cover third party code, and Chrome and Gogs patch zero-days.

Linux adds PCIe encryption to help secure cloud servers, Europol cracks down on Violence-as-a-Service providers, the International Criminal Court prepares for cyber-enabled genocide, and Cambodia busts a warehouse full of SMS blasters.

APTs go after the React2Shell vulnerability just hours after public disclosure. CISA remains without a director after the nomination stalls again, NSA is down 2,000 staff this year, and Intellexa is still active despite sanctions.

Tom Uren and Patrick Gray discuss a new report proposing a framework for deciding when cyber operations raise red flags. It suggests seven red flags and could help clarify thinking about how to respond to different operations. They also discuss Anthropic testifying to Congress and Iran using cyber intelligence to target missile strikes including by sharing it with Houthi rebels who fired at a specific ship. And finally, we are not reassured by China’s white paper about being a good cyber citizen. This episode is also available of Youtube.

In this edition of Between Two Nerds Tom Uren and The Grugq wonder whether it is possible to deter states from cyber espionage with doxxing and other disruption measures. This episode is also available on Youtube.

In this Risky Business News sponsor interview, Mike Lashlee, CSO of Mastercard talks to Tom Uren about why the company got into threat intelligence. Mike talks about bringing together payments insights with threat intel to get strong signals about fraud or crime, the benefits of international collaboration and when it makes sense for your CSO to also be the CISO.

Tom Uren and Amberleigh Jack talk about new research that shows the Chinese-made DeepSeek-R1 AI model produces insecure code when prompts include topics that the Chinese Communist Party dislikes. It’s interesting research, but the CCP doesn’t have a monopoly on imposing AI bias. They also discuss the complete doxxing of the Iranian cyber espionage group known as APT35 or Charming Kitten. This episode is also available on Youtube.

In this edition of Between Two Nerds Tom Uren and The Grugq talk about the differences between telcos and cloud companies. Does the nature of the business force cloud companies to be better at security? This episode is also available on Youtube.

Tom Uren and Amberleigh Jack talk about Anthropic’s discovery of an “AI-orchestrated” cyber espionage campaign. To Tom, it feels a research project, but it’s pretty clear it will be really useful for threat actors that aren’t focussed on specific high-priority targets. Think ransomware, Chinese intellectual property theft and North Korean hackers. But it won’t be so good for Western intelligence agencies. They also discuss Google’s legal disruption of the China-based Lighthouse phishing as a service operation. Surprisingly, it seems to be working! Finally, they talk about why the memory safe Rust language has been a triple win for Android. This episode is also available on Youtube.

In this edition of Between Two Nerds Tom Uren and The Grugq talk about the strategic “logic” of Russian wiper attacks on the Ukrainian grain sector. This episode is also available on Youtube.

Europol takes down servers behind three malware operations, the US sanctions another Burmese military group linked to scam compounds, Google backs down from mandatory Android developer registration, and Checkout-dot-com donates its ransom to cybercrime researchers instead of paying hackers.

Tom Uren and Amberleigh Jack talk about a new Reuters’ report that reveals how Meta is knowingly raking in cash from scam advertisements. It’s around $16 billion worth, and in documents Meta calculates that it outweighs the costs of possible regulatory action. They also discuss recent state-backed supply chain attacks that have, so far, remained targeted and responsible. Finally they look at the UK’s decision to stop sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. This episode is also available on Youtube.

Internal data leaks from another Chinese security firm, a US Congressional Budget Office breach has not been contained, the Cyber infosharing act likely to be extended until January, and we have a new OWASP Top 10.

In this edition of Between Two Nerds Tom Uren and The Grugq discuss how cyber criminals and even state actors are being dumb about using AI. This episode is also available on Youtube.